Jazzica Souland
20h ·
JFSR would like to wish singer, songwriter and drummer Yvette Marie Stevens a very happy 70th birthday. She was born in 1953, into an artistic, bohemian household in Chicago. The eldest of five children born to Charles Stevens and Sandra Coleman, she has described her father as a beatnik and her mother as "able to do anything". She was raised in the Hyde Park area, "an island in the middle of the madness" of Chicago's rough South Side housing projects. Her sister Yvonne later became a successful musician in her own right, under the name Taka Boom. Her only brother, Mark, who formed the funk group Jamaica Boys and was a member of Aurra, also became a successful musician.
Chaka attributed her love of music to her grandmother, who introduced her to jazz as a child. She became a fan of rhythm and blues music as a preteen and at eleven formed a girl group, the Crystalettes, which included her sister Taka. In the late 1960s, Chaka attended several civil rights rallies with her father's second wife, Connie, a strong supporter of the movement, and joined the Black Panther Party after befriending a fellow member, activist and Chicago native Fred Hampton in 1967. Though many think that she was given the name Chaka while in the Panthers, she has made it clear that her name Chaka Adunne Aduffe Hodarhi Karifi was given to her at age 13 by a Yoruba Babalawo. In 1969, she left the Panthers and dropped out of high school to perform in small groups around the Chicago area, first with Cash McCall's group Lyfe, which included her then-boyfriend Hassan Khan who she married in 1970.
She was asked to replace Baby Huey of Baby Huey & the Babysitters after Huey's death in 1970 and whilst performing in local bands in 1972 she was spotted by two members of a new group called Rufus and soon won her position in the group, replacing her good friend Paulette McWilliams, who had recently left. The group caught the attention of musician Ike Turner who flew them out to Los Angeles to record at his studio Bolic Sound in California. She declined Ike's invitation to become an Ikette stating she was "really happy with Rufus and in 1973 they signed with ABC Records and released their eponymous debut album. Despite their fiery rendition of Stevie Wonder's "Maybe Your Baby" from Wonder's acclaimed Talking Book and the modest success of the Chaka-led ballad "Whoever's Thrilling You (Is Killing Me)", the album failed to gain attention. That changed when Wonder himself collaborated with the group on a song he had written for her. That song, "Tell Me Something Good", became the group's breakthrough hit, reaching No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974, later winning the group their first Grammy Award. The single's success and the subsequent follow-up, "You Got the Love", which peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the R&B chart, helped their second parent album, Rags to Rufus, go platinum, selling over a million copies. From 1974 to 1979, Rufus released six platinum-selling albums including Rufusized, Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan, Ask Rufus, Street Player and Masterjam. Hits the group scored during this time included "Once You Get Started", "Sweet Thing", "Hollywood", "At Midnight (My Love Will Lift You Up)", and "Do You Love What You Feel".
The band also gained a reputation as a live performing act, with Chaka becoming the star attraction, thanks to her powerful vocals and stage attire—which sometimes included Native American garb and showing her midriff. Most of the band's material was written and produced by the band itself with few exceptions. Chaka has also been noted for being an instrumentalist playing drums and bass; she also provided percussion during her tenure with Rufus. Most of her compositions were collaborations with guitarist Tony Maiden. Relations between Chaka and the group, particularly between her and drummer Andre Fischer, became stormy. Several members left with nearly every release. While Chaka remained in the group, she signed a solo contract with Warner Bros. Records in 1978. Busy at work on solo material, Rufus released three albums without her participation including 1979's Numbers, 1980's Party 'Til You're Broke, and 1983's Seal in Red.
Her solo debut album released in 1978 featured the hit, "I'm Every Woman", written for her by Ashford & Simpson. The success of the single helped the album go platinum, selling over a million copies, she also featured on Quincy Jones's hit "Stuff Like That", the same year.
In 1979, Chaka reunited with Rufus to collaborate on the Jones-produced Masterjam, which featured their hit "Do You Love What You Feel", which saw her sing with Tony Maiden, despite her sometimes-acrimonious relationship they have maintained a friendship over the years. In 1979. she also dueted with Ry Cooder on his album Bop Till You Drop. That year, she spent time working on her producing and writing skills at Ike Turner's Bolic Sound studio and they had planned to record together. In 1980, she released her second solo album, Naughty, yielding hits "Clouds" and "Papillon".
