Covered: Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards, Volume 1: 1977-1980

With my Covered series, highlighting talented songwriters who often didn't find fame as performance artists, I still have lots of albums I want to post that go back to the 1950s and 60s. But just for fun, I want to go forward to the late 1970s and after to showcase a songwriting duo who are all about getting you to dance: Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards. I have two albums of their songs. Both of them would make a great mix tape to play at a dance party, as they're filled with some of the biggest and best dance songs of all time.

Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards both grew up in New York City. They met in 1970 as touring musicians in 1970 when their music careers were just getting started. They formed a band in 1972 which would eventually evolve in Chic. Rodgers played guitar (in 2023, Rolling Stone Magazine would list him as the seventh greatest guitarist of all time for his massive influence) and Edwards played bass. They finally got their first big break in 1977 with the song "Dance, Dance, Dance," which they wrote for their band Chic. For the next few years, they repeatedly rode the disco wave to the top of the charts. "Le Freak" by Chic in particular was massive, selling seven million worldwide and becoming one of about 20 best selling singles of all time up until that point. "Good Times" also deserves special note. In addition to hitting Number One in the U.S. singles chart, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked it number 68 in their list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

"Good Times" also turned out to be one of the most sampled songs of all time. That's why "Rapper's Delight" is included here as well. Normally, I don't include songs in any Covered series albums if they are basically just prominent samples with rap lyrics on top. But I'm making a special exception for "Rapper's Delight." It's one of the first and most important rap songs of all time. It introduced the term "hip hop" to the world in its lyrics. Rolling Stone Magazine also put it in the last of the 500 greatest songs of all time. It also is so heavily based on "Good Times" that Rodgers sued for a copyright violation as soon as he heard the song. He and Edwards were quickly added as songwriters and received royalties.

But while Rodgers and Edwards wrote Chic's hits and also produced them, they didn't stop there. They also began writing and producing songs for others, and had yet more massive hit singles doing so. During this time period, they especially had success writing songs for Sister Sledge and Diana Ross.

Here are the Wikipedia entries for Rodgers:

Nile Rodgers - Wikipedia 

and Edwards:

Bernard Edwards - Wikipedia 

I don't think Rodgers and Edwards get the credit they deserve, probably because dance music isn't highly valued by music critics. But I'd argue they've had far greater musical impact on the world than most famous "serious" singer-songwriters. Keep in mind this is only Volume 1. Volume 2 will follow shortly.  

This album is 43 minutes long.

01 Dance, Dance, Dance [Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah] (Chic)
02 I Want Your Love (Chic)
03 Lost in Music (Sister Sledge)
04 Le Freak (Chic)
05 Rapper's Delight (Sugarhill Gang)
06 He's the Greatest Dancer (Sister Sledge)
07 Spacer (Sheila & B. Devotion)
08 Good Times (Chic)
09 I'm Coming Out (Diana Ross)
10 We Are Family (Sister Sledge)
11 My Old Piano (Diana Ross)

https://pixeldrain.com/u/uAdbwKHa

alternate:

https://bestfile.io/en/38L4D6zbNKGVsCA/file

I couldn't find a good photo of Rodgers and Edwards together. However, I found a photo of the entire Chic band posing for a French TV show in 1979. I removed the other three band members and moved Rodgers and Edwards together. Edwards is the one wearing glasses.