Rufus & Chaka Khan
    The American Breed were a 1960's rock quartet from Cicero, Illinois led by Gary Loizzo. They scored a gold Top Ten hit in early 1968 with "Bend Me, Shape Me." The American Breed released albums during 1967-68 then disbanded. Out of the ashes came Smoke which featured three original American Breed members, Al Ciner (guitar), Charles Colbert (bass) and Lee Graziano (drums), were joined by Kevin Murphy (keyboards), Paulette McWilliams (vocals), Ron Stockard and Dennis Belfield. A name change to Ask Rufus helped their bookings in and around Chicago's suburbs, but it was still several months before a stable unit evolved. Graziano made way for Andre Fisher, but the crucial change came when Yvette Marie Stevens replaced McWilliams.
     Yvette was born on the Great Lakes Naval Base in nearby Waukegan, Illinois in 1953 but was raised on Chicago's South Side. At the age of 11 she formed her first group, The Crystalettes. While still in high school, she joined the Afro-Arts Theater, a group which toured with Motown great Mary Wells; a few years later, she adopted the African name Chaka Khan while working on the Black Panthers' breakfast program. After quitting high school in 1969, Khan joined the group Lyfe, soon exiting to join another dance band, The Babysitters; neither was on the fast track to success, but her fortunes changed when she teamed with Ask Rufus.
    The group, now known simply as Rufus, signed with the ABC label in 1973, but made little headway with their first album "Rufus." From a commercial standpoint, the problem with this album was its lack of a really strong single. But from a creative standpoint, this is a decent and promising, if imperfect, debut. In 1973, Rufus' original pre-Tony Maiden, pre-Bobby Watson lineup favored an earthy soul/rock blend along the lines of Ike & Tina Turner; in fact, Khan's passionate vocals on "Feel Good," Stevie Wonder's "Maybe Your Baby," and Stephen Stills' "Love The One You're With" point to the fact that Tina Turner was among her early influences. Not that Khan is actually emulating Turner or anyone else; in 1973, Khan was quite distinctive herself. Khan was handling most of the lead vocals, although keyboardist Ron Stockert was still doing a fair amount of lead singing. "Rufus" falls short of essential, but it's an enjoyable debut that certainly isn't without historic value.
    How can a red-blooded male possibly resist Chaka Khan when she coos "Tell Me Something Good"? Stevie Wonder wrote the tune specifically for the band after hearing Khan sing; it became a number three hit single in the summer of 1974. The album, "Rags To Rufus" with it's crazy artwork cover, reflected a strong set of rich material. Besides Chaka's honey-throated vocals on great tracks like Ashford & Simpson's "Ain't Nothin' But A Maybe" and Jeff Barry's "Walkin' In The Sun" the sophmore effort contains some incredible instrumental tracks. The funky "Rags To Rufus" and "Sideways" were instrumentals designed to showcase their musical chops during live appearances. Most of the other tracks were written by member Belfield or the entire group. Chaka's own writing skills proved successful when they recorded her "You Got The Love." The funky danceable single shot to number eleven on the pop charts in November of that year.
    Aside from the Billboard Top Ten singles "Once You Get Started" and "Please Pardon Me (You Remind Me Of A Friend)," which respectively placed at number four and six, there are three obvious savory numbers on the album "Rufusized." The drama Chaka conveys with her poetic delivery on "Somebody's Watching You" is accentuated by a theatrical performance from the band. "Pack'd My Bags" is compelling with its mesmerizing arrangement. However, the song deviates into a funk interlude before it returns to its original format. The most electrifying piece is the Bobby Womack classic "Stop On By." More polished than Womack's version, but still satisfying with Chaka and Tony Maiden, who co-wrote five songs on this album; the two share lead vocals and at times singing in unison. Lalomie Washburn often provided background vocals for Chaka and Rufus albums, but despite her own disco release in 1977, "My Love Is Hot," she is best known as a writer. Her "I'm A Woman (I'm A Backbone)" gets the full Chaka treatment here.
    "Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan" was the groups' fourth release in close to three years. The first track, Gavin Christopher's "Fool's Paradise" displays Khan's skill at screaming notes and making complex ideas sound simple, and vice versa. That art is put to work throughout the album. "Everybody's Got An Aura" surely could be dismissed as babble but Khan gives the sentiments a ring of truth even as she shouts, "Everybody's got karma!" The lilting yet propulsive "Circle" has great bass work from Bobby Watson as Khan sings likeable and spacy lines, the best being, "My love is like a zero/It is nothing and everything." The albums biggest track, the smoldering "Sweet Thing," has Tony Maiden's gentle guitar and Kevin Murphy's economical electric piano chords. The song is arguably the group's best as Khan's bittersweet vocal provided a standard many singers have attempted to approximate to no avail. The single hit number five in February of 1976 and became their second Gold single.
