The Producers — 02
Nile Rodgers
The groove under the wedding dress.
At a Glance
Name
Nile Rodgers
Role
Producer | Guitarist | Songwriter
With Madonna
1984–1985
Records
Like a Virgin (1984)
Signature tracks
“Like a Virgin” | “Material Girl”
Also known for
Co-founding Chic with Bernard Edwards | David Bowie’s Let’s Dance (1983) | Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” (2013)
If Jellybean gave Madonna the dance floor, Nile Rodgers gave her the band. In the spring of 1984 she walked into a New York studio with the man behind Chic and came out with the record that turned a breakthrough into a phenomenon.
The Chic Sound
By the early 1980s, Nile Rodgers had already rewritten the rules of dance music. With bassist Bernard Edwards he founded Chic, whose “Le Freak” and “Good Times” defined the end of the disco decade, and together they wrote and produced Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family” and Diana Ross’s “Upside Down” and “I’m Coming Out”.
Then, in 1983, he produced David Bowie’s Let’s Dance. It was one of Madonna’s favourite records of the moment, and when Sire agreed to let her choose her own producer for her second album, she chose Rodgers. She wanted, as engineer Jason Corsaro later put it, “that Chic kind of approach”.
Material Girl
Angel
Like a Virgin
The Power Station
Like a Virgin was recorded at the Power Station in New York in April and May 1984. Rodgers brought the heart of Chic with him: Bernard Edwards on bass, Tony Thompson on drums and his own guitar, with Rob Sabino on keyboards. It was a live band playing together rather than a wall of drum machines, and Corsaro persuaded Rodgers to capture it all digitally, still a rarity at the time.
Madonna was at every session and stayed for every mix. Rodgers later admitted he had doubts about the title track at first, but it grew on him. Released on 12 November 1984, Like a Virgin went to No. 1 in the United States and, eventually, in the United Kingdom, and has sold more than 21 million copies worldwide.
Four Hits
Four hit singles came from the record: “Like a Virgin”, “Material Girl”, “Angel” and “Dress You Up”. Each carries the same signature: Edwards’ elastic bass, Thompson’s heavy backbeat and Rodgers’ clipped, chiming guitar, the sound of Chic dressed up for a new decade. The following summer, Rodgers was on stage at Live Aid in Philadelphia, performing alongside Madonna and the Thompson Twins.
The Legacy
Like a Virgin is the only album Rodgers made with Madonna, yet it remains one of the defining partnerships of her career. He went on to work with Duran Duran, INXS and The B-52’s, and decades later returned to the top of the charts with Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky”. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2016 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017. For Madonna, he was the producer who proved a pop record could still swing.
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