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Biography
About|the American funk band|the Estonian pop band|RuffusRefimprove|date=December 2010Infobox musical artist|image =|name = Rufus|background = group_or_band|alias = Smoke Ask Rufus Rufus featuring Chaka Khan Rufus & Chaka Khan Rufus & Chaka Rufus with Chaka Khan|origin = Chicago , Illinois , United States |genre = Rhythm and blues|R& B , soul music|soul , funk music|funk , smooth soul , quiet storm , disco |years_active = 1972& ndash;1983|label = Epic Records|Epic , ABC Records|ABC , MCA Records|MCA , Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros. |past_members = Chaka Khan Andre Fischer Tony Maiden Kevin Murphy (musician)|Kevin Murphy Ron Stockert Hawk Wolinski|David "Hawk" Wolinski Bobby Watson Dennis BelfieldDiscogs artist|Dennis Belfield|Dennis Belfield Nate Morgan Richard "Moon" Calhoun Al Ciner John Robinson (drummer)|John "J.R." Robinson cite web |url= http://www.johnjrrobinson.com/biography |title=Biography |work=John JR Robinson: The Most Recorded Drummer in History |publisher=JohnJRRobinson.com |accessdate=date|2011-10-12 Romeo Johnson Rufus was an United States|American funk musical ensemble|band from Chicago , Illinois best known for launching the career of lead singer Chaka Khan . They had several hit record|hit s throughout their career, including " Tell Me Something Good ," " Sweet Thing (Chaka Khan song)|Sweet Thing ," and " Ain't Nobody ."
Biography
Origins
In 1967, The American Breed Gary Luizo, Al Ciner, Charles (Chuck) Colbert and Lee Graziano had a top ten hit with the classic rock single, "Bend Me, Shape Me". After much success, Ciner, Colbert and Graziano (without Luizo who pursued a successful production career) created a new group, adding Kevin Murphy on keyboards and Vern Pilder from the bar band Circus . They re-emerged in 1969 under the name Smoke . In 1970, female vocalist Paulette McWilliams and vocalist James Stella were added and the group's name changed again to Ask Rufus . Willie Weeks would replace Vern Pilder.
In 1971, the band signed a contract with Epic Records recording an album that wasn't released. Willie Weeks was replaced by Dennis Belfield. In early 1972 Epic dropped their contract and James Stella was replaced by keyboardist and vocalist Ron Stockert. Former Curtis Mayfield and Jerry Butler drummer Andre Fischer, replaced Lee Graziano. Colbert and Fischer approached and recruited the eighteen-year-old vocalist Chaka Khan (née Yvette Stevens) at a south-side club called the "Pumpkin Room" where she sang with a local Chicago group called Lock and Chain led by drummer Scotty Harris. With that change and Paulette McWilliams pursuing her solo career, the group simply became Rufus with its main focus on Stockert, while Khan became its official second lead vocalist.
Early career
In 1972 the group contacted friend and newly-hired ABC Dunhill A& R executive Bob Monaco and flew him to Chicago to watch the group perform for consideration to be one of his first signings. Monaco returned to Los Angeles, convinced the label to give him a demo budget and then quickly returned to Chicago where the group recorded eleven songs in two days at Marty Feldman's Paragon Studios. After taking the demo tapes back to ABC Dunhill the group was immediately asked to sign a long term recording contract. Khan, who at eighteen she was still a minor, had to have her mother participate. The singer had just married Hassan Khan, who was a bassist of a former band that she fronted. The group then drove to Los Angeles and recorded their first "Rufus" album at Quantum Recording Studios in Torrance, California. That album was released in 1973. While the songs "Whoever's Thrilling You (Is Killing Me)" and "Feel Good" (both songs led by 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 that included the Stevie Wonder song " Tell Me Something Good ," Ray Parker Jr. 's and Khan's " You Got The Love " and Dennis Belfield’s "In Love We Grow," and "Smokin' Room." Stockert, Ciner and Belfield would leave the group shortly after the album was completed. Los Angeles-based keyboardist Nate Morgan replaced Stockert. Additionally, Tony Maiden and bassist Bobby Watson, also from Los Angeles, were recruited by drummer Andre Fischer and asked to join the group. Maiden's, Watson's and Morgan's addition to Rufus added a unique sound to the group, bringing a stronger funk and jazz influence to complement Chaka's now emerging powerful lead vocals.
