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Nile Rodgers

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Musician

The Resume

    (September 19, 1952- )
    Born in New York City, New York
    ’Guitarist, songwriter, and music producer
    With Bernard Edwards, co-founder of Chic
    Member of the Honeydrippers (1984-85) and Outloud (1987)
    Recorded the solo albums ‘Adventures in the Land of the Good Groove’ (1983), ‘B-Movie Matinee’ (1985), ‘Chic Freak and More Treats’ (1996) and ‘Live at Budokan’ (1999)
    Composed scores for the films ‘Coming to America’ (1988), ‘Earth Girls Are Easy’ (1989), ‘Beverly Hills Cop III’ (1994) and ‘Blue Chips’ (1994)
    Produced records by Sister Sledge, Diana Ross, Deborah Harry, David Bowie, Madonna, INXS, Duran Duran, the Thompson Twins, Peter Gabriel, Mick Jagger, Sheena Easton, Grace Jones, Laurie Anderson, Al Jarreau, Depeche Mode, the B-52s, All-4-One, Michael Bolton, Adam Lambert, Daft Punk and Christina Aguilera
    Inducted with Bernard Edwards into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (2016)
    Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2017)

Why he might be annoying:

    He joined the Black Panthers as a teen. (‘I thought I was going to be a serious revolutionary, a la Che Guevara.’)
    He originally wrote Chic’s hit ‘Freak Out’ as ‘Fuck Off’ to express his annoyance at being denied entrance to Studio 54.
    After he became a Studio 54 regular, he would spend entire evenings in the women’s restroom, snorting cocaine.
    He was carried out of Madonna’s birthday party in a drunken stupor.
    He flatlined eight times during a drug binge with Mickey Rourke, and was pronounced dead before being revived.
    His solo recordings have been nowhere near as successful as either his work with Chic or his productions for other artists.
    His induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame via the ‘Award for Musical Excellence’ seems like a consolation prize for Chic failing to be elected during a dozen nominations.

Why he might not be annoying:

    In his teens, he played in the house band at Harlem’s legendary Apollo Theater and in the touring band for the Sesame Street stage show.
    He played at Live Aid, backing both Madonna and the Thompson Twins.
    He went to rehab for his drug and alcohol problems (1994).
    He said about songwriting, ‘It's got to hit me in my soul. It doesn't have to be overly intellectual or some complicated thing, it just has to be cool. I can't explain it but I know it when I arrive there.’
    He has performed on, written, or produced records that have sold over 100 million copies.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 35 Votes: 5.71% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 2253 Votes: 46.83% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 104 Votes: 57.69% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 155 Votes: 45.81% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 64 Votes: 51.56% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 6 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 121 Votes: 49.59% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 39 Votes: 53.85% Annoying