Nile Rodgers Tells The Story of "Let's Dance" | Fender Artist Check-In | Fender
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- Опубликовано: 21 июн 2020
- Nile Rodgers invites fans into his home studio to tell the story of how he and David Bowie worked together to write the iconic riff for Bowie's "Let's Dance."
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Nile Rodgers Tells The Story of "Let's Dance" | Fender Artist Check-In | Fender
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Did anyone else get chills when the delay kicked in!? Forever a legend
Yep!!! Gotta admit I got them chills...Niles is a legend 🤘
I didn’t even recognize what song he was playing until the delay. Then it was as plain as day
Oh yes when the delay kicked I heard the song...genuis guitar work. Backed by a stellar bass line
@@stelloyd4266 .
TOTAL CHILLS!! right away. What a cool story behind such piercing recognizable riff
Fun fact: When Nile had completed the drums and presented the track to David, Nile asked him "Have I made it too funky?"
Bowie replied "Is there such a thing, Nile?"
"Nile, Darling. Is there such a thing??"
BEST RESPONSE EVER!😂❤
Every Guitarist should study Nile Rodgers....master of funk, dance riff.
Simply a true virtuous dude.
one of the reasons he's so good is because he understands jazz and plays a lot of jazz chords, he just plays them in a funky modern way that they sneak through the radar and make it on to pop records.
This guys is one of the greatest session musicians to ever live. Has Fender done a signature strat for him yet?
Not a signature model but a custom shop model
@@jahazielmuniz2677 2014 Hitmaker custom shop.
A new Hitmaker Strat has just been released.
YES AND IT HAS THE STUPID CBS HEADSTOCK....
@@motofish312 I don’t mind the look of the CBS headstock at all, but the three neck bolts are a problem, and I don’t like the shape of the cbs neck which I’m assuming it has.
If you want “an album of hits” then you can do no better than hiring Nile Rodgers to produce it. It also didn’t hurt having Stevie Ray Vaughan play lead guitar. When I first heard the song, it was the guitar solo that really struck me, and I had no idea who SRV was yet!
Amen to that, brother! Bowie basically launched SRV into the big time after the nitwits at the Montreaux festival booed SRV off the stage... joke was on them!
Yeah, I can't believe he just told that whole story and left Stevie Ray Vaughan out of the mix.
Been listening to this song for what... almost 40 years?
& I only found out about SRV just now.
@@cactuscanuck6802 But every star of the show came to SRV late night show. Because they're all fans of da' Blues baby. And knew they were seeing a great player emerging.
@@swaggercat it was never SVR best solo recorded. It was pretty toned down. Because he really wasn't into being a Bowey sideman.
Let’s Dance is an other worldly kind of funk. It merges a blues thing, a funk thing and a pop thing. It was a hit almost 40 yrs ago & it still can straight CRASH a dance floor. I came here after watching Nile Rodgers on NPR’s Tiny Desk.
I could watch this stuff all day everyday. The evolution of a song is fascinating!
I swear I was just thinking of commenting the same exact you've text
Agreed. This guy just has a feel and he really does interesting stuff. Responsible for so much great music.
There's another vid here on RUclips where Bowie's guitarists talk about writing with him, it's longer and has Nile and a couple of other guitarists in it. You should look for it if you liked this. I can't remember the title but if I come across it I'll come back and edit a link into this post.
@@GeriDoc8 Yeah, think about all the big hits from back in the day where every artist did a version. It's interesting to listen to different versions of basically the same song and try to work out why one version was a big hit and others weren't. A good example is Harper Valley PTA. The famous hit version is just one of several that were released at the time and I've listened to several of the other versions and they just didn't have "it". Basically the same song, just with different players and producers and one version crackles and the others are just "meh".
A lot of hits that are covers of older songs are like that too. Like Without You (the Badfinger song). Their original version (according to Wiki) wasn't even released as a single in the US or Europe but Harry Nilson's ballad version of it was a monster hit.
It's just interesting how songs can evolve or change from "OK-ish" to hits when different people work on them.
Yeah, Nile wrote the guitar riff for this song. Bowie just provided him with a seed. Great story and Stevie Ray was a great addition to Bowie's sound as well.
In an interview with a guitar magazine, SRV said that he was blown away by Bowie's star status and couldn't feel the song, and was thinking, "what am I gonna do?" and so he thought, "I know, I'll play some Albert King licks, Albert King goes with anything!" And so when Bowie heard it, he loved it, and said it was just what he was looking for.
