HAPPY
BIRTHDAY CHAKA KHAN
Known for her powerful voice and curly hair, Chaka Khan first exploded
on to the music scene in the 1970s. While active in the black power movement,
she changed her name. While with the band Rufus, she wrote their 1975 number
one hit, "Sweet Thing." Although she continued to make music during
the 80s, her popularity declined. She moved to London in the 90s and continues
to put out music and act.
Singer, songwriter. Born Yvette Marie Stevens on March 23, 1953, in
Chicago, Illinois. Known for her powerful voice, her great volume of curly
hair, and her charismatic stage presence, Chaka Khan first exploded on to the
music scene in the 1970s. She formed her first group, the Crystalettes, with
her sister Yvonne when she was only 11 years old. Some of Khan's early musical
heroines included Billie
Holiday and Gladys
Knight. The sisters later became involved in the Affro-Arts
Theater and started another musical group known as The Shades of Black.
In 1969, Khan became active in the black power movement, joining the
Black Panther Party and working on the organization's free breakfast program
for children. Around this time, she took on a new name: Chaka Adunne Aduffe
Yemoja Hodarhi Karifi. She also said good-bye to her formal education, dropping
out from high school.
In the early 1970s, after performing with a few other groups, Khan
joined the band Rufus, which had a strong R&B and funk sound. The world got
its first taste of Khan’s powerhouse vocals when the group released its first
self-titled album in 1973, which spawned such modest hits as "Whoever's
Thrilling You" and "Feel Good." The follow-up album, Rags to
Rufus (1974), was a smash commercially and critically. Stevie
Wonder penned the hit
single, "Tell Me Something Good," for them, which sold more than a
million copies. The group also scored a Grammy Award for best R&B Vocal
Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus for the song in 1974.
Rufus, which was renamed Rufus featuring Chaka Khan and then Rufus &
Chaka, continued to have a number of successes over the coming years. Khan
helped write their number one hit, "Sweet Thing," climbed to the top
of the charts in 1975. Later hits included "Do You Love What You
Feel" and "Ain’t Nobody."
While she recorded with Rufus until the early 1980s, Chaka made an
impressive debut as a solo artist in the late 1970s. In 1978, she released Chaka,
which featured the hit "I’m Every Woman," which was written by
Nicholas Ashford and Valerie Simpson. In an odd twist of synchronicity, she won
two Grammy Awards as a solo artist and one as a member of Rufus in 1983.
The next year, however, Chaka the solo artist reigned supreme. Covering
a Prince song, she reached the top of the R&B, hip-hop, and dance charts
with "I Feel for You." Featuring one of the most famous rap cameos of
all time by Mel Melle, the infectious track incorporated elements of rap,
R&B, and electronic dance music. It also won her another Grammy Award in
1984. Other hits from the album included "This Is My Night" and
"Through the Fire."
Although she continued to make music, Khan saw her popularity decline in
the late 1980s and 1990s. Her albums may not have been selling as much as they
had previously, she was still
producing critically acclaimed music. She won a Grammy Award in 1990 for her
duet with the legendary Ray Charles on "I’ll
Be Good to You" and another one in 1992 for "The Woman I am”.
In the early 1990s, she left the United States for London to have a
better environment to raise her two children. Her daughter Milini was born in
1973 and her son Damien was born in 1979. While there, she branched out into
acting, appearing as Sister Carrie in the musical Mama, I Want to Sing.
Near the end of the decade, she established the Chaka Khan Foundation, which
provides education programs to at-risk children and helps low-income families
with autistic children.
In 2002, Chaka Khan scored her eighth Grammy Award—this time for her
cover of Marvin Gaye's "What's
Going On" with the Funk Brothers. The next year, she shared her life story
with the world in her autobiography, Chaka! Through the Fire. In it, she
detailed her career as well as her years of substance abuse. Chaka described
the loneliness she felt while touring. She was often away from her two
children, which only compounded her sadness and guilt. Chaka told JET
magazine that "I think a big part of my drug thing was escaping from those
feelings." She also revealed that she had a history of bad luck when it
came to relationships.
With her life on track, Khan experimented with different musical styles.
She did an album of standards with the London Symphony Orchestra entitled ClassiKhan
in 2004. That same year, Khan faced a personal tragedy. Her son Damien was
arrested and charged with murder. He and a friend had been fighting in her home
when Damien accidentally shot him. Rallying her family together, Khan attended
the trial and testified on her son's behalf. He was found not guilty in 2006.
Making her first original recording in years, Khan returned to the
studio to make Funk This (2007). The album features a
diverse mix of songs and guests. The ballad "Angel" came from a poem
she wrote while high years earlier. The up-tempo "Disrespectful"
paired Khan with one of her musical protégées, Mary J. Blige. On the cover
of "You Belong to Me," she sang with former member of the rock group
the Doobie Brothers, Michael McDonald. She included a few more covers on the
album, including tracks by Prince, Jimi Hendrix, and Joni Mitchell.
In 2008 Chaka Khan appeared as Sofia in the Broadway musical The Color Purple,
based on the book by Alice Walker.
