For anyone interested in the “how I got here,” my look at The American Breed pointed me toward Rufus – or Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan. Because that’s how things worked out for the most part.
“The thing back then was to have a white band with a black chick out front – that was major money, made the club owners interested. Another racist phase that passed through Chicago.”
- Chaka Khan, providing quality framing
Rufus formed in Chicago, circa 1970, with several members of The American Breed - e.g., Charles “Chuck” Colbert (bass), Lee Graziano (drums), brought in Kevin Murphy (keys), Paulette McWilliams (vocals) - pulling in members of Chicago bar-band, Circus, e.g., James Stella and Vern Pilder. Now, forget all those names because, apart from Murphy, no other member stuck with Rufus from start-to-finish. Only Chaka Khan came close; then again, her (probably wise and necessary) decision to go solo probably broke the band.
After losing members here and gaining them there, plus a couple name changes (they started as “Smoke”), the band attempted to launch of “Ask Rufus” a nod to an advice column in a trade mag of the same name, Mechanics Illustrated. They became Rufus by 1971, and even recorded a lost debut for Epic Records, but didn’t truly hit their stride until McWilliams made room for her friend, Yvette Marie Stevens, who became Chaka Khan. Stevens picked up Chaka through a naming ceremony at the Affro-Arts theater in Chicago (her mother was active there), and picked up the surname Khan when she married Hassan Khan, while still 17, so she could sign the recording contract her mother refused to sign for her. (Chaka Khan had a chaotic childhood in a stable setting, including sometime with the Black Panthers).
While the charismatic shadow cast by Chaka Khan grew quickly - their label pushed them as Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan as early as their second album - they made their name on the 1972-1975 line-up of Khan on vocals, Al Ciner on guitar, Murphy and Ron Stockett on keyboards, Dennis Belfield on bass and Andre Fischer on drums. They didn’t have to shop demos for long before ABC Dunhill offered them a contract; Ike Turner caught wind of them all the way out in Los Angeles, and invited them out to record at his studio (where he could try to talk Khan into becoming an “Ikette”). Their 1973 eponymous debut didn’t go anywhere, but the power and potential of Chaka Khan’s vocals inspired Stevie Wonder to write songs for her (“Tell Me Something Good” was the first and biggest), and their follow-up album, 1974’s Rags to Rufus, blew all the way up to platinum (“You Got the Love” was the other big single). Rufusized followed in 1974 and, on the back of “Once You Get Started,” “I’m a Woman (I'm a Backbone)” and others, that went platinum too.
While everything that came out of the studio turned gold once it left door, tensions flared up between band members on the regular. They came to the loudest, ugliest head when Fischer got into a brawl with Khan’s second husband, Richard Holland (Khan joined in, spectacularly: “She went upside Andre’s head with a Courvoisier bottle!”), but there was enough stress, drugs, alcohol and envy for three bands by most accounts. In fairness to the rest of the band, most of the low-hanging material/perspective comes from Chaka Khan, but, 1) she gives tremendous interviews (even back in the day; that’s from 1980); and 2) same as it ever was, when you get down to it...
Khan's decision to go solo in 1978 effectively doomed the band, even if it limped along for several years thereafter due to contractual obligations. That not only increased tensions within the band - she recorded her vocals to a “click track” on their final studio album - but it set up uncomfortably direct competitions, as when Chaka Khan’s solo debut outsold Rufus’ Street Player in 1978. Fortunately, when the band decided to record their final farewell concert, which Warner Bros. filmed for a documentary (they never really released) called Stompin’ at the Savoy, the remaining members of Rufus invited Chaka Khan to join them. She not only accepted, but helped them put together the last mega-hit of Rufus’ career, 1983’s “Ain’t Nobody,” brought to the masses by the grace of the Breakin’ soundtrack.
Now…guess that means I’ve got to cover Chaka Khan’s solo career at some point…
About the Sampler
I named several up above, but most of what I selected came off of Rufusized and (a name that must have stung a bit) 1975’s Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan. (I didn’t spend enough time on 1977’s Ask Rufus, and only used it as a visual for the way the band worked.) I did pull in a couple more of their hits - e.g., “Have a Good Time” (party-town, baby) and the butter-smooth “Jive Talkin’” - while also including some long-time favorites from the last time I looked into Rufus - e.g., “Maybe Your Baby” from that generally ignored 1973 debut and, personal favorite/strong candidate for my funeral playlist, “Walkin’ in the Sun.”
It’s pretty much a grab-bag from there, songs that caught my ear for this reason or that as I (frankly) rushed this thing to press (begging your indulgence, but I’m trying to return to regular, new production ASAP). Those include, in no particular order: “Your Smile,” and “Half Moon” (from Rufusized), “I Got the Right Street (But the Wrong Direction),” and “Ain’t Nothin’ But a Maybe” (Rags to Rufus), and “Fool’s Paradise,” “Ooh I Like Your Loving,” and “On Time” (Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan).
Last, and sorta least (because I didn’t give it enough time), “Any Love” from 1979’s twilight-of-their-career album, Master Jam rounds out the sampler. Enjoy! (Because there are some great, great songs on this one.)
