Chic - Topic

There is no doubt that Chic was disco's greatest band. Working in a heavily producer-dominated field, they were most definitely a band. By the time Chic appeared in the late '70s, disco was already heading toward mainstream saturation and an inevitable downfall. Chic bucked the trend by stripping disco's sound down to its basic elements. Specializing in stylish grooves with a uniquely organic sense of interplay, Chic's sound was anchored by the scratchy "chucking"-style rhythm guitar of Nile Rodgers, the indelible, widely imitated, and sometimes outright stolen bass lines of Bernard Edwards, and the powerhouse drumming of Tony Thompson. As producers, Rodgers and Edwards used keyboard and string embellishments economically, which kept the emphasis on rhythm. Chic's distinctive approach not only resulted in some of the era's finest singles, including the number one hits "Le Freak" and "Good Times" -- only two of several classics off the platinum albums C'est Chic (1978) and Risqué (1979) -- but also helped create a template for funk, dance-pop, and hip-hop in the post-disco era.