Author(s): Nile Rodgers

Biographies & Memoirs | Music

Nile Rodgers is a founding member of the band Chic, and one of the world's most successful music producers. He wrote 'We are Family' for Sister Sledge and 'I'm Coming Out' for Diana Ross, and produced two of the most popular albums of all time - Madonna's 'Like a Virgin' and David Bowie's 'Let's Dance'. He also performed with Madonna at Live Aid. His life has been extraordinary - his mother was just 13 when she had him, and he was brought up surrounded by a ragged assortment of artists, drop outs and junkies. At the age of 13 he was already sniffing glue and had been turned on to acid by Timothy Leary himself. A natural, instinctive and brilliant musician, in the midst of all the madness he somehow managed to teach himself classical guitar. He also found time to become an expert in martial arts and a Black Panther. From the glamour of Studio 54 to the squalor of New York's Valhalla, and with a cast of bohemians, drop-outs, disco divas and the odd world-famous celebrity, Niles Rodgers tells his astonishing story.