Nile Rodgers, Bernard Edwards, Tony Thompson
Inspired by Raj's purchase, and the show on soul music on BBC, I went ahead and purchased a Diana Ross album called, well, Diana. There were a number of albums, and the reason I purchased it was that it was not the most expensive and it was not the cheapest either. I had a budget in mind, and I did not have any particular album in mind, and hence I bought it.
And then I heard it. It was quite cool and now I know what "groovy" really means. And then I heard it a second time and a third time. And slowly it dawned upon me that it wasn't the vocals, nor the songs, but the accompaniment that was really kickass! And so I looked at the sleeve - and there it was! Composed and written by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers. Produced by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers. Bass by Bernard Edwards, guitar by Nile Rodgers. And since the drumming was cool, I noted the drummers name too - Tony Thompson.

And what do you know! They were a band that "helped propel disco to new levels of popularity." They were the funk/disco band of the 70s, "Chic"! I've never heard of any of these before, but I sure am excited by the prospect of checking them out.

Nile Rodgers turns out to be one of the most influential producers of all times, having produced albums for David Bowie, Madonna, Mick Jagger, Jeff Beck, Diana Ross (of course) and many others, including the "We are Family" album by Sister Sledge (honestly I have only heard the title song, but if these are anything to go by, there is a minefield waiting to be explored out there!). In fact, he was honoured as the "top producer in the world" in 1996.

Bernard Edwards - wikipedia has the following to say about him

Bernard Edwards is considered one of the most important bass players of the 20th century. His bass line from Chic hit "Good Times" has become one of the most copied pieces of music in history, and had a huge influence on musicians of all genres when released.
The bass line was used without credit or royalty for the first rap hit in history, Sugarhill Gang's "Rappers Delight" in 1979, and copied by Queen's bass player John Deacon for Queen's rock hit "Another One Bites The Dust" in 1980. The following twenty-odd years has seen it sampled inumerable times by artists of the most diverse genres, from Rap to Punk and Techno to Pop. Duran Duran bassist John Taylor often played the song in homage during his solo performances, and cited Edwards as his primary influence.

Tony Thompson - apart from a lot of the above, he performed with Led Zep for Live Aid, and was ultimately invited as a replacement for John Bonham during their reunion attempt in 1986.

Man, the things you find by chance :)

Large part of the credit above goes to, once again, Wikipedia! *Applause*
- posted by Rallix @ 8:15 AM