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 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 ...

, with whom he co-founded

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 ...

. In 2017, Edwards was selected as the 53rd greatest bassist of all time by '' Bass Player'' magazine.

Biography

Edwards was born in

Greenville, North Carolina Greenville ( ; ) is the county seat of and the most populous city in Pitt County, North Carolina, United States. It is the principal city of the Greenville, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, and the List of municipalities in North Carolina, 12t ...

, and grew up in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York, where he met

in the early 1970s. At the time, Edwards was working at a post office with the mother of Rodgers's girlfriend. The two formed the Big Apple Band (active 1972–1976) and then united with drummer Tony Thompson to eventually form Chic together with singer

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 ...

. With Chic (active 1976–1983), Edwards created era-defining hits such as " Dance, Dance, Dance", " Everybody Dance", "

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 ...

", " I Want Your Love" 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 ...

". Edwards also worked with Nile Rodgers to produce and write for other artists, using Chic to perform everything musically and vocally except lead vocals. Those productions with

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 ...

, Sheila and B. Devotion,

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 ...

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 ...

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble, July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie (band), Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1 ...

and

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 ...

led to more hits such as "Saturday", "He's The Greatest Dancer", " We Are Family", "Spacer", " Upside Down", "

I'm Coming Out "I'm Coming Out" is a song recorded by American singer Diana Ross. It was written and produced by Chic members Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers, and released on August 22, 1980 by Motown, as the second single from Ross' self-titled eleventh ...

" and "Backfired". In the song "We Are Family," Kathy Sledge gives Edwards a brief shout-out, singing "Yeah, come on Bernard, play...play your funky bass, boy!". As a lone songwriter/producer, he gave

her Top 15 hit, "Telephone" from her 1985 platinum " Swept Away" album released on

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

and Ross' international label, Capitol-EMI. Edwards released a solo album, ''Glad to Be Here'' in 1983, and in 1985 he was instrumental in the formation of the supergroup the Power Station. The band's first album was produced by Edwards and featured Chic drummer Tony Thompson, and

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...

members

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

and Andy Taylor as well as singer Robert Palmer. Edwards followed this by producing Robert Palmer's hit album '' Riptide''. He continued to produce artists throughout the 1980s and 90s, including Diana Ross, Adam Ant,

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...

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 ...

, Grayson Hugh, Air Supply, ABC and Duran Duran. Edwards was the father of multi-platinum record producer Bernard "Focus..." Edwards, Jr. who has produced songs for

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after National Football League, NFL and Canadian Football Lea ...

, Bishop Lamont,

Tony Yayo Marvin Bernard (born March 31, 1978), better known by his stage name Tony Yayo, is an American rapper. He is best known as a member of G-Unit, a hip hop group he formed with his childhood friends, 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks. Yayo released his debu ...

and more. Edwards teamed up with Nile Rodgers again for the Chic reunion in the early 1990s and released the album '' Chic-Ism'' in 1992.

Death

In 1996, Edwards and Nile Rodgers were in Japan participating in "J.T. Super Producers '96," a concert series sponsored by

Japan Tobacco The (JT) is a Japanese diversified tobacco company and parent company to Japan Tobacco International, one of the three largest international Big Tobacco product manufacturers in the world. It was established in 1985 as a that inherited the ri ...

. Just before the concert at the Budokan Arena in Tokyo, Edwards fell ill, but despite Rodgers' insistence, refused to cancel the gig. He managed to perform but had to be helped at times. At one point, Edwards blacked out for a few seconds before resuming his playing. Rodgers assumed the absence of bass was a deliberate improvisation and did not learn the truth until after the show. After the concert, Rodgers went to check on Edwards and asked how he was doing, to which he replied "I'm fine, I just need to rest." This was the last time Rodgers spoke to Edwards. Edwards retired to his hotel room where he was later found dead by Rodgers. The medical examiner determined the cause of death was

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

. Edwards's final performance was issued in 1999 as the album '' Live at the Budokan''.

Influence

His bass line from the Chic hit "Good Times" has become one of the most copied pieces of music in history, and had a huge influence on musicians of many

genres Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other form ...

when released and was the inspiration for "

Another One Bites the Dust "Another One Bites the Dust" is a song by the British Rock music, rock band Queen (band), Queen. Written by bassist John Deacon, the song was featured on the group's eighth studio album ''The Game (Queen album), The Game'' (1980). It was a worl ...

" by

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

. "Good Times" was credited on Sugarhill Gang's "

Rapper's Delight "Rapper's Delight" is a 1979 rap song that serves as the debut single of American hip-hop trio the Sugarhill Gang, produced by Sylvia Robinson. Although it was shortly preceded by the Fatback Band's " King Tim III (Personality Jock)", "Rapper ...

" in 1979 (the vinyl label reads "based on the music from the song 'Good Times' N. Rogers / B. Edwards") – the first rap song to become a mainstream hit. The following decades saw it sampled by artists of diverse genres, from rap to

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

to pop.

bassist John Taylor often played the song in homage during his solo performances and cited Edwards as his primary influence. Edwards was nominated for four

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

for his work with Chic, Sister Sledge, Diana Ross, and Robert Palmer. On September 19, 2005, Edwards was honored posthumously for his outstanding achievement as a producer, when he was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame at a ceremony held in New York.

