Yvette Marie Stevens, better known by her stage name Chaka Khan, is an American singer. Known as the "Queen of Funk", her career has spanned more than five decades beginning in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. With the band she recorded the notable hits "Tell Me Something Good", "Sweet Thing", "Do You Love What You Feel" and the platinum-certified "Ain't Nobody". Her debut solo album featured the number-one R&B hit "I'm Every Woman". Khan scored another R&B charts hit with "What Cha' Gonna Do for Me" before becoming the first R&B artist to have a crossover hit featuring a rapper, with her 1984 cover of Prince's "I Feel for You". More of Khan's hits include "Through the Fire" and a 1986 collaboration with Steve Winwood that produced a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, "Higher Love".
Rufus is an American funk band from Chicago, Illinois, best known for launching the career of lead singer Chaka Khan. They had several hits throughout their career, including "Tell Me Something Good", "Sweet Thing", "Do You Love What You Feel" and "Ain't Nobody". Rufus and Chaka Khan were one of the most popular and influential funk bands of the 1970s, with four consecutive number-one R&B albums, ten top 40 pop hits and five number-one R&B singles, among other accolades.
Stephanie Mills is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to stardom as "Dorothy" in the original seven-time Tony Award winning Broadway run of the musical The Wiz from 1974 to 1979. The song "Home" from the show later became a Number 1 U.S. R&B hit and her signature song. During the 1980s, she had five Number 1 R&B hits, including "Home", "I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love", "I Feel Good All Over", "(You're Puttin') A Rush on Me" and "Something in the Way ". She won a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for her song "Never Knew Love Like This Before" in 1981. Her albums What Cha Gonna Do with My Lovin, Sweet Sensation and Stephanie went gold or platinum, all through 20th Century Fox Records.
"You Send Me" is a song written and originally recorded by American singer Sam Cooke, released as a single in 1957 by Keen Records. Produced by Bumps Blackwell and arranged and conducted by René Hall. The song, Cooke's debut single, was a massive commercial success, becoming a No. 1 hit on both Billboard's Rhythm & Blues Records chart and the Billboard Hot 100.
"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" is a song by the British rock band the Police from their fourth studio album, Ghost in the Machine (1981). It was a hit single that reached the top of the charts in the United Kingdom in November 1981 and hit No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart that same year.
"Ain't Nobody" is a song by American funk band Rufus and American singer Chaka Khan. It was released on November 4, 1983 by Warner Bros., as one of four studio tracks included on their live album, Stompin' at the Savoy (1983). "Ain't Nobody" quickly gathered popularity, and reached number one on the US Billboard R&B chart and number 22 on the US Billboard Hot 100. In 1984 at the 26th Annual Grammy Awards, "Ain't Nobody" won for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. It has become one of Khan's signature songs.
Wild West is a studio album by American country artist Dottie West. It was released by Liberty Records in February 1981. It was one of several albums that were part of West's commercial resurgence in the late 1970s and early 1980s. On the album were three singles: the chart-topping "Are You Happy?" and "What Are We Doin' in Love". The album itself was among West's highest-peaking, reaching the top five of the US country albums chart. It was met with favorable reviews from several music publications.
"Never Knew Love Like This Before" is a 1980 song written and produced by James Mtume and Reggie Lucas, and recorded by American R&B singer Stephanie Mills for her fourth studio album Sweet Sensation (1980). The song was inspired by the birth of Lucas' daughter Lisa.
"Tell Me Something Good" is a song by Rufus, written by Stevie Wonder and released in 1974. This was the first and only hit credited to Rufus, as once singer Chaka Khan's voice became the focus of the group, they changed their name to "Rufus featuring Chaka Khan" for their next album. The single was a hit in the United States, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent one week at number one on the Cash Box Top 100. It was among the earliest hits to use the guitar talk box, by Tony Maiden.
"I'll Be Good to You" is a 1976 hit song by R&B duo the Brothers Johnson. George Johnson, one of the two Johnson brothers in the band, wrote the song after deciding to commit to a relationship with one woman, instead of dating several at a time. While George was recording a demo for the song, family friend Senora Sam came by and added some lyrics. Brothers Johnson producer and mentor Quincy Jones heard the song, liked it, and convinced George to sing lead on the finished track. Released from their debut album, Look Out for #1, it was a top-ten hit on the Billboard Hot Singles Charts, peaking at number three, and a number one song on the Billboard R&B Charts during the summer of 1976. The single was later certified gold by the RIAA.
What Cha' Gonna Do for Me is the third solo album by American R&B/funk singer Chaka Khan, released on Warner Bros. Records in 1981. It was certified gold by the RIAA.
Patrick Anson "Ned" Doheny is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Malibu, California, who has recorded eight albums and performed with other artists including Don Henley and Glenn Frey of the Eagles, J.D. Souther, Linda Ronstadt, and Jackson Browne, with whom he was once in a band. As of 2015, Doheny resides in Ventura County, California.
Stompin' at the Savoy – Live is an album by American R&B/funk band Rufus with singer Chaka Khan, released on the Warner Bros. Records label in 1983.
Epiphany: The Best of Chaka Khan, Vol. 1 is a compilation album of recordings by American R&B/funk singer Chaka Khan, first released on the Warner Bros. Records label in 1996. Although the compilation, which reached #22 on Billboard's R&B chart and #84 on Pop, was given the "Vol. 1" tag, it remains without a sequel to date.
Dance Classics of Chaka Khan is a compilation album of recordings by American R&B/funk singer Chaka Khan released on the Warner Bros. Records label in Japan in 1999.
Masterjam is the platinum-selling eighth studio album by funk band Rufus. Released in 1979, it was their debut on the MCA Records label following their purchase and dissolution of ABC Records.
Camouflage is the tenth studio album by funk band Rufus, released on the MCA Records label in 1981. Camouflage peaked at #15 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart and stalled at #98 on Pop. The album includes the singles "Sharing the Love" and "Better Together".
The Platinum Collection is a compilation album of recordings by American funk/R&B singer Chaka Khan, released by the Warner label in 2006.
John Frederick Robinson, known professionally as JR, is an American drummer and session musician who has been called "one of the most recorded drummers in history". He is known for his work with producer Quincy Jones, including Michael Jackson's multi-platinum Off the Wall album and the charity single "We Are the World". JR's drum fill kicks off Jackson's chart topper "Rock with You", and his drum solo opens the Steve Winwood album Back in the High Life (1986) to begin the number 1 song "Higher Love".
"Fate" is a song by Chaka Khan from her 1981 album What Cha' Gonna Do for Me. Despite not being released as a single, "Fate" is often included on disco, post-disco and other compilations such as The Very Best of 100 R&B Classics & 100 Hits Disco. It was also remixed on Chaka Khan's remix album Life Is a Dance: The Remix Project under the title "Fate ", this version of the song was 5:38, over 2 minutes longer than the original.
