Rufus was an American funk band from Chicago best known for launching the career of lead singer Chaka Khan. They had several hits during their career, including "Tell Me Something Good", "Sweet Thing", "Do You Love What You Feel", and "Ain't Nobody". Rufus and Chaka Khan were one of the most popular and influential funk bands of the 1970s; they had four consecutive number-one R&B albums, ten top 40 pop hits, and five number-one R&B singles among other accolades.
Biography
Origins
In 1968, the American Breed (Gary Loizzo, guitar/vocals; Al Ciner, guitar; Charles "Chuck" Colbert, bass; and Lee Graziano, drums) had a top ten hit with the classic-rock single "Bend Me, Shape Me". After their success, Colbert and Graziano (without Loizzo, who pursued a successful production career) created a new group adding later-day American Breed members Kevin Murphy (keyboards) and Paulette McWilliams (vocals) as well as James Stella (vocals), and Vern Pilder (guitar) from the bar band Circus. The group returned to Los Angeles shortly after that to record Rufus at Quantum Recording Studios in Torrance, California; it was released in 1973. Although the songs "Whoever's Thrilling You (Is Killing Me)" and "Feel Good" (both featuring Khan) brought the group some attention from R&B radio stations, the album itself had minimal sales and the Stockert-led "Slip & Slide" failed to catch major attention from pop radio. The group quickly re-entered the same studio to record their follow-up album Rags to Rufus.
Due to Khan's increasing popularity Rufus and ABC began calling the group Rufus featuring Chaka Khan. With the new billing, the band recorded and released their next album without delay, Rufusized in 1974. Another Platinum success, the group again entered the top ten with the funk singles, "Once You Get Started" (penned by Gavin Christopher), "Stop on By", "I'm a Woman", "Pack'd My Bags" (later sampled for Jody Watley's "Lovin' You So"), and "Please Pardon Me (You Remind Me of a Friend)", penned by their friend Brenda Russell.
thumb|upright|[[Chaka Khan in 1996]]
The group headlined their first major tour in 1975, with Khan attracting attention in concert reviews for her powerhouse vocals and sexy attire—so much so that Khan was often featured on magazine covers like Jet. Due to her off-stage antics which added to her on-stage persona, the media billed Khan as "the wild child". She was often compared to Tina Turner and some rock and soul press labeled her a "pint-sized Tina". Attention to Khan began to make waves for some of the group's members, as they felt her presence overshadowed the band itself.
The group's fourth release, and the third major release with Khan as singer, Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan, was released in 1975. it reached the top five of the charts and became their fourth record to go Gold. Despite the album's success as well as a second successful major tour which followed, tensions grew within the group, particularly between Khan and longtime Rufus drummer Andre Fischer.
Khan married Richard Holland during recording sessions of Ask Rufus. She had divorced her first husband Hassan Khan in 1974 prior to the birth of their child Milini. Holland's presence only made things worse between Khan and Fischer. During one session of Ask Rufus, Fischer got into a fight with Holland, who received help from Khan who counter-attacked. Ask Rufus was released in 1977 and includes the hits "At Midnight (My Love Will Lift You Up)", "Hollywood", and "Everlasting Love". which got attention when a producer for the film Breakin heard it while screening songs for the movie's soundtrack. WB eventually released the song (with the billing Rufus and Chaka Khan) and the song became a top 30 Billboard Hot 100 hit, reaching number one on the R&B chart and was number eight on the UK Singles Chart. The success of the track led to the band receiving its second Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.
After that Rufus went their separate ways. Khan soon released the album and smash single "I Feel for You", cementing her solo career, which continued successfully for decades.
! width="35"| US<br>R&B<br>
! width="35"| CAN<br>
! width="35"| UK<br>
|-
| 1973
| align="left"| Rufus
| 175
| 44
| —
| —
| —
| align="left"|
| rowspan="7"| ABC
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1974
| align="left"| Rags to Rufus
| 4
| 4
| —
| 23
| —
| align="left"|
- RIAA: Gold
|-
| align="left"| Rufusized
| 7
| 2
| —
| 51
| 48
| align="left"|
- RIAA: Gold
| rowspan="3"| MCA
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1981
| align="left"| Party 'Til You're Broke
| 73
| 24
| —
| —
| —
| align="left"|
|-
| align="left"| Camouflage
| 98
| 15
| —
| —
| —
| align="left"|
|-
| 1983
| align="left"| Seal in Red
| —
| 49
| —
| —
| —
| align="left"|
| Warner Bros.
|-
| colspan="15" style="font-size:90%" | "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
|}
Live albums
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Album
! colspan="3"| Peak chart positions
! rowspan="2"| Record label
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
! style="width:35px;"| US<br>
! width="35"| US<br>R&B<br>
! width="35"| US<br>Dan<br>
| align="left" rowspan="2"| Rags to Rufus
|-
| align="left"| "You Got the Love"
| 11
| 1
| —
| —
| 21
| —
| align=left|
|-
| rowspan="4" | 1975
| align="left"| "Once You Get Started"
| 10
| 4
| 6
| —
| 14
| 59
| align=left|
| rowspan="3" align="left" | Rufusized
|-
| align="left"| "Stop on By"
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|57
|
|-
| align="left"| "Please Pardon Me (You Remind Me of a Friend)"
| 48
| 6
| —
| —
| 75
| —
| align=left|
|-
| align="left"| "Sweet Thing"
| 5
| 1
| —
| —
| 68
| —
| align=left|
- RIAA: Gold
- MC: Gold
- ARIA: Platinum
- RMNZ: Gold
| align="left" rowspan="2"| Stompin' at the Savoy – Live
|-
| 1984
| align="left"| "One Million Kisses"
| 102
| 37
| 67
| —
| —
| 86
| align=left|
|-
| 1989
| align="left"| "Ain't Nobody" <small>(7" Remix Edit)</small>
| —
| —
| 1
| —
| —
| 6
| align=left|
| align="left"| Life Is a Dance: The Remix Project
|-
| colspan="15" style="font-size:90%" | "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
|}
Accolades
Grammy Awards
Rufus has won two Grammy Awards, from three Grammy nominations.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! class="unsortable" | Nominated work
! Award category
! Result
|-
|| 1974
| "Tell Me Something Good"
| rowspan=2|Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group Or Chorus
|
|-
|| 1977
| Ask Rufus
|
|-
|| 1983
| "Ain't Nobody"
| rowspan=2|Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
|
|-
|}
Covers
Rufus covered songs including Quincy Jones' "Body Heat". "Ain't Nobody" was covered by many artists, including Kelly Price, Faith Evans, Diana King, and George Michael. 1983's "You're Really Out of Line" was recorded by Belgian band Awaken in 2001.
Notes
References
External links
- [ Rufus] at AllMusic