Chaka Khan – “Smoking Room” (1974)
Rags To Rufus is the gold-selling second studio album by funk band Rufus, released on the ABC Records label in 1974. It reached #4 on both the Pop and Black Albums charts. It is notable for the hit singles “Tell Me Something Good” (US Pop #3, US R&B #3), written by Stevie Wonder, and “You Got the Love” (US Pop #11, US R&B #1), written by lead vocalist Chaka Khan and Ray Parker, Jr.. In 1975 “Tell Me Something Good” earned the band its first Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals Chaka Khan, the stage name of Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the seventies as the front woman and focal point of the funk-rock band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career. Her signature hits, both with Rufus and solo, include “Tell Me Something Good”, “Sweet Thing”, “Ain’t Nobody”, “I’m Every Woman”, “I Feel for You” and “Through the Fire”. Khan was born Yvette Marie Stevens in 1953 in Chicago, Illinois. Raised in Chicago’s rough Southside projects, Khan, who is of African American and Native American ancestry, was the eldest of four children to Charles and Sandra Stevens. Raised initially as Roman Catholic by her parents. Khan attributed her love of music to her grandmother, who introduced her to jazz music as a child. Khan became a fan of R&B music as a preteen and at eleven formed her first all-female singing group the Crystalettes. In the mid 1960s …
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