Success, stardom and tension
Rags to Rufus was released in 1973 and two of its singles — the Stevie Wonder -penned " Tell Me Something Good " and the Parker-Khan composition, " You Got the Love (Rufus song)|You Got the Love " — became smash hits leading to Rags to Rufus going RIAA|platinum and also landed them opening spots for the tours of several top stars including (Stevie Wonder, Cheech and Chong and the Hues Corporation. "Tell Me Something Good" also brought Rufus their first Grammy Award . Due to Khan's increasing popularity Rufus and ABC appropriately billed the group as Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan . With this new billing, the band recorded and quickly released their next album, Rufusized in 1974. Another platinum success, the group entered the top ten again with the funk singles, "Once You Get Started," "Stop On By," "I'm A Woman," and "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 good friend Brenda Russell , which became popular among the group's legion of fans.
Heading into 1975, the group headlined their first major tour, with Khan attracting attention in concert reviews for her powerhouse vocals and sex symbol|sexy attire — so much so that when it came to do photo sets, Khan was often the only artist chosen to be featured on covers, mainly on magazines such as Jet (magazine)|Jet , which Khan would be heavily featured on throughout her long career. Also due to her off-stage antics that added to her on-stage persona, the media billed Khan as "the wild child". Due to Khan's vocal power and sex appeal, she was often compared to Tina Turner , with some rock and soul press labeling her a "pint-sized Tina", and also to Aretha Franklin (her friends called her "little Aretha"). Attention to Khan began to make things difficult for some of the group's members as they felt Khan's presence had overshadowed the entire band's output. The group's fourth release, and the third major release where Khan was dominant lead singer, Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan , was released in 1975. The major hit off the album was a Khan and Tony Maiden composition titled " Sweet Thing (Chaka Khan song)|Sweet Thing " which reached the top five of the charts and became their fourth record to reach music recording sales certifications|gold .
Despite the album's success as well as a second successful major tour that followed, it still didn't stop growing tensions within the group, particularly between Khan and longtime Rufus drummer Andre Fischer. During recording sessions of Ask Rufus , Khan had married Richard Holland (she had divorced her first husband Hassan Khan in 1974 prior to the birth of their child Milini), and the presence of Holland only made things worse between Khan and Fischer. During one session of Ask Rufus , Fischer engaged in a fight with Holland, who received help from a counter-attacking Khan. Ask Rufus would be released in 1977 and include the hits " At Midnight (My Love Will Lift You Up) ", "Hollywood" and "Everlasting Love", the latter two songs becoming popular among Khan fans. Following a tour to promote Ask Rufus , Fischer finally left the group. He was followed out of the group by Nate Morgan. They were replaced by Richard "Moon" Calhoun and Hawk Wolinski|Dave "Hawk" Wolinski , respectively. The new lineup recorded the popular album, Street Player , which featured the popular Khan-composed ballad, "Stay". After first putting it off as a rumor, Khan confirmed to media reports that she was going solo, signing a deal with Warner Bros. Records . The decision strained relations between Khan and the other Rufus members. Khan released her Chaka (1978 album)|self-titled debut later in 1978. The album sold more than Street Player , going platinum, thanks to the international Ashford & Simpson -composed single, " I'm Every Woman ". Khan continued to promote the album into 1979. In early 1979, Calhoun would be replaced by John "J.R." Robinson as the group's drummer in 1979.
Decline and final years
Following the Calhoun replacement, another change came when ABC Records got absorbed by MCA Records|MCA , bringing the group to MCA as a result. While Khan promoted Chaka , Rufus put out a less favorably received Khan-less album, Numbers (Rufus album)|Numbers , which tanked. Khan returned to record with the band for the Quincy Jones -produced Masterjam . By now, Rufus and Khan were split in two, both acts being treated separately. Khan's superstardom helped Masterjam go gold thanks to the funk-laden disco recording, " Do You Love What You Feel ".
Though Khan would later say that she was ready to leave Rufus upon the time she released Chaka in 1978, she discovered that she had two more albums left in her ABC/MCA contract with the band and agreed to fulfill her obligations. Following Masterjam , one of the contractual albums, and another Khan-less album, '' Party 'Til You're Broke , which bombed, the factions of Rufus and Khan reunited for their last MCA album, Camouflage (Rufus album)|Camouflage '' in 1981. The feelings of long overdrawn bad tensions were felt during album sessions with Khan recording her vocals without the band present with the band's instrumentation later added to Khan's vocals. The album failed to garner attention mainly due to Khan's solo obligations, which now included two more gold-certified studio albums, Naughty (Chaka Khan album)|Naughty and '' What Cha' Gonna Do for Me . With the release of Camouflage , Khan was free to leave the group. Following her exit in early 1982, the remaining members of Rufus released what became their final studio album, Seal in Red in 1983 which, like previous albums, went unnoticed.
