![]() ![]() For the other members, who were uniquely gifted musicians in their own right, the pressure of having to portray themselves as Khan’s backing musicians had severe consequences in how they collaborated with Khan herself.īy 1976, Rufus was in a devastating funk. In furthering the notion that Khan was the focal member of Rufus, the media took an even greater interest in her extravagant and sultry image by solely featuring her on covers and during interviews for renowned magazines such as JET, Soul, Right On!, and Ebony without the rest of the band. To complicate matters further, the band’s parent label, ABC Records, decided to capitalize on Khan’s image and popularity by making her the central focus of the group’s album art and promotional adverts, in which she flaunted her stunning beauty and glorious sensuality in photographs. Just as Rufus’ popularity rose, so did Khan’s public profile, through which she was compared to several contemporaries like Aretha Franklin and Tina Turner as well as being touted as a sex symbol. However, the internal strife that resided in the band became increasingly tense behind-the-scenes. ![]() She held a viable leadership role and strong female image in the predominantly male-based band, where she exerted the freedom of co-writing and arranging songs for the band-a rarity for female musicians at that time.Īt first, it seemed as if the band was relishing in the commercial fruits of their eponymous fourth release, 1975’s Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan, as its keyed quiet storm staple “Sweet Thing” became the definitive love-struck anthem that melted hearts and accelerated birth rates everywhere. She strutted, belted, and stunned in her feather-and-leather getups and trademark frizzy natural with uninhibited ferocity and funk power that could peel the paint from any wall. Decidedly tough-as-nails, but undeniably graceful, free-spirited, yet assured, Khan ushered in a new era of female soul that reflected chic sensuality and bold-and-foxy dynamism in Black womanhood at the brink of the mid-1970s. ![]() Not to mention, the band’s young and vivacious lead singer, Yvette Marie Stevens (known universally as Chaka Khan), possessed a complex, yet powerhouse voice and indomitable elegance that catapulted her in a class of her own. With their incredible run of classic albums that spanned from 1974’s Rags to Rufus to 1978’s Street Player and chart-busting singles like “Tell Me Something Good,” “You Got the Love,” and “Please Pardon Me (You Remind Me of a Friend),” the band casted a large shadow over the funk and soul generation. In a prolific four-year period of humbling beginnings and miraculous triumphs, the multiracial, Chicago-based outfit Rufus arrived on the music scene with their singular hybrid of funk, jazz, soul, and rock dominating the airwaves and topping the charts. Happy 45th Anniversary to Rufus featuring Chaka Khan’s Ask Rufus, originally released January 19, 1977. ![]()
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