We’re still in disco mode this week, so today’s classic disco song of the day is “Le Freak” by Chic. This hot little number, released in September of 1978, the height of the disco era, hit number-one worldwide—in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and, in the U.S., on the Billboard Hot 100, Billboard Hot Soul Singles, Billboard Dance Club Songs, and Cash Box Top 100 charts. It was Billboard’s #3 song for all of 1979.
“Le Freak” was written by band leaders and producers Bernard Edwards and Nile Rogers. It was the band’s third charting single and first number-one track.
Guitarist Nile Rogers and bassist Bernard Edwards met in 1970 when they were both New York City session musicians. The first band they formed was called The Boys, then they changed the name to the The Big Apple Band. They later joined the group New York City, which had a hit in 1973 with the song “Doing Fine Now.” When that group broke up in 1976, they recruited drummer Tony Thompson, keyboardist Raymond James, and vocalist Norma Jean Wright and formed Chic. When Wright left the band in 1978 to pursue a solo career, she was replaced by Alfa Anderson.
Chic was a major force in the disco/funk movement of the late ’70s. Propelled by Edwards and Rogers’ slick arranging and production and Tony Thompson’s driving beats, they had a number of giant hits, including “Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)” (#6 in 1977), “Everybody Dance” (#38 in 1978), “Le Freak” (#1 in 1978/1979) “I Want Your Love” (#7 in 1978/1979), and “Good Times” (#1 in 1979). Edwards and Rogers also wrote and produced big dance hits for a number of other artists, including “He’s the Greatest Dancer” and “We Are Family” for Sister Sledge and “Upside Down” and “I’m Coming Out” for Diana Ross.
Chic broke up when the disco scene imploded in the early ’80s, but that wasn’t the end for the members of the group. Nile Rodgers co-produced David Bowie’s Let’s Dance album; Rodgers, Bernard Edwards, and Tony Thompson were all a big part of Madonna’s Like a Virgin album; Edwards and Thompson worked on The Power Station’s eponymous 1985 album (and the hits “Some Like It Hot” and “Get It On (Bang a Gong)”) and lead singer Robert Palmer’s similar-sounding solo album; and Rodgers produced hit albums for both Duran Duran and the Thompson Twins. Rodgers and Edwards even reunited several times over the years to play old Chic songs. Drummer Tony Thompson passed in 2003 but Edwards and Rogers are still active in the music scene today.
