By shelz.
When I was a small child, my mom’s youngest sister spent all the time she was saddled with babysitting me playing music. I used up hours staring into Funkadelic album covers as the hits kept coming. From Norman Connors to Donna Summer we covered the spectrum from jazz to disco. But there was lots of Funk. We listened to Confunkshun, Sly and The Family Stone and hours of Rufus.
Rufus’ lead singer was this little woman with huge hair and an even bigger voice. It was lush and booming and she filled up the room with talk of love and parties and heartbreak.
Chaka Khan was amazingly talented, but still came across as an around the way girl. She wasn’t all glammed out and unapproachable, she looked like us with her crop tops and devil may care kinks. But when that lady started to sing, she became otherworldly. None of us could do that.
Well, her career has bobbed and weaved. Her voice has, at times, taken a backseat to a messy personal life, but she’s still Chaka. She has played muse to the pens of songwriters for decades and she has bridged generations of musicians. Stevie gave her her first real hit, she in turn gave Kanye his.
It’s Chaka’s birthday and I’m sure many of us are just glad we got to listen. Happy birthday lady and many more.
Rufus – Tell Me Something Good
Follow shelz. on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/shelzp
Follow Us on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/planetill
Join Us on the Planet Ill Facebook Group for more discussion
Follow us on Networked Blogs
One thought on “Ain’t Nobody Sings It Better: Happy Birthday Chaka Khan”