“The thing back then was to have a white band with a black chick out front – that was major money, made the club owners interested. Another racist phase that passed through Chicago.”
- Chaka Khan, providing quality framing
Rufus formed in Chicago, circa 1970, with several members of The American Breed - e.g., Charles “Chuck” Colbert (bass), Lee Graziano (drums), brought in Kevin Murphy (keys), Paulette McWilliams (vocals) - pulling in members of Chicago bar-band, Circus, e.g., James Stella and Vern Pilder. Now, forget all those names because, apart from Murphy, no other member stuck with Rufus from start-to-finish. Only Chaka Khan came close; then again, her (probably wise and necessary) decision to go solo probably broke the band.
After losing members here and gaining them there, plus a couple name changes (they started as “Smoke”), the band attempted to launch of “Ask Rufus” a nod to an advice column in a trade mag of the same name, Mechanics Illustrated. They became Rufus by 1971, and even recorded a lost debut for Epic Records, but didn’t truly hit their stride until McWilliams made room for her friend, Yvette Marie Stevens, who became Chaka Khan. Stevens picked up Chaka through a naming ceremony at the Affro-Arts theater in Chicago (her mother was active there), and picked up the surname Khan when she married Hassan Khan, while still 17, so she could sign the recording contract her mother refused to sign for her. (Chaka Khan had a chaotic childhood in a stable setting, including sometime with the Black Panthers).
While the charismatic shadow cast by Chaka Khan grew quickly - their label pushed them as Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan as early as their second album - they made their name on the 1972-1975 line-up of Khan on vocals, Al Ciner on guitar, Murphy and Ron Stockett on keyboards, Dennis Belfield on bass and Andre Fischer on drums. They didn’t have to shop demos for long before ABC Dunhill offered them a contract; Ike Turner caught wind of them all the way out in Los Angeles, and invited them out to record at his studio (where he could try to talk Khan into becoming an “Ikette”). Their 1973 eponymous debut didn’t go anywhere, but the power and potential of Chaka Khan’s vocals inspired Stevie Wonder to write songs for her (“Tell Me Something Good” was the first and biggest), and their follow-up album, 1974’s Rags to Rufus, blew all the way up to platinum (“You Got the Love” was the other big single). Rufusized followed in 1974 and, on the back of “Once You Get Started,” “I’m a Woman (I'm a Backbone)” and others, that went platinum too.
While everything that came out of the studio turned gold once it left door, tensions flared up between band members on the regular. They came to the loudest, ugliest head when Fischer got into a brawl with Khan’s second husband, Richard Holland (Khan joined in, spectacularly: “She went upside Andre’s head with a Courvoisier bottle!”), but there was enough stress, drugs, alcohol and envy for three bands by most accounts. In fairness to the rest of the band, most of the low-hanging material/perspective comes from Chaka Khan, but, 1) she gives tremendous interviews (even back in the day; that’s from 1980); and 2) same as it ever was, when you get down to it...
Khan's decision to go solo in 1978 effectively doomed the band, even if it limped along for several years thereafter due to contractual obligations. That not only increased tensions within the band - she recorded her vocals to a “click track” on their final studio album - but it set up uncomfortably direct competitions, as when Chaka Khan’s solo debut outsold Rufus’ Street Player in 1978. Fortunately, when the band decided to record their final farewell concert, which Warner Bros. filmed for a documentary (they never really released) called Stompin’ at the Savoy, the remaining members of Rufus invited Chaka Khan to join them. She not only accepted, but helped them put together the last mega-hit of Rufus’ career, 1983’s “Ain’t Nobody,” brought to the masses by the grace of the Breakin’ soundtrack.
Now…guess that means I’ve got to cover Chaka Khan’s solo career at some point…
About the Sampler
I named several up above, but most of what I selected came off of Rufusized and (a name that must have stung a bit) 1975’s Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan. (I didn’t spend enough time on 1977’s Ask Rufus, and only used it as a visual for the way the band worked.) I did pull in a couple more of their hits - e.g., “Have a Good Time” (party-town, baby) and the butter-smooth “Jive Talkin’” - while also including some long-time favorites from the last time I looked into Rufus - e.g., “Maybe Your Baby” from that generally ignored 1973 debut and, personal favorite/strong candidate for my funeral playlist, “Walkin’ in the Sun.”
It’s pretty much a grab-bag from there, songs that caught my ear for this reason or that as I (frankly) rushed this thing to press (begging your indulgence, but I’m trying to return to regular, new production ASAP). Those include, in no particular order: “Your Smile,” and “Half Moon” (from Rufusized), “I Got the Right Street (But the Wrong Direction),” and “Ain’t Nothin’ But a Maybe” (Rags to Rufus), and “Fool’s Paradise,” “Ooh I Like Your Loving,” and “On Time” (Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan).
Last, and sorta least (because I didn’t give it enough time), “Any Love” from 1979’s twilight-of-their-career album, Master Jam rounds out the sampler. Enjoy! (Because there are some great, great songs on this one.)
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