The Sound of Young America: Nile Rodgers, Musician and Hit Producer

Episode 76

28th November 2011

Nile Rodgers launched a string of hits with the group Chic, including “Le Freak” and “Good Times”, and went on to become a songwriting and producing superstar. He was behind Diana Ross’ “I’m Coming Out”, David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance”, Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” and many more. Now, he reflects on decades of hitwriting, collaborating, and the meaning of music in his life. His new autobiography is Le Freak: An Upside Down Story of Family, Disco and Destiny.

Episode notes

You might not recognize Nile Rodgers, who began his music career as part of the purposely faceless band Chic — but you’d for sure know his music if you heard it. He founded Chic with bassist and friend Bernard Edwards, and launched a string of hits including “Le Freak” and “Good Times”, and went on to become a songwriting and producing superstar with a tried-and-true formula.

The anthem “We are Family”? That’s one of his, too. He was behind Diana Ross’ “I’m Coming Out”, David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance”, Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” and many more. Now, he reflects on decades of hitwriting, the legacy of disco, and the meaning of music in his life.

His new memoir, out now, is Le Freak: An Upside Down Story of Family, Disco, and Destiny.

Track list:

Le Freak- Chic– The Best of Chic
Good Times- Chic– The Best of Chic
Everybody Dance- Chic– The Best of Chic
My Feet Keep Dancing- Chic– The Best of Chic
I’m Coming Out- Diana Ross– Diana
Let’s Dance- David Bowie– Let’s Dance
New York City- I’m Doin’ Fine Now [single]
Cold Gin- Kiss– Alive
Ladytron- Roxy Music– Roxy Music
Sister Sledge- We Are Family [single]

In this episode...

Senior Producer
Producer
Maximum Fun Producer
Maximum Fun Production Fellow

Guests

  • Nile Rodgers

About the show

Bullseye is a celebration of the best of arts and culture in public radio form. Host Jesse Thorn sifts the wheat from the chaff to bring you in-depth interviews with the most revered and revolutionary minds in our culture.

Bullseye has been featured in Time, The New York Times, GQ and McSweeney’s, which called it “the kind of show people listen to in a more perfect world.” Since April 2013, the show has been distributed by NPR.

If you would like to pitch a guest for Bullseye, please CLICK HERE. You can also follow Bullseye on Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook. For more about Bullseye and to see a list of stations that carry it, please click here.

Get in touch with the show

People

Senior Producer

Producer

Maximum Fun Producer

Maximum Fun Production Fellow

How to listen

Stream or download episodes directly from our website, or listen via your favorite podcatcher!

Share this show

New? Start here...