Chaka Khan - Chaka

2024

Chaka Khan's transition to solo artist in 1978 could not have been smoother. At the top of the year, Street Player, her sixth album with Rufus, appeared with a sleeve displaying her name ahead of the band's name -- no longer were they Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan. Its biggest single, "Stay," followed "You Got the Love" and "Sweet Thing" as the third Top 40 hit the singer co-wrote. In July, Chaka's unmistakable voice was on the number one soul single, Quincy Jones' "Stuff Like That," also featuring Ashford & Simpson.

Three months later, Chaka was back on the charts with the Ashford & Simpson-written "I'm Every Woman," in one supremely graceful swoop the Platonic ideal of a midtempo floor-filler, feminist anthem, and solo debut. No other song has been so inviting of cover versions with the obvious caveat that it cannot be surpassed -- not even by Whitney Houston. Although that number one soul hit overshadows everything else on Chaka, the album is full of outstanding performances and a broad range of strong material pulled together by Arif Mardin. It's a near-total break from Rufus. The only connections are Tony Maiden's guitar solo on a gender-switched cover of Stevie Wonder's "I Was Made to Love Her" and writing input from a few Rufus collaborators.

At times, especially on the free and easy "Sleep on It" and celebratory second single "Life Is a Dance," the LP resembles a Chaka-fronted Average White Band session, as guitarist/singer Hamish Stuart and dynamite drummer Steve Ferrone are on almost everything. The spirit of Chaka's Chicago hometown is also felt with Phil Upchