Chaka Khan (full name Yvette Marie Stevens) was born on March 23, 1953, in Great Lakes, Illinois.

Biography and Career :

She was born to Charles Stevens and Sandra Coleman and had a sister, Taka Broom, and brother, Mark Stevens. Both of them became singers later on. After her father deserted her, she was taken under the shelter of her grandmother. There she started loving jazz. While in high school, she performed on tours with the Afro-Arts Theater. She took the name of “Chaka” during her involvement with the Black Panthers’ Free Breakfast for Children.

She completed high school in 1969 and played with bands like Lyfe and The Babysitters. Soon enough, she married Hassan Khan and after that she came across Andre Fisher and Kevin Murphy. Their collaboration took the name of Rufus.
Even after breaking up with Hassan, the self-titled debut album of Rufus saw the light of the day in 1973. The band released a total of six albums which achieved gold or platinum, and also popular singles including "Tell Me Something Good" and "Sweet Thing".

Still being with Rufus, she began her solo career with the release of her self-titled album in 1978. It included hits like “I’m Every Woman” which reached top spot on the R&B chart and was later covered by Whitney Houston. However, her following albums, Naughty, What Cha’ Gonna Do for Me?, and Chaka Khan didn’t provide enough quality music as their predecessor. The album Chaka Khan included her version of “Got to Be There” by Michael Jackson, and “Be Pop Medley” which she had sung with Rick James. With “Be Pop Medley” Chaka Khan received her first Grammy in 1982.

In between, she recorded Stompin’ at the Savoy with Rufus, and then went on to release her next album I Feel For You (1984). She received her second Grammy with the title track of this album. The song also featured Stevie Wonder. Next came her single “Through the Fire” stayed on the R&B charts for a record number of weeks. In 1986, she sung the duet “Higher Love” with Steve Winwood which also became a hit.

She relocated to Europe in the late 80’s and in the early 90’s she collaborated with Ray Charles for another Grammy-winning song “I’ll Be Good To You”. She also won a Grammy for the album The Woman I Am in 1992. Her next hit was “Watch What You Saying” with rapper Guru. It reached #13 on the Billboard. Following this she left her deal with Warner Bros and signed up with Prince.
With Prince, she released the album Come 2 My House in 1998 and won her next Grammy for “What’s Going On?” from the movie Standing in the Shadows of Motown in 2002.

Berklee College of Music honoured her with doctorate in 2004. She married again to Doug Rasheed. Chaka has also been working for Chaka Khan Foundation. It aims towards helping children who suffer from autism.

Later on, Chaka released Funk This (2007) under Burgundy Records label and it reached No. 15 on the Top 200 Album Chart.

Why is she famous?

Chaka Khan is famous as a popular R&B singer with hits including Tell Me Something Good and Sweet Thing with the band Rufus. Her solo career included hits like “I’m Every Woman” and “I Feel For You”. She has also appeared in movies like Bridget Jones’ Diary and The 40 Year Old Virgin.

Here is one of her famous quotes:

"We are sirens of a sort. And primal wailers. Because people like us, we have to sing. If I weren't singing, I can't imagine what I'd be doing. I'd probably be hurting somebody, or myself."
- Chaka Khan

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Chaka Khan Pictures

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Tags: 1953, musician, aries, great lakes, band	[edit tags]

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Category: Musicians  - ( Musicians Archive)

Date Added: 29 December '08

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