Chaka Khan

Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (/ˈʃɑːkə ˈkɑːn/ SHAH-kə KAHN), is an American singer and songwriter. Known as the "Queen of Funk", her career has spanned more than five decades beginning in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. With the band she recorded the notable hits "Tell Me Something Good," "Sweet Thing," "Do You Love What You Feel," and the platinum-certified "Ain't Nobody." Her debut solo album featured the number-one R&B hit "I'm Every Woman" (which became a pop hit for Whitney Houston). Khan scored another R&B charts hit with "What Cha' Gonna Do for Me" before becoming the first R&B artist to have a crossover hit featuring a rapper, with her 1984 cover of Prince's "I Feel for You." More of Khan's hits include "Through the Fire" and a 1986 collaboration with Steve Winwood that produced a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, "Higher Love." Khan has won ten Grammy Awards.With Rufus, she achieved three gold singles, one platinum single, four gold albums, and two platinum albums. In the course of her solo career, Khan achieved three gold singles, three gold albums, and one platinum album with I Feel for You. She has also worked with Whitney Houston, Ry Cooder, Robert Palmer, Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Guru, Chicago, Joni Mitchell, Gladys Knight, De La Soul, Mary J. Blige, Ariana Grande, and Sia. In December 2016, Billboard magazine ranked her as the 65th most successful dance club artist of all time. She was ranked at No. 17 in VH1's original list of the 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll. Khan has been nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times as a solo artist and four times as a member of Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, the first time in 2012 as a member of Rufus. In 2023, Khan was picked as an inductee in the Musical Excellence category. Description above from the Wikipedia article Chaka Khan, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Yvette Marie Stevens, besser bekannt unter ihrem Künstlernamen Chaka Khan, ist eine US-amerikanische Sängerin und Songwriterin. Als „Queen of Funk“ bekannt, blickt sie auf eine über fünf Jahrzehnte währende Karriere zurück, die Anfang der 1970er-Jahre als Leadsängerin der Funkband Rufus begann. Ihr Debüt-Soloalbum enthielt den Nummer-eins-R&B-Hit „I’m Every Woman“ (der später auch für Whitney Houston ein Pop-Hit wurde). Mit Rufus erreichte sie drei Gold-Singles, eine Platin-Single, vier Gold- und zwei Platin-Alben. Sie arbeitete außerdem mit Künstlern wie Whitney Houston, Ry Cooder, Robert Palmer, Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Guru, Chicago, Joni Mitchell, Gladys Knight, De La Soul, Mary J. Blige, Ariana Grande und Sia zusammen. Im Dezember 2016 listete das Billboard-Magazin sie auf Platz 65 der erfolgreichsten Dance-Club-Künstlerinnen aller Zeiten. In VH1s ursprünglicher Liste der 100 größten Frauen des Rock & Roll belegte sie Platz 17.

Chaka Khan, nome d'arte di Yvette Marie Stevens, è una cantante statunitense. Nella sua carriera ha ricevuto numerosi Grammy Award, ed è conosciuta soprattutto per successi internazionali come I'm Every Woman, I Feel For You, vecchia canzone del 1978 cantata da Prince Roger Nelson, e Through the Fire. Chaka ha esordito come cantante del gruppo funk Rufus, per poi intraprendere la propria fortunata carriera da solista. Benché etichettata spesso come artista R&B, la cantante è passata con disinvoltura fra diversi stili musicali inclusi funk, disco, jazz, hip hop, pop e blues. Chaka è anche molto attiva nella lotta per la sensibilizzazione sull'autismo, avendo aperto la Chaka Khan Foundation, impegno che le ha valso nel 2004 il conferimento di una laurea onoraria assegnata dall'università di Berkeley. Nel 2009 Chaka Khan e Gino Vannelli sono stati tra gli ospiti nel nuovo album di Billy Cobham 'Drum 'n' Voice' vol. 3. L'album è stato prodotto tra Milano e Los Angeles da Lino Nicolosi e Pino Nicolosi della Nicolosi Productions, in arte I Novecento. Ha partecipato anche ad una serie di concerti nell'inverno del 2009 e poi in quello del 2010 intitolati "Here Comes The Girls": il tour è così chiamato in quanto costituito da Anastacia, Lulu e lei stessa. Si è sposata due volte e ha due figli: una femmina, Indira, e un maschio, Damien. Da giovane ha abusato di sostanze stupefacenti e in seguito è diventata vegana. Nel 2006 ha testimoniato in difesa del figlio, processato per l'omicidio di un diciassettenne: Damien ha dichiarato di avergli sparato per errore.