Chic

• Genre: Disco
• Hometown: New York

About

Chic embodied all the best of the vacuous but ritzy skyscraper-dwelling, cocaine-snorting, designer-jeans-wearing disco scene of the late 1970s. Their music was as sleek, sexy, streamlined and sophisticated as Brooke Shields rolling around in a pair of Calvin Kleins. Nile Rodgers' trendsetting rhythm guitar work provided the band's funky foundation -- his invigorating musicianship alone could get you moving. They had a string of super hits, starting with 1977's "Dance, Dance, Dance." Their song "Good Times" was the basis for the Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight," and Chic were major players in the entire Disco movement. Rodgers and bassist Bernard Edwards produced acres of artists like Sister Sledge and Diana Ross, and when Disco died Rodgers moved on to producing hits for Debbie Harry, David Bowie and Madonna. If you like your dance music extra funky and gritty, check out 1999's Live at Budokan. It replaces their studio chill with enough heat to keep your joints juiced all night long.

- NDEDINA