And then "Let's Dance" became a big hit, and Albert King was listening, and he was thinking, "Who's this young guy, making a big hit record playin' my shit?" And the next time SRV saw Albert King, he copped to it. That was the start of his brilliant career.
Why is Hitmaker such a great sounding guitar? Because of the dude playing it.
True.
He can probably make a Hello Kitty guitar sound brilliant
@@stitchbiatch3715 Indeed. I've seen demonstrations of just that kind of thing with guitarists and drummers. It's 95 percent skill and talent and 5 percent equipment.
Amen!!!
Players make guitars. Guitars don't make players
Bowie, Nile, Omar, Carmine, SRV. That seems to be an awesome session...
All true..but Omar Hakim was not the only drummer on the album...what about the awesome powerful Tony Thompson ?...he was a monster and his work on the Let's Dance Tour is fantastic.
Nile is not only a genius but one of the coolest cats on the planet. 5-star human being. his music is the soundtrack of my early youth. THANK YOU NILE RODGERS
I'm in my, uh, "later" 50s, and the music of my entire life - Mr. Rodgers left his mark on it. Just a legend and awesome man to hear tell his stories.
The chords Bowie came in with sounded like Heroes. Unbelievable what Nile made out of that simple idea.
Bowies previous albums all had some folksy songs. I have to believe Nile was the perfect choice to guide Bowie from Scary Monsters "Fashion" to Lets Dances "Putting Out Fire". Two different expressions of jazz rock with funky breaks.
Thanks, Nile. Your talent gave us so many classics! Loved his work with Duran Duran on their NOTORIOUS album as well.
He also did their early stuff.
*Nile deserves a documentary on your channel!*
Nile you are one of the remaining great ones still among us. God bless you my Brother and thank you for touching Our Lives..
How can anyone not like this guy? Living legend that is masterful at his craft.
Nile Rodgers is a musical genius, and his guitar playing is brilliant.
Powerhouse of visual and sensory class! Nile Rogers is to funk / disco what The River Nile is to Egypt ! - it's lifeline..
Now this is what it means to be a true composer!!! Oh, my god, that's pure genius. Its no wonder its in my top two Bowie songs. Brilliant work!!!
Nile, you have got to be the most unpretentious Producer, Musician, Writer, ever. Great video! Love all of your work, and really enjoy the stories.
Nile..you took Bowie, Duran Duran and so many other bands to the NEXT LEVEL back in the 80s..you're so awesome!!!
Bowie 1970s = Ziggy Stardust, Hunky Dory, Low, Heroes, Young Americans, Station to Station, the Man who Sold the World, Diamond Dogs, Aladdin Sane, Lodger, 1969 Space Oddity, 1980 Scary Monsters.... All absolute classics recorded in an 11 year period,,,, Let´s Dance is a nice pop album. The other 3 Bowie albums from the 80s are NOT very good..... Bowie himself said his 80s work was basically rubbish and certainly a sell out... Nile Rodgers IS great though, but no way did he bring Bowie to the "next level".. Rodgers helped him make one nice pop album :)
That's why Milwaukee Musicians Love NILE 👊🏾
Hey Fender, you give Nile Rodgers only 5:40 mins, shame on you, far too short.
That is RUclips
The explanation was cogent. The craftsman spoke.
What a guy, a huuuuge part of contempary music who leaves his mark wherever he goes.
@@ethanhill9460 I think Niles is so cool and talented 5 minutes is just enough for us to get the vibe of the story.
Really! SMH
I can remember when Fender's RUclips channel was awful. But these days, Fender is killing it with their channel! Great video - Nile is the MAN.
Yes!!!
this is the creative process. this is a perfect example of just what he says,
he describes and gives examples of...applicable to all genres
This is the dopest RUclips music related clip I have ever seen. The birth of a big tune. I love it...
I've heard Nile tell this story before, and I'll gladly listen to him tell it again. Been a fan nearly all my life -- since "Dance, Dance, Dance". He's an American treasure.
We couldn't agree more. 🎸🔥
All I saw was "Nile Rodgers" and I hit the like button...
Hey Nile, Thank You For My Lifetime Enjoyment Of SO Much Beautiful Music, You Are The Best !!!
Nile Rodgers the coolest man on the planet 🎼
Nile sites fellow Chic founder Bernard Edwards with teaching him the "chucking" style he used on all of the huge Chic hits... Between the two of them they rewrote R&B history. Stella artists both. R.I.P. Bernard you were the greatest bassist. Thank you Fender for making the tools that crafted that much magic!
The genius of Nile Rogers. It’s incredible that just moving the progression up a semi-tone would have made such a difference as the original version sounds light years away from what it became.
