Alfa Anderson (September 7, 1946 – December 17, 2024) was an American singer and educator, best known as one of the lead vocalists of the 1970s band

Chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Etymology '' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English dictionaries classified ...

Early life and education

Anderson was born in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...

, on September 7, 1946. Her parents named her "Alfa" (from "

alpha Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter ''aleph'' , whose name comes from the West Semitic word for ' ...

" the first letter of the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

alphabet, with the "ph" changed to an "f" in honor of her father's name, Alfonso), because she was their first born child. Musically inclined from a young age, Anderson composed her first song at age three. Although Anderson showed early talent for music, she pursued a traditional education path. She attended

Paine College Paine College is a private, historically black Methodist college in Augusta, Georgia. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. Paine College offers undergraduate degrees in the liberal arts, ...

, followed by

Teachers College, Columbia University Teachers College, Columbia University (TC) is the graduate school of education affiliated with Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, Teachers College has been a part of Columbia University since ...

, where she earned a master's degree in English. She sang in the college choirs of both Paine and Columbia.

Career

Early career

In 1976, Anderson made her professional debut in

Cannonball Adderley Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Adderley is perhaps best remembered by the general public for the 1966 soul ...

's "Big Man — The Legend of John-Henry" sponsored by the

Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hire ...

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

. Her second professional appearance was at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

, where she performed in "Children of the Fire" (1974), written by "Hannibal"

Marvin Peterson Hannibal Lokumbe (born Marvin Peterson on November 11, 1948) is an American composer and jazz trumpeter. Career A native of Smithville, Texas, United States, he is sometimes known by the name "Hannibal". He attended high school in Texas City, Te ...

. Anderson worked as a lecturer at

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools ...

in New York City while singing on weekends with Kenny and Everett Brawner, founders of the band, "Raw Sugar". This led to work with other bands, such as

Lou Courtney Lou Courtney (born Louis Russell Pegues, August 15, 1943 – June 25, 2021) was an American soul singer and songwriter who had several hit records in the 1960s and 1970s, both as a performer and writer. Biography Born in Buffalo, New York, he ...

and Buffalo Smoke, where she met Ednah Holt, and later

Fonzi Thornton Alfonso "Fonzi" Thornton is an American vocalist, songwriter, producer and vocal contractor. In a career spanning 40 years, Thornton has sung backing vocals for top artists across many genres of music. His vocal credits can be found on the re ...

and Michelle Cobbs. Holt introduced Anderson to

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American Soul music, soul and Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. Over his career, he achieved eleven consecutive RIAA certification, RIAA-certified ...

, who at the time sang backup for various groups. Anderson recorded background vocals for

Nat Adderley Nathaniel Carlyle Adderley (November 25, 1931 – January 2, 2000) was an American jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It ...

Roy Buchanan Leroy "Roy" Buchanan (September 23, 1939 – August 14, 1988) was an American guitarist and blues rock musician. A pioneer of the Telecaster sound, Buchanan worked as a sideman and as a solo artist, with two gold albums early in his career and t ...

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick ( ; born Marie Dionne Warrick; December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. During her career, Warwick has won many awards, including six Grammy Awards. She has been inducted into the Hollywood Wa ...

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...

and many others. Her voice appears on the soundtrack to ''The Wiz'' (produced by

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

, 1978) and

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

' ''Live at Montreux'' (produced by

Arif Mardin Arif Mardin (March 15, 1932 – June 25, 2006) was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco and country. He worked at Atlantic Records for ov ...

and

Herbie Mann Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz Flute, flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet ...

in 1978).

Chic years

In 1977, Vandross encouraged Anderson to audition as a background vocalist for Chic, a new band created by

Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. The co-founder of Chic, he has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 750 million albums and 1 ...

and

Bernard Edwards Bernard Edwards (October 31, 1952 – April 18, 1996) was an American bassist and record producer, known primarily for his work in disco with musician Nile Rodgers, with whom he co-founded Chic. In 2017, Edwards was selected as the 53rd greates ...

