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Nile Rodgers: The Hitmaker Remastered

Updated documentary about Nile Rodgers. With Chic, he was one of disco's most successful artists. As a producer, he then went on to help create some of the biggest hits of the 80s.

The last two years have seen Nile Rodgers launched back into the limelight following the massive success of Daft Punk's single Get Lucky, his distinctive guitar work helping the French dance music duo to one of their biggest hits.

This 2013 documentary has been brought up to date to tell the story of his work with Daft Punk and how his band Chic has been introduced to a brand new audience.

As the co-founder, songwriter, producer and guitarist of Chic he helped define the sound of the 70s, as disco took the world by storm. But the music that had made Chic would also break them, thanks to the 'Disco Sucks' backlash. What could have been the end for Nile Rodgers would actually be a new beginning as a producer, helping create some of the biggest hits of the '80s for the likes of Diana Ross, David Bowie, Madonna and Duran Duran.

The ever-charismatic Rogers contributes an engaging and often frank interview to tell the tale of how, born to beatnik, heroin-addict parents in New York, he picked up a guitar as a teenager and embarked on a journey to learn his craft as a musician, before becoming one of disco's most successful artists.

In the '70s and '80s he lived the party lifestyle thanks to his success with Chic and as one of the music industry's hottest producers. Drugs and alcohol would become part of everyday life for Nile, contributing in part to the break-up of Chic in the early '80s. The band would reform in the mid '90s, but their return was quickly marked by tragedy with the death of Nile's long-time friend and musical partner Bernard Edwards in 1996.

The film recounts a captivating and moving story of a man who has been making hit music for nearly four decades and has found himself back in the limelight once again.

1 hour

Last on

Sun 10 Apr 2016 01:35

Music Played

Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes

  • 00:00

    Chic

    I Want Your LoveΒ 

  • 00:00

    Chic

    Le Freak

  • 00:00

    Chic

    Good Times

  • 00:00

    Sister Sledge

    We Are FamilyΒ 

  • 00:01

    David Bowie

    Let's Dance

  • 00:01

    Chic

    °Β³σ²βΜύ

  • 00:03

    Thelonious Monk

    It Don't Mean A ThingΒ 

  • 00:04

    John Coltrane

    Blue TrainΒ 

  • 00:05

    The Beatles

    A Day In The Life

  • 00:06

    Aretha Franklin

    Don't Play That Song You LiedΒ 

  • 00:07

    The Meters

    Cissy Strut

  • 00:08

    New York City

    I'm Doing Fine NowΒ 

  • 00:09

    MFSB

    TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia) (feat. The Three Degrees)

  • 00:10

    Big Apple Band

    You Should Be DancingΒ 

  • 00:11

    Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band

    A Fifth Of Beethoven

  • 00:11

    Roxy Music

    Do The Strand

  • 00:12

    Chic

    Everybody DanceΒ 

  • 00:14

    Donna Summer

    I Feel Love

  • 00:15

    Chic

    Strike Up The BandΒ 

  • 00:16

    Chic

    Everybody DanceΒ 

  • 00:17

    Chic

    Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)

  • 00:20

    KISS

    I Wanna Rock N Roll All NightΒ 

  • 00:22

    The Trammps

    Disco InfernoΒ 

  • 00:23

    Grace Jones

    La Vie En RoseΒ 

  • 00:26

    Sister Sledge

    Love Don't Go Through No ChangesΒ 

  • 00:29

    Sister Sledge

    He's The Greatest DancerΒ 

  • 00:35

    Diana Ross

    Upside DownΒ 

  • 00:36

    Diana Ross

    I'm Coming OutΒ 

  • 00:37

    Kevin Cronin

    Keep On Loving YouΒ 

  • 00:39

    Nile Rodgers

    The Land Of The Good GrooveΒ 

  • 00:42

    David Bowie

    Modern Love

  • 00:43

    INXS

    Original SinΒ 

  • 00:44

    Duran Duran

    The Reflex

  • 00:45

    Duran Duran

    Wild BoysΒ 

  • 00:46

    Duran Duran

    ±·΄Η³Ω΄Η°ωΎ±΄Η³ά²υΜύ

  • 00:47

    Madonna

    Like A VirginΒ 

  • 00:48

    Madonna

    Material Girl

  • 00:49

    The B‐52s

    Έι΄Η²Ή³ΎΜύ

  • 00:49

    Steve Winwood

    Higher LoveΒ 

  • 00:50

    Bryan Ferry

    Don't Stop The Dance

  • 00:51

    Chic

    Soup For One

  • 00:51

    The Power Station

    Some Like It HotΒ 

  • 00:51

    Chic

    Chic MystiqueΒ 

  • 00:54

    The Sugarhill Gang

    Rapper's Delight

  • 00:55

    The Notorious B.I.G.

    Mo Money Mo ProblemsΒ 

  • 00:55

    Will Smith

    Gettin' Jiggy Wit It

  • 00:59

    Chic

    At Last I Am FreeΒ 

Credits

Role Contributor
Narrator Nina Sosanya
Director Martyn Stevens
Producer Martyn Stevens
Executive Producer Paul Bullock
Interviewed Guest Nile Rodgers

Broadcasts

Featured in...

Nile Rodgers: The Hitmaker - ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Music playlist

Check out ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Music's Hitmaker playlist featuring some of Niles' greatest tracks.