    The party starters "Have A Good Time" and "Dance Wit Me" both tread familiar ground. The group even throws in a rare cover for this album. The last track, the Bee Gees' "Jive Talking," is inexplicably slowed to a crawl, therefore, diminishing its appeal. The album perfectly captures their unconventional sound and features Tower of Power on horns and Clare Fischer's string arrangements. This album is one of their best and is highly recommended.
    Their 1977 effort, "Ask Rufus," has the group doing more sophisticated and constantly challenging work with an accent on evocative ballads. The effort's lone dance track "At Midnight (My Love Will Lift You Up)" has the band going for more subtlety. The best track, the evocative and sensual "Everlasting Love" has great bass and guitar interplay from Bobby Watson and Tony Maiden, respectively, and an appealing earthy and ethereal vocal from Khan. The much loved "Hollywood" has just gotten stronger with time. The most ambitious song, the evocative "Egyptian Song," has Middle Eastern motifs and a compelling vocal from Khan that pulls it all together.
     Despite lineup changes and tastes in music Rufus and Chaka had weathered it all. Now in order to continue, moves were made both internally and externally. And the results would propell all involved well into the next decade.
    By 1978 the inevitable had finally arrived. Chaka was ready to spread her wings. She set the charts on fire with her debut solo release. Her debut single was the blazin' "I'm Every Woman." Penned by Ashford & Simpson, Khan lit every lyric up with her tantalizing vocals. It topped the Billboard R&B charts at number one. "Life Is A Dance, " the second 12" release, does not really compare to its predecessor as it does not retain the same electricity or punch line. It sealed the Top 40. Although Khan had much credibility from her association with Rufus, this album no doubt demonstrated that the dynamic vocalist could hold her own ground, alone.
     Simultaneously Chaka released 1978's "Street Player" with Rufus. This album spawned a Top Five Billboard R&B hit with "Stay," a song with a moderate tempo and a very humble beginning that bows to an explosive plea from Khan. It reached number three on the charts after 18 weeks.
    The first solo Rufus album was 1979's "Numbers." The album was full of first rate tunes such as "Red Hot Poker," "Dancin' Mood," and "Keep It Together (Declaration Of Love)." The album proved that Rufus without Chaka could be just as successful. Rufus continued to make solo albums with 1981's "Party 'Til You're Broke." Which the title track 12" single was a minor club hit. And their final solo album 1983's "Seal I Red" which was overlooked but still a quality production with the tracks "Blinded By The Boogie" and "Take It To The Top." By 1983 the group had finally decided that it was time to call it quits. The members decided to pursue individual careers and sadly an era was over.
    1979's "Masterjam" finds them back together, renamed Rufus and Chaka, with Quincy Jones producing the effort. The most striking thing about "Masterjam" is that is doesn't sound like a trademark Rufus effort. Jones' production style is so strong that the band's individual sound is all but lost. It's nothing to cry about, since Jones was at his R&B/pop peak and Rufus couldn't do it any better on their own. The album's first track is "Do You Love What You Feel," with its subtle horn riffs arranged by Jerry Hey and vocals from guitarist Tony Maiden and Khan. The 12" went top five in the clubs as did it's successor "Any Love" both were delicious slices of dance floor funk. A frequent Jones collaborator, Rod Temperton, offers the title track and the even better "Live In Me." Although "Masterjam" was more of a Quincy Jones album than a Rufus effort, this ended up being one of the groups' last successful full-studio endeavors.
    1981's "Camouflage" brought production duties back home to the group. This album didn't score any hits even though there is a couple of enticing tracks inside. The low-tempo "Sharing The Love" was my pick for club play when the album was first released. "Better Together" and "Losers In Love" are worthy of mention, but overall the album is uneven and was one of the lowest sellers. That perhaps accounts for it being the only album of theirs not reissued on compact disc The album did have some great guest artists; Lalomie Washburn, Rene Moore, Angela Winbush and Greg Phillinganes all contribute their talents but the impending break-up of the group lingers over the whole production like a dark cloud.
