Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. is an American record producer, guitarist, composer, and philanthropist. The co-founder of Chic, he has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million singles worldwide.
The Wedding Singer is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Frank Coraci, written by Tim Herlihy, and produced by Robert Simonds and Jack Giarraputo. The film stars Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Christina Pickles and Christine Taylor, and tells the story of a wedding singer in 1985 who falls in love with a waitress. The film was released on February 13, 1998. Produced on a budget of US$18 million, it grossed $123 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics. It is often ranked as one of Sandler's best comedies.
Theodore DeReese Pendergrass was an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter. He was born in Kingstree, South Carolina. Pendergrass lived most of his life in the Philadelphia area, and initially rose to musical fame as the lead singer of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. After leaving the group in 1976, Pendergrass launched a successful solo career under the Philadelphia International label, releasing five consecutive platinum albums. Pendergrass's career was suspended after a March 1982 car crash left him paralyzed from the waist down. Pendergrass continued his successful solo career until announcing his retirement in 2007. He died from respiratory failure in January 2010.
Linda Diane Creed, also known by her married name Linda Epstein, was an American songwriter and lyricist who teamed up with Thom Bell to produce some of the most successful Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s.
KooKoo is the debut solo album by American singer Debbie Harry, released on July 27, 1981, by Chrysalis Records. Produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic, the album was recorded whilst Harry took a break from her band Blondie. It was a moderate commercial success, reaching number 25 on the US Billboard 200 and number six on the UK Albums Chart.
"Why" is a song written by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards and performed by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon. Recorded for the film Soup for One in 1982, the film was a commercial flop but the soundtrack album was a success. One of many film-inspired singles by Simon, the song became a top 10 hit in the UK, and was successful throughout Europe.
The King and I is a 1956 American musical film made by 20th Century-Fox, directed by Walter Lang and produced by Charles Brackett and Darryl F. Zanuck. The screenplay by Ernest Lehman is based on the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, which is itself based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon. That novel in turn was based on memoirs written by Anna Leonowens, who became school teacher to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the early 1860s. Leonowens' stories were autobiographical, although various elements of them have been called into question. The film stars Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner.
Kenneth Daniel Harlan was a popular American actor during the silent film era, playing mostly romantic leads or adventurer roles. His career extended into the sound film era, but during that span he rarely commanded leading-man roles, and became mostly a supporting or character actor.
Chic, currently called Nile Rodgers & Chic, is an American disco band that was formed in 1972 by guitarist Nile Rodgers and bassist Bernard Edwards. It recorded many commercially successful disco songs, including "Dance, Dance, Dance " (1977), "Everybody Dance" (1977), "Le Freak" (1978), "I Want Your Love" (1978), "Good Times" (1979), and "My Forbidden Lover" (1979). The group regarded themselves as a rock band for the disco movement "that made good on hippie peace, love and freedom". In 2017, Chic was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the eleventh time.
South Pacific is a 1958 American romantic musical film based on the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific, which in turn is loosely based on James A. Michener's 1947 short-story collection Tales of the South Pacific. The film, directed by Joshua Logan, stars Rossano Brazzi, Mitzi Gaynor, John Kerr and Ray Walston in the leading roles with Juanita Hall as Bloody Mary, the part that she had played in the original stage production. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards, winning the Academy Award for Best Sound for Fred Hynes. It is set in 1943, during World War II, on an island in the South Pacific.
Love Somebody Today is the fourth studio album by the American R&B vocal group Sister Sledge, released on March 16, 1980, by Cotillion Records. The album includes three singles: "Got to Love Somebody", "Reach Your Peak", and "Let's Go on Vacation", which all charted on the US Pop and R&B/Soul charts from late 1979 until 1980.
Soup for One is the soundtrack album to the movie Soup for One by American R&B band Chic et al., released by Mirage Records in 1982. The album reached number 168 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and number 42 on the R&B chart. Besides three previously released tracks, Chic's "I Want Your Love" from 1978 album C'est Chic, Sister Sledge's "Let's Go On Vacation" from 1980s Love Somebody Today and "Jump, Jump" from Debbie Harry's KooKoo, the album contains five songs specifically written and produced by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers for the movie.
Tongue in Chic is the sixth studio album by American R&B band Chic, released on Atlantic Records in 1982. The album includes the singles "Hangin'" and "I Feel Your Love Comin' On". Tongue in Chic peaked at No. 173 on the Billboard 200.
Marianne Stone was an English character actress. She performed in films from the early 1940s to the late 1980s, typically playing working class parts such as barmaids, secretaries and landladies. Stone appeared in nine of the Carry On films, and took part in an episode of the Carry On Laughing television series. She also had supporting roles with comedian Norman Wisdom.
Dorothy Appleby was an American film actress. She appeared in over 50 films from 1931 to 1943.
Mary Field was an American film actress who primarily appeared in supporting roles.
Mary Treen was an American film and television actress. A minor actress for much of her career, she managed to secure a plain, unassuming niche for herself in dozens of movies and television shows in a Hollywood career spanning four decades, from 1930 to 1981.
Up All Night is a compilation album by Nile Rodgers and The Chic Organization, released in 2013. It contains recordings written, played and produced by Rodgers and Bernard Edwards for various artists including Sister Sledge, Diana Ross, Sheila & B. Devotion, Deborah Harry, Norma Jean Wright, Carly Simon, Johnny Mathis and their own group Chic. In its original form, the album included every UK Top 40 hit single produced by Chic, excepting remixes. The Johnny Mathis track was widely publicised as being previously unreleased, though it had in fact appeared on Mathis' own Ultimate Collection CD in 2011.
Alfa Anderson is a soul /rhythm and blues/ disco singer and teacher, best known as one of the lead singers of the 1970s band Chic.
Alfonso "Fonzi" Thornton is an American vocalist, songwriter, producer and vocal contractor. In a career spanning 40 years, Thornton has sung backing vocals for top artists across many genres of music. His vocal credits can be found on the recordings of Aretha Franklin, Luther Vandross, Mick Jagger, Bryan Ferry, Roxy Music, Chic, Diana Ross, Garth Brooks, Ray Charles, Mariah Carey, Steely Dan, David Bowie, Robert Palmer, Patti LaBelle, Al Jarreau, Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, Phoebe Snow, Scritti Politti, Bette Midler, Lady Gaga and many others. In 2008, Thornton joined the musical entourage of Aretha Franklin as backing vocalist and vocal contractor and continued to accompany her in concert, on recordings and TV until her death in 2018.