Holy mother, fabulous Nile Rodgers.
Could listen to him all day! Bless you.
I could listen to Nile talk and play all day long.
I just felt this powerful sensation of being 13 again. Thanks.
I ❤ u, Nile Rodgers 😘. You are the best artist ever all over the universe
Music seems to reflect the times. "Let's Dance" definitely reflected happier times.
Really doesn't get any better than this. The brilliance of turning a folky idea into one of the most iconic and memorable tracks is just one more reason Nile is the Hitmaker. Thanks Bob Clearmountain for the amazing, bouncing delay. So good.
one of the greatest dance hits of the eighties. Nile Rodgers is a gentleman
I've watched numerous videos of Nile explain this story of this hit, and the many others that he's played on and/or produced- and I always love hearing his creative process, and will never get sick of it.
I love Let's Dance" Every time I hear it I have to get up and dance. Amazing song!
This is a brilliant example of compositional process that Niles demonstrated and explained with simple eloquence.
Nile is the Master!
"I was like, 'OK, cool, I...think I can do hits with David Bowie; that's, that's an awesome project."
Bit of an understatement haha
Yes. Makes sense! Love that album. Has a great groove. Killer production. This song even has a cool visit from SRV. What's not to love?
This is one of the songs that changed my life as well Mr. Niles....
I remember listening to Chic as a kid. Nile is a legend
just realized how much influence Nile had on my sound and approach to playing, etc. before I even started
I could listen to him talk all day and I have zero idea how to play guitar. I just appreciate listening to master craftsmen talk about their work.
This man is one of my favorites!! What a fantastic artist
and if you have NILE everything works. i love this man's music
Everything Nile touches gets so funky!
Could listen to his stories all day
From his early work with Chic, you knew this cat was something special. So musical, he transcends genre. The appreciation in these comments is just great to see, so well deserved.
What a unique player. The guitar is all buzzy, but with a wonderful neck tone - yet in the mix and with Nile's touch you get magic. A lesson for us all - not what we play, but how we play it.
Jesus Christ!!! Mr. Nile Rodgers, you are so generous when you say that "If you have a Strat, you can make it work!". I have a Strat and it is the most versatile guitar ever made! BUT... You and only You can make these anthems echoes in peoples souls the way you do! I am a humble and huge fan of your work! I thank God for your life! Keep on shining! Greetings from Brazil!
Thanks for "ARRANGING" it, Niles! xoxo!
Really awesome approach! So creative and also proof that a simple idea can develop into an amazing one, if you put the time and effort in it!
Yeah, that's what Nile said
@@chu8139 वल
The dude is a brilliant musician. Able to translate the complex down to the simple, and *make* hits over the course of decades, in multiple musical genres. That's amazing and rather unique. And all with that smile. That Chic album was the first LP i ever bought, when i was still in elementary school. I'm kinda proud of that-i knew good shit when i was a kid....
Let's Dance is "THE SONG" that elevated & made David Bowie Famous !!!
Lets dance was a world changing song . fantastic
Nile Rogers for president
Thanks Nile for all the great music over the years. We are blessed to have you in the world.
Hope Nile has had a smooth recovery❤. Thanks for all of the great music from Chic to Duran×2 to Bowie and so on. All great stuff.
Nile is such a nice and humble person and he made so many of us very happy with his music - a BIG Thank you to him!
Give him more time 😍
Hero. This was wonderful. Please - more!
...and SRV's touch made it perfect. What a great song.
Love the prophet 5 synthesizer over his right shoulder. Thank you Nile for the cool story.
One of the best pop albums ever
The funniest and heartwarming thing about Bowie is that his speciality lies in writing folk music. The origins of some of his funkiest songs originate from basic open chord patterns on a 12 guitar. Carlos Alomar and Earl Slick turned golden years from a folk to a funk song. Ashes to ashes was original called “King of the city” and sounded very folksy, and let’s dance started off very folk sounding into his funkiest song yet.
Nile Rodgers is so inspiring. I just finished his autobiography and it was a blast to read. Mr. Rodgers is in the building!
Let's dance is well over 30 years old, and it still sounds way better than any of the new 'music' being played on the radio today.
Stop listening to radio music then. There's tons of great music everywhere
Yeah, like all that 'dance' pile-driving, or 'yo-un' 13-in-a-dozen-machismo.