    1983 brought an end to Rufus and Chaka. It had been a wonderful decade of music. Chaka's own career was in full swing, and the various band members of Rufus had been off pursuing their own careers. David "Hawk" Wolinski continued his writing and producing for such artists as Stephanie Mills, Jeffrey Osborne and Glenn Jones. Andre Fischer continued producing for ex-wife Natalie Cole, Lalah Hathaway and Gladys Knight, to mention a few. Guitarist Tony Maiden did studio sessions for Patti Austin, Sheena Easton and hundreds of others. Kevin Murphey went on to record and tour with Gary Lakes. And bassist Bobby Watson retired to moderate session work with the likes of Patti Austin and Michael Jackson. The groups last album was "Stompin' At The Savoy." It featured three long-overdue sides from a solid set of live performances. Side four was studio recordings which included their last two hits "Ain't Nobody" and "One Million Kisses." Unlike most groups who end with out a hit, Rufus and Chaka ended with a double bang.
    Chaka's own career however continued on a strong course. Her sophmore release was the 1980 smash "Naughty." It contained three 12" singles. The first was the dance floor killer "Clouds" complete with rain and thunder effects. The second was "Papillon (Hot Butterfly)" a semi-classic originally by Luther Vandross under the banner of Bionic Boogie. Once Khan wrapped her chords around it the song was hers, it'll forever be thought of as her masterpiece. The third release was "Get Ready, Get Set." A down tempo early morning favorite of many of the after-hours clubs. Other tracks such as Ashford and Simpson's "Our Love's In Danger" or Chaka's own "What You Did" show off her versatility and "Move Me No Mountain" and "Nothing's Gonna Take You Away" become memorable in her hands. A classic album indeed!
    As a vocalist, Khan is the one of the very few who often doesn't need great material to prosper. Thankfully on 1981's "What Cha' Gonna Do For Me," that isn't the case. The cover of "We Can Work It Out" and the melodic title track has Khan's patented mix of sexiness and intelligent phrasing. "I Know You, I Live You," displays the brilliant bass and drum team of Anthony Jackson and Steve Ferrone, their pounding yet refined sound is also on "We've Got Each Other," a hooky and propulsive duet with Khan's brother Mark Stevens. The ambitious and much loved "And The Melody Still Lingers On (Night In Tunisia)" had Mardin and Khan creating pithy lyrics that paid homage to '40s jazz legends as well as all other subsequent musical geniuses. The track features a clavitar solo from Herbie Hancock, Dizzy Gillespie, and an "excerpted" solo break from Charlie Parker. Throughout "What Cha' Gonna Do For Me," Mardin seems to get amazing vocals from Khan and it certainly seems like he had fun playing with her voice.
    1982 was a prolific year for Chaka. First came her fourth solo effort entitled simply "Chaka Khan." Many will remember it for her 12" single club hit "Tearin' It Up" or "Got To Be There" which reached number five on the R&B charts, but it actually wasn't the album's high point. That was the marvelous "Be Bop Medley." The medley consisted of "Hot House"/"East Of Suez"/"Epistrophy"/"Yardbird Suite"/"Con Alma"/"Giant Steps" which later led hardcore jazz purist Betty Carter to proclaim Khan the one female singer working outside the jazz arena with legitimate improvising credentials. It also gave many a taste of another side of her artistry that had been buried under R&B, soul and disco tracks for years. It showed that no matter what the style of music Chaka could tackle it and serve it up with the best of them. Although a great album, Warner Bros. with their heads up their ass, have never issued it on compact disc.
    Next soul goddess Khan did the unexpected when she recorded the excellent, straight-ahead jazz album "Echoes Of An Era." Joined by Joe Henderson on tenor sax, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet and flugelhorn, Chick Corea on acoustic piano, Stanley Clarke on upright bass, and Lenny White on drums, Khan demonstrates that she is quite capable of handling hard bop and straight-ahead jazz. With White producing and Corea handling the arrangements, the singer swings aggressively and really soars on Thelonious Monk's "I Mean You" and Duke Ellington's "Take The A Train" as well as on "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most," "All Of Me," and "I Love You Porgy." In fact, Khan's jazz singing is so strong that one cannot help but wonder what would have happened if jazz had been her dominant direction instead of R&B.
    When Chaka Khan recorded her fifth solo album, "I Feel For You," in 1984, she knew that R&B had changed a lot since the 1970's. But Chaka Khan had no problem keeping up with the times. That is true of up-tempo items like "Love Is Alive" (an interesting remake of Gary Wright's 1976 hit) and "La Flamme," as well as the ballad "Through The Fire," which was a big hit on urban radio but crossed over to adult contemporary stations in a major way. "This Is My Night" (which was written and produced by the System) also became an urban radio hit, but the album is best known for Khan's unlikely remake of Prince's "I Feel For You." When Prince first recorded "I Feel For You" in 1979, it wasn't a hit; Khan's version, however, soared to number one on Billboard's R&B singles chart. Excellent from start to finish, this album went down in history as both a creative and a commercial success.
