Nile Rodgers explains why Jeff Beck was a “unique individual”
Chic leader Nile Rodgers is inextricably linked to the disco genre. This affinity is primarily due to the pioneering gravity of his work alongside late bandmate Bernard Edwards, a partnership which ultimately drove the form forward off the back of hits such as ‘Le Freak’ and ‘Everybody Dance’.
Yet, despite his success in the field of disco, Rodgers is also closely tied to rock music, a genre he was deeply ensconced in when he was a young hippie growing up in 1960s New York City. Demonstrating this, Rodgers listed The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and The Doors as some of his favourite artists when appearing on BBC Radio 4’s flagship programme, Desert Island Discs, in 2018.
Discussing The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s 1967 debut album Are You Experienced, the Chic leader labelled the record as “the most important piece of music to me of all time, for about two or three weeks, but it’s still cool. The lyrics, and the way he played, this really made me who I am.”
Outside of being a fan of rock music, Rodgers has also had a direct hand in bringing the genre to life, which includes working with heavyweights such as Mick Jagger, David Bowie and Eric Clapton. In 1985, he also worked as a producer on former Yardbirds guitarist Jeff Beck’s fifth studio album, Flash, a record which saw heroes such as Rod Stewart, Carmine Appice, and Jan Hammer lend their talents.
When speaking to Metal Express Radio in 2009, Rodgers reflected on working with Jeff Beck. He was asked if it was ever a challenge telling the Londoner how he wanted something played, given his position as one of the all-time great guitarists. Rodgers provided an extensive account, labelling Beck one of his “favourite guitar players” and a “unique individual”.
He said: “Jeff is one of my personal favourite guitar players of all time. I don’t know anybody that plays guitar like Jeff Beck. He’s a unique individual. He just sounds like Jeff Beck and no one else. One of my favourite periods in Rock is the Jeff Beck Group. I didn’t understand that Rod Stewart had shifted into the style of the Rod Stewart that we all know now. I was superimposing my romanticism of the Jeff Beck Group onto my work with Jeff; I really wanted that record to be like the Jeff Beck Group. Now this sounds like a Spinal Tap moment, but it’s true.”
Rodgers continued: “I wanted to make a great Jeff Beck Group with Rod Stewart Rock record, and he walked into the studio with the soundtrack to Chariots of Fire, and he played it to me, and he said, ‘Nile, I want to make a record that sounds like that!!’ I said to him, ‘Are you kidding me? I have to go to the record company and tell them that we are going to cover Chariots of Fire?’ So I wrote some songs with him and did one single, ‘People Get Ready’. That wasn’t exactly what I wanted to write, but I was trying to rescue the project and get him to try something different. He was dead serious though, he wanted to make a record like Chariot’s of Fire.“
Listen to Flash below.