Rufus band members sensed that their tenure was over and agreed to split on the terms they release a live album to commemorate the occasion. The band asked Khan to contribute to their final concert performance, and she obliged, reuniting with the group for what was to be a documentary film on their concert titled ''Stompin' At the Savoy''. For some reason, Warner Bros. refused to release the film and instead released only the Stompin' at the Savoy - Live|live album . The album included four Khan-led studio songs, including a Dave Wolinski composition titled " Ain't Nobody ", which got attention when a producer for the film, '' Breakin' '' heard it while screening songs for the movie's soundtrack. Warner 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 hitting 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 . Following this success, Rufus went their separate ways for good with Khan continuing her career, becoming one of the most revered R& B artists of her generation with the release of the single, " I Feel for You ", cementing her reputation.
Later years
In 2001, Rufus (Kevin Murphy, Tony Maiden, Bobby Watson, Dave Wolinski and J.R. Robinson) and Chaka Khan reunited for a brief tour, which Khan described in her autobiography, Chaka& #33; Through the Fire (co-written with Tonya Bolden), in 2003. Khan and Maiden reunited on the modernized Rufus medley, "Pack'd My Bags"/ "You Got the Love", on Khan's double Grammy Award-winning 2007 album, Funk This . When discussing another potential reunion with Rufus during a 2008 interview with Billboard (magazine)|Billboard , Khan said the band's classic lineup (which includes Andre Fischer and Nate Morgan) had no plans on reuniting, with Khan stating that touring with Tony Maiden, one of the few Rufus band mates Khan kept a close friendship with, was the closest to another Rufus reunion. A lineup of Rufus including Bobby Watson and J.R. Robinson and Khan's daughter Milini started a short tour in 2008. Neither founding member Kevin Murphy, mainstay Tony Maiden nor Dave Wolinski participated in this tour. In September 2011, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame committee announced that the band and Khan were jointly nominated for induction to the 27th annual class. They had been eligible since 1999 (with the committee counting the band's first album as Rags to Rufus rather than 1973's Rufus ). It was their first year of nomination. Earlier in the year, Khan received a solo star at the Hollywood Walk of Fame .
Line-Ups
Rufus
(also known as Rufus featuring Chaka Khan , Rufus and Chaka and Rufus and Chaka Khan )
1 - Khan would depart from Rufus to record her solo smash, Chaka (1978 album)|Chaka , in 1978, but would remain contracted to the group through 1982. Khan then reunited in 1983 for the group's final album, the live release, '' Stompin' at the Savoy - Live .
Discography
Studio albums
Year
Album
Peak chart positions
Certifications ( List of best selling music artists
Record label
US Allmusic
US R& B
AUS cite book
CAN cite web
UK cite web
1973
Rufus (Rufus album)
175
44
& mdash;
& mdash;
& mdash;
& mdash;
ABC Records
1974
Rags to Rufus
4
4
& mdash;
23
& mdash;
align="left"
US: Gold cite web |url= http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php? table=SEARCH_RESULTS& artist=%22Rufus%22& format=Album& go=Search& perPage=25|title=US Certifications > Rufus|publisher= Recording Industry Association of America |accessdate=2009-09-10
1974: Grammy Award for Best R& B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals|Best R& B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals : " Tell Me Something Good " - Win
1978: Grammy Award for Best R& B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals|Best R& B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals : Ask Rufus - Nomination
1983: Grammy Award for Best R& B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals|Best R& B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals : " Ain't Nobody " - Win
Covers
Rufus cover version|covered songs, including Quincy Jones ' "Body Heat". "Ain't Nobody" would be covered by many artists, including Kelly Price , Faith Evans , Diana King and George Michael .
References
reflist
External links
http://www.officialrufus.com/ Rufus Official website
myspace|id=officialrufus|name=Rufus
Allmusic|class=artist|id=p5319|pure_url=yes Rufus at Allmusic
DEFAULTSORT:Rufus Category:American funk musical groups Category:American soul musical groups Category:Musical groups from Chicago, Illinois Category:Musical groups established in 1972 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1983 Category:Grammy Award winners
