Nile Rodgers' Memoir Features Madonna's Early Diva Days
Friday, 21 October 2011
'Le Freak,' out this week, chronicles the Chic singer and mega-producer's rags-to-riches rise with colorful anecdotes about David Bowie, Diana Ross, Michael Jackson and other stars of the time.
With his band Chic and later on his own, Nile Rodgers helped define the sound of the late 1970s and early 1980s. From songs like 'Le Freak' and 'Good Times,' which he co-wrote with longtime musical partner Bernard Edwards, to seminal albums by David Bowie (Let’s Dance), Madonna (Like A Virgin) and Diana Ross (Diana), all multi-platinum smashes he produced, few modern-day musicians can claim a professional past so storied, much of it experienced under the ever-present haze of drugs and alcohol.
Among the many recording studio anecdotes was one detailed recounting of Rodgers' time working with Madonna on her 1984 breakout album, Like A Virgin. 'Madonna's superintense let's-get-down-to-business attitude sometimes rubbed people the wrong way,' he writes. 'One day, Madonna's insult slinging went too far. Our assistant had the temerity to go to the bathroom, and she freaked out on him.... 'Where the fuck is he going?' she said loudly enough that he could clearly hear.
Unsatisfied, that she's made her point, she then let off a fusillade from her usual arsenal of one-liners: 'Time is money, and the money is mine.'' Rodgers confronted the would-be pop star and the argument turned so heated, he quit the record for what would turn out to be 'the shortest producer strike in history.'
With his band Chic and later on his own, Nile Rodgers helped define the sound of the late 1970s and early 1980s. From songs like 'Le Freak' and 'Good Times,' which he co-wrote with longtime musical partner Bernard Edwards, to seminal albums by David Bowie (Let’s Dance), Madonna (Like A Virgin) and Diana Ross (Diana), all multi-platinum smashes he produced, few modern-day musicians can claim a professional past so storied, much of it experienced under the ever-present haze of drugs and alcohol.
Among the many recording studio anecdotes was one detailed recounting of Rodgers' time working with Madonna on her 1984 breakout album, Like A Virgin. 'Madonna's superintense let's-get-down-to-business attitude sometimes rubbed people the wrong way,' he writes. 'One day, Madonna's insult slinging went too far. Our assistant had the temerity to go to the bathroom, and she freaked out on him.... 'Where the fuck is he going?' she said loudly enough that he could clearly hear.
Unsatisfied, that she's made her point, she then let off a fusillade from her usual arsenal of one-liners: 'Time is money, and the money is mine.'' Rodgers confronted the would-be pop star and the argument turned so heated, he quit the record for what would turn out to be 'the shortest producer strike in history.'
For more visit www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/madonna-nile-rodgers-le-freak
I was a huge fan of Chic (and Nile Rogers and Bernard Edwards) from the late 1970s to the early 1980s and read this book with great delight.
It is an excellent read, and I thoroughly recommend it!
Posted by: bristar | Monday, 24 October 2011 at 09:43 AM