    Many people were surprised to hear how rock-minded much of 1986's "Destiny" was. While some of the material is straight R&B/dance (including the 12" singles of "Tight Fit" and the exuberant "Love Of A Lifetime"), Khan successfully combines R&B and rock elements on "My Destiny" and "Who's It Gonna Be." And some of the tunes are really more pop/rock than R&B, including "Watching The World," "The Other Side Of The World," and "So Close." As much as "Destiny" has going for it, the album isn't without its shortcomings. For instance what was Chaka thinking when she recorded and released (as a 12" no less!) "Earth To Mickey"? The post-bop jazz offering "Coltrane Dreams" is too brief for its own good. The piece ends up sounding undeveloped, which is quite frustrating because Khan can be a great jazz singer when she puts her mind to it. But while "Destiny" isn't perfect, the album has many more plusses than minuses.
    1988's "C.K." was a first-class release, despite the fact that it didn't pack the normal commercial punch. But it had excellent production values, many outstanding selections, and uniformly dazzling, booming, triumphant vocals from Khan. The 12" of "It's My Party" was played in the more adventurous clubs and had minor radio impact. The album also featured excellent covers of "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" and "I'll Be Around." Strikingly beautiful cuts such as "The End Of A Love Affair" and "Baby Me" round out the album. Despite the overall quality the album and compact disc surfaced in the cut-out bins rather quickly. However it's sales were good, mainly based off of her name and her prior year's success.
    In lieu of a traditional greatest hits package Warner Bros. opted to bring in the top remixers of the day to re-fashion her hits for retreading on the dance floor. 1989's "Life Is A Dance: The Remix Project" was a two-record set that exploded on the club scene. Remixers Danny D., Paul Simpson, Winston Jones, Cole & Clivilles, David Morales, and Frankie Knuckles breathe fresh life into all her club hits. A 12" single of "I'm Every Woman" was released with additional remixes and dubs to help promote the album. Of the eleven tracks the standout remixes were "I'm Every Woman," "One Million Kisses" and "Clouds." A must have for every Chaka fan and those with a casual interest in a legend.
    Next came 1992's "Woman I Am." During the early to mid 1990's many of the great soul singers of the 1970's were struggling. Chaka Khan's popularity had decreased, but she was better off than some, at least she still had a record deal. Although not in a class with her earlier solo releases, this is a solid and commendable offering that fans of the singer shouldn't overlook. The 12" single "Love You All My Lifetime" proves that despite her waning popularity she could still garner a club hit.
     1996's "Epiphany: Best of Chaka Khan, Vol. 1" was a long-overdue collection of Khan's greatest hits, ranging from "Ain't Nobody" and "I'm Every Woman" to "I Feel for You." Though Rufus' mid-1970's hits for ABC aren't included, all of her big hits for Warner are present. What nearly sinks the collection is the addition of no less than five new songs, including the Me'Shell Ndegeocello duet "Never Miss The Water," which aren't nearly as strong as the original hits.
     Criminally overlooked upon its release, 1998 saw Chaka Khan shine on "Come 2 My House." This album is thanks largely to the work of Prince, whose voice, words, and musicianship permeate the record all the way down to the colorful packaging. In fact, compared with "New Power Soul," his own lackluster release that year, "Come 2 My House" and Graham Central Station's "2000," also from the Prince camp, should count as the real Prince albums of 1998.
     For the longtime fan of both Khan and Prince, maturing through the years, this is music that delights both in its familiarity and consistency. Amidst the midtempo groove of "Spoon," Chaka Khan concurs: "U are just like my favorite spoon/cuz U stir me up." "House" will stir up anyone delighted by these pros in the past. What might have been rather mundane Prince songs about the usual subjects shimmer in the throat of Chaka Khan and she proves once again that she is one of the finest singers to ever grace a record.
     In 2003 she received her 8th Grammy Award for her version of "What's Going On" from the documentary "Standing In The Shadows Of Motown." It was also her 18th nomination.
     Though she hasn't released a full album in several years she is no doubt going to thrill us any day now with another unexpected release. For a talent like hers always endures and can never be kept down for long.
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