1981 saw two albums, the Rufus release, Camouflage and the solo album What Cha' Gonna Do for Me. The latter album went gold. In 1982, Chaka issued two more solo albums, the jazz-oriented Echoes of an Era and a more funk/pop-oriented self-titled album Chaka Khan. The latter album's track, the jazz-inflected "Be Bop Medley", won her a Grammy and earned praise from jazz singer Betty Carter who loved Chaka's vocal scatting in the song.
In 1983, Chaka returned with Rufus on a live album, Stompin' at the Savoy - Live, which featured the studio single, "Ain't Nobody", becoming the group's final charting success reaching No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number-one on the Hot R&B chart, while also reaching the top ten in the U.K. Following this release, Rufus separated for good.
In 1984, Chaka released her sixth studio album, I Feel for You. The title track, the first single released, was originally written and recorded by Prince in 1979 and had also been recorded by The Pointer Sisters and Rebbie Jackson. Chaka's version featured harmonica solo by Stevie Wonder and an introductory rap by Grandmaster Melle Mel. It became a million-selling smash in the U.S. and U.K. and helped to relaunch her career. "I Feel for You" topped not only the U.S. R&B and dance charts, but achieved great success on the U.S. pop chart and reached No. 1 in the U.K. The song reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1984 and remained on that chart for 26 weeks, well into 1985. Additionally, it hit No. 1 on the Cash Box chart. It was listed as Billboard′s No. 5 song for 1985 and netted Prince the 1985 Grammy Award for Best R&B Song. In addition to the song's successful radio airplay and sales, a music video with breakdancers in an inner-city setting enjoyed heavy rotation on television and helped to solidify her notoriety in popular culture. Other singles that helped the album go platinum included "This is My Night" and the ballad "Through the Fire", the latter of which was also successful on the adult contemporary chart. Following up the success of the I Feel For You album with 1986's Destiny and 1988's CK, Chaka found more success in the late 1980s with a remix album, Life Is a Dance: The Remix Project, which reached the top ten on the British albums chart. As a result, she performs regularly in the U.K., where she has maintained a strong fan base.
In 1990, she was a featured performer on another major hit when she collaborated with Ray Charles and Quincy Jones on a new jack swing cover of The Brothers Johnson's "I'll Be Good to You", which was featured on Jones's Back on the Block. The song reached No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the R&B chart, later winning her and Ray Charles a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance By a Duo or Group. She returned with her first studio album in four years in 1992 with the release of The Woman I Am, which was a success due to the songs "Love You All My Lifetime" and "You Can Make the Story Right".
She has also contributed to soundtracks including 1995's "My Funny Valentine", for the Waiting to Exhale film. In 1996, following the release of her greatest-hits album, Epiphany: The Best of Chaka Khan, Vol. 1, she abruptly left Warner Bros. after stating the label had neglected her and failed to release Dare You to Love Me album.
In 1998, she signed a contract with Prince's NPG Records label and issued Come 2 My House, followed by the single "Don't Talk 2 Strangers", a cover of a 1996 Prince song. She later went on a tour with Prince as a co-headlining act. In 2000, she departed NPG and she released her autobiography Chaka! Through The Fire in 2003. The following year she released her first jazz covers album in twenty-two years with 2004's ClassiKhan. She also covered "Little Wing" with Kenny Olson on the album Power of Soul: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix.
2006, saw her feature on Arif Mardin's All My Friends Are Here album of his life's work, also appearing in the companion documentary The Greatest Ears In Town. She performed a jazz vocal for "So Blue", composed by Mardin in the '60s with lyrics written for the project by Roxanne Seeman.
After signing with Burgundy Records, she released what many critics called a "comeback album" with Funk This, produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis & Big Jim Wright. The album featured the hit, "Angel", and the Mary J. Blige duet, "Disrespectful". The latter track went to No. 1 on the U.S. dance singles chart, winning the singers a Grammy Award, while Funk This also won a Grammy for Best R&B Album. The album was also notable for her covers of Dee Dee Warwick's "Foolish Fool" and Prince's "Sign o' the Times". In 2008, she took part in the Broadway adaptation of The Color Purple playing Ms. Sofia to Fantasia Barrino's Celie.
In 2018 she released a new single"Like Sugar" which is included on her 2019 album Hello Happiness her first album in 12 years. And bringing us right up to date her latest single "Woman Like Me" was released at the end of July 2022.
https://youtu.be/oDWEH2GTnBQ