This man Niles Rodgers is a genius. His riffs on the many hit songs of Chic are legendary. But then as the 1970s ended and the 1980s began, a "group of people" told us disco was bad and continuing to listen to it would make us all very sad. So the young and the old gathered at stadiums across the US at the behest of this "group of people" and burned disco records. Along with the burning went the hopes, dreams, and lives of many artists of this uniquely diverse and American art form. Who were these vigilante burners of American expression; who set them on their course of destruction; who made it chic to destroy a genre of music that truly brought ethnic groups together? You be the judge for those answers but I can tell you it wasn't us in Bed-Stuy or in Crenshaw. Nile, we loved you when you contributed to David Bowie, Diana Ross, Draft Punk, Sister Sledge and others but we can never forget the joy and the rhythms you first gave to the world over 40 years ago with Chic!
I love disco and funk. I think deep down most people do too.
Still an audience for it today. We just had an American breakdown in the early 80's and stupidity was crowned king. Disco will forever be a music of good times and dreams of happiness.
And not to mention that disco used soooo many different instruments, it was not rare the use of orchestra (which even gave more jobs to musicians) and allowed us to enjoy instruments like sax, trumpet, piano, violin and cello. I believe, in general terms, the songs were more "rich" in sounds. Other thing I think its very important to expose is the huge degradation of the bass, in disco the bass was so complex and cool, but with the transition of genre, the bass basically was a "4-note instrument" (and by this I mean, it was played just by pulsing 4 frets that corresponded to the usual 4-chords songs that took place in the new era of music.
The Disco Sucks movement was embarrassing. I do realize everyone from Kiss to Rod Stewart tried to cash in on it and every TV show and commercial did too and it resulted in over doing it... but listening back, there was some of the best musicians in the world making great music, lush keys, horns and strings on top of the tightest of grooves.
Nile helped a lot bringing the best from Duran Duran that were also disco lovers. Duran are his second band after Chic.
Everytime I hear this story it always sounds fresh
Nile - I can't tell you how much I love seeing you perform. You are beyond legendary. Music obeys you rather than the other way round.
Two legends of our century, stop.
Nile: "Can I do an arrangement of this song?"
Bowie: "Sure."
Nile: *Proceeds to change song beyond recognition*
Imagine what he would have done to "Space Oddity". But hey, you'd have been able to "shake yo' booty" to it.
Met Niles heading into the studio in NYC couldn’t have been more of a Nice Guy...
Thanks Niles! That was awesome!
I feel like I just saw magic happen right before my eyes. What a talent! I love David Bowie and Let’s Dance is one of my all time favorite songs. Thank you Nile Rodgers. He’s like Merlin weaving his magic behind the scenes. And Wow!!! How powerful that magic was to transform this song.
Please have Nile share more stories. Wonderful stuff from a music legend
I’m sure for A Price 🤔
Nile Rodgers is as legendary as it gets!!! Love that hitmaker!!!!
"I hope that makes sense?" It doesn't have to because it sounds AMAZING. Thank you Nile.
The coolest man on the planet....period!!!
I don't know why I watched this video. I cannot play any instrument, nor read or understand music scores. Ok as a kid i did C, G, F, and A minor on a guitar. But soon got bored. Now..I remember that tune you demonstrated. Yes that old. Well done for taking me down memory lane.
Nile has always ,since the late 70's, been my mentor when it comes to guitar method I'm a funk/disco player from way back
The musical mindset.... is an amazing tool. As we novices listen to the original tune and think nothing of it...Nile's genius mind is already working out chords...riffs..melodies and beyond. And this... is just on a single song...Wow! To have such intuitive talents shows advanced forward thinking and musicality. Now...we all know the finished product and how Iconic it is....I am just overwhelmed at the humble gifts of Mr.Rogers. Kudos...to the backstory...we are amazed to hear the thought process. Thanks!
Thanks Nile and The Hitmaker-makes me proud to play the. Stratocaster.
That song was huge and the collaboration of Nile, Bowie and SRV. Perfect early 80’s song for this era of music.
He did it... he used that word 'powerful', and that is what I always loved about this song.... it's sheer power. Booomb! Great clip, Nile.
It's amazing to see how such iconic songs evolve so naturally and almost effortlessly.
My favourite guitarist of all
Time!!!
Nile is a freakin genius! 👏🏾
Thank you both David (rip) & Nile It literally also totally changed my life and has in so many ways inspired my music
a genius offering us a glimpse into his creative process. Amazing
Best “Artist Check-In” yet. Bravo Fender, Niles & David.
omg. this needed to be longer. please. this man is a living treasure.
...AGREE .... a living legend ....
Nile...thank you ...thank you.....always appreciated your playing...and this story was amazing...thank you