. Anderson's and Vandross's background vocals appear on the eponymous debut album ''Chic'', which contained the number one hit " Dance, Dance, Dance" and the ''Billboard'' charted " Everybody Dance". Anderson became a lead singer when one of Chic's original leads,

Norma Jean Wright Norma Jean Wright (born July 15, 1950) is an American singer and was the lead vocalist of the American group Chic, a soul, R&B and disco band, from 1977 to 1978. Early life Norma Jean Wright was born in Ripley, Tennessee. At young age, she relo ...

, left the group in 1978. Along with fellow lead Luci Martin, Chic would go on to produce many more charted hits, including the multi platinum "

Le Freak "Le Freak" is a funk-disco song by American disco band Chic, released in September 1978 by Atlantic Records as the first single from their second album, '' C'est Chic'' (1978). It was written and produced by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers, a ...

" (1978) and "

Good Times ''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans (actor), Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was televis ...

" (1979), as well as " My Forbidden Lover" (1979). Anderson is the lead vocalist for the top ten hit " I Want Your Love" (1978) and "At Last I Am Free" (1978). At the height of Chic's fame, Anderson regularly appeared on television shows such as ''

Soul Train ''Soul Train'' is an American musical variety television show. After airing locally on WCIU-TV in Chicago, Illinois, for a year, it aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featu ...

'', ''The Midnight Special'', and ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

''. She also worked on the Chic-produced sessions of

Sister Sledge Sister Sledge was an American musical vocal group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formed in 1971, the group consists of sisters Joni, Kim, Debbie, and Kathy Sledge. The siblings achieved international success at the height of the disco era. I ...

's " We Are Family" (1979),

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

's ''Diana'' (1980), and

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer. Starting his 69-year career with singles of standard (music), standard music, Mathis is one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century and became highly popular as ...

's ''

I Love My Lady ''I Love My Lady'' is an album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was completed in 1981 but not released in its entirety until December 8, 2017, when it was included in the box set ''The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collec ...

'' (1981). In 1983, Rodgers and Edwards dissolved the original Chic band. During this time, Anderson began touring internationally with Luther Vandross and from 1982 until 1987, performing with him at venues such as

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

in London. Anderson continued to work with other notable artists, appearing on albums by

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born November 5, 1959) is a British and Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and photographer. He is estimated to have sold between 75 million and more than 100 million album, records and Single (music), si ...

Gregory Hines Gregory Oliver Hines (February 14, 1946 – August 9, 2003) was an American dancer, actor, choreographer, and singer. He is one of the most celebrated tap dancers of all time. As an actor, he is best known for '' Wolfen'' (1981), '' The Cotton C ...

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

Teddy Pendergrass Theodore DeReese Pendergrass (March 26, 1950 – January 13, 2010) was an American Soul music, soul and R&B singer and songwriter. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pendergrass lived most of his life in the Philadelphia area, and initial ...

Jennifer Holliday Jennifer Yvette Holliday (born October 19, 1960) is an American singer and actress. She started her career on Broadway in musicals such as ''Dreamgirls'' (1981–83), '' Your Arms Too Short to Box with God'' (1980–1981) and later became a ...

Billy Squier William Haislip Squier (, born May 12, 1950) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter who had a string of arena rock and crossover hits in the early 1980s. His best-known songs include " The Stroke", " Lonely Is the Night", " My Kinda Love ...

Sheena Easton Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress who achieved recognition in an episode of the reality television series ''The Big Time (TV series), The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to gain a ...

Jody Watley Jody Vanessa Watley (born January 30, 1959) is an American singer, songwriter and producer whose music crosses genres including pop, R&B, jazz, dance and electronic soul.Paoletta, Michael (February 22, 2003) "Watley Relaxes In The Setting of The ...

Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. He became known as the frontman of the band Roxy Music and also launched a solo career. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established ...

, and

Jonathan Butler Jonathan Kenneth Butler (born 10 October 1961) is a South African singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music is often classified as R&B, jazz fusion or worship music. Biography Born and raised in Athlone, Cape Town, South Africa, during apa ...

Return to education

Anderson earned a second master's degree in educational leadership from Bank Street College in New York, New York. In the 1990s, she became a principal at El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice High School in Brooklyn, New York.