Selected discography

Chic

* ''

'' (1977) * '' C'est Chic'' (1978) * ''

Risqué Risqué may refer to: * Material deemed slightly indecent or liable to shock, especially sexual suggestiveness * ''Risqué'' (album), 1979 recording by American disco band Chic * Risque (comics), mutant character first appearing in Marvel Comic ...

'' (1979) * '' Real People'' (1980) * '' Take It Off'' (1981) * '' Tongue in Chic'' (1982) * '' Believer'' (1983) * '' Dance, Dance, Dance: The Best of Chic'' (1991) * '' Chic-Ism'' (1992) * '' The Best of Chic, Volume 2'' (1992) * '' Live at the Budokan'' (1999)

Solo

* ''Glad to Be Here'' (1983)

Production

* '' Norma Jean'',

(1978) * '' We Are Family'',

(1979) * '' King of the World,'' Sheila and B. Devotion (1980) * '' Love Somebody Today'', Sister Sledge (1980) * '' diana'',

(1980) * ''

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, released in 2017) * '' Koo Koo'',

(1981) * unknown title, Fonzi Thornton (1982) (unreleased) * '' Swept Away'', Diana Ross (1984) * '' The Power Station'', The Power Station (1985) * "A View to a Kill" (single),

(1985) * ''The Heat'', Nona Hendryx (1985) * '' Riptide'', Robert Palmer (1985) * " Round, Round",

Belouis Some Belouis Some (born Neville Keighley; 12 December 1959) is a British singer, songwriter and musician. He had UK and worldwide hits in the 1980s with " Some People", "Imagination" and " Round, Round", the latter being featured on the soundtrack fo ...

(1985) * '' Cocker'',

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances featuring expressive body movements. Most of his best-known singles, such as "Feelin' Alright ...

(1986) * '' Color in Your Life'', Missing Persons (1986) * ''Hearts in Motion'', Air Supply (1986) * '' Alphabet City'', ABC (1987) * ''If'', Hollywood Beyond (1987) * '' Contact'', Platinum Blonde (1987) * ''

'',

(1987) * '' Out of Order'',

(1988) * ''Under the One Sky'',

Distance Distance is a numerical or occasionally qualitative measurement of how far apart objects, points, people, or ideas are. In physics or everyday usage, distance may refer to a physical length or an estimation based on other criteria (e.g. "two co ...

(1989) * ''Step into the Heat'', James Freud (1989) * ''YUI Orta'', Ian Hunter/The Hunter Ronson Band (1990) * ''Break the Silence'',

The Triplets The Triplets (; ) are three fictional characters (Anna, Teresa and Helena) created by Catalan illustrator Roser Capdevila. The Triplets were created in 1983, based on Capdevila's own daughters, three actual triplets born in 1969. The stories we ...

(1990) * '' Vagabond Heart'',

(1991) * ''

Persuasion Persuasion or persuasion arts is an umbrella term for influence. Persuasion can influence a person's beliefs, attitudes, intentions, motivations, or behaviours. Persuasion is studied in many disciplines. Rhetoric studies modes of persuasi ...

'', Adam Ant (1991) (unreleased) * ''Road to Freedom'' (Grayson Hugh album), Grayson Hugh (1992) * '' Living in Fear'', The Power Station (1996)

Collaborations

* '' KooKoo'' –

(1981) * '' Let's Dance'' –

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

(1983) * '' Hearts and Bones'' –

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

(1983) * '' Like a Virgin'' –

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

(1984) * '' Riptide'' – Robert Palmer (1985) * '' She's the Boss'' –

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 ...

(1985) * '' Cocker'' –

(1986) * '' She'' –

Dalbello Lisa Concetta Dal Bello (born 22 May 1959), also known as Dalbello, is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She released three albums in the pop and pop/rock genre in her late teens, from 1977 through 1981 under her full name. In 1984, she re-e ...

(1987) * '' Out of Order'' –

(1988) * '' Move to This'' – Cathy Dennis (1990) * '' Vagabond Heart'' –

(1991) * ''

A Spanner in the Works '' A Spanner in the Works '' is the seventeenth studio album released by Rod Stewart on 29 May 1995. It ended a four-year gap since his previous studio album, '' Vagabond Heart''. Although he did release the live album '' Unplugged...and Seated' ...

'' –

(1995)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Bernard 1952 births 1996 deaths American rhythm and blues bass guitarists Record producers from North Carolina Songwriters from North Carolina American funk bass guitarists American male bass guitarists African-American guitarists Guitarists from North Carolina People from Greenville, North Carolina Chic (band) members The Power Station (band) members Deaths from pneumonia in Japan American disco musicians African-American film score composers American session musicians 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American bass guitarists 20th-century American male musicians African-American songwriters 20th-century African-American musicians American male songwriters 20th-century American songwriters Distance (band) members