Later work

Anderson continued to record and perform. She released the single "Former First Lady of Chic" in 2013 and the album ''Music from My Heart'' in 2017. Anderson toured internationally with a trio she formed with former ''Chic'' members Norma Jean Wright and Luci Martin. In 2016, the group sang with Aristofreeks and guest vocalist

Kathy Sledge Kathy Sledge (born January 6, 1959) is an American singer–songwriter and producer. Sledge is best known as the youngest and founding member of Sister Sledge, an American vocal group which is made up of her sisters that formed in 1971. As a mem ...

on the song "Get on Up", which reached #2 on Billboard's Club Chart. Nile Rodgers recreated Chic with new vocalists in 1992. Anderson and Luci Martin appear on the Chic track "I'll Be There" (2015). The song reached number one on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs chart.

Personal life and death

Alfa Anderson was married to producer, composer, and bass player Eluriel "Tinkr" Barfield, whom she met while touring with Vandross. In addition to Vandross, Barfield has recorded or performed with

Lou Rawls Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American baritone singer. He released 61 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably the song " You'll Never Find Another Love like Min ...

The B-52's The B-52s, originally presented as the B-52's (with an errant apostrophe; used until 2008), are an American band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, k ...

Jaheim Jaheim H. Hoagland (born May 26, 1978), known mononymously as Jaheim, is an American R&B singer. He was signed by Naughty by Nature's Kaygee to Divine Mill Records in 2000 and released his debut album '' Ghetto Love'' in 2001. His second effo ...

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (February 10, 1937 – February 24, 2025) was an American singer and pianist known for her emotive, genre-blending ballads that spanned R&B, jazz, Folk music, folk, and pop and contributed to the birth of the quiet storm ...

The Roches The Roches were an American vocal trio of sisters Maggie, Terre and Suzzy Roche, from Park Ridge, New Jersey. Career In the late 1960s, eldest sister Maggie (October 26, 1951 – January 21, 2017) and middle sister Terre (pronounced "Terry" ...

, Marvin Sease,

Doc Powell Doc Powell is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He was born and raised in Spring Valley, New York. He attended college at University of Charleston. Career He has worked with Wilson Pickett, who chose him to be his musical director. He has ...

Martha Wash Martha Elaine Wash (born December 28, 1953) is an American singer and songwriter. Known for her distinctive and powerful voice, Wash first achieved fame as half of the The Weather Girls, Two Tons O' Fun, along with Izora Armstead, as they sang b ...

Debbie Gibson Deborah Ann Gibson (born August 31, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She released her debut album ''Out of the Blue (Debbie Gibson album), Out of the Blue'' (1987) at age 16, writing and largely producing the material. The a ...

Ashford and Simpson Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting, production and recording duo composed of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carol ...

, as well as many other celebrated artists. Anderson and Barfield formed a group named Voices of Shalom, dedicated to exploring spiritual themes through original compositions. They released two albums: ''Messages'' (1999) and ''Daily Bread'' (2005). A single, released in 2005, called "What a Spirit", features

Lisa Fischer Lisa Melonie Fischer (born December 1, 1958) is an American singer and songwriter. She found success with her 1991 debut album '' So Intense'', which produced the Grammy Award–winning hit single " How Can I Ease the Pain". She has been a back ...

and Keith Anthony Fluitt. Anderson died on December 17, 2024, at the age of 78.

Accolades

In 2014, Anderson received the Global Entertainment Media Arts (G.E.M.A.) Foundation's Golden Mic Award as well as a Citation from the City of Philadelphia for her contributions to music. "Le Freak", featuring Anderson on the lead vocals, was inducted into the 2015 Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2018, the song was added to the

National Recording Registry The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservation ...

by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

. In 2018, Mayor Hardie Davis Jr. of Augusta, Georgia gave Anderson the Keys to the City and declared May 5 as Alfa Anderson Day.

References

External links

Alfa Anderson Official Website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Alfa 1946 births 2024 deaths Chic (band) members American disco singers American rhythm and blues singers Educators from New York City Teachers College, Columbia University alumni Bank Street College of Education alumni Hunter College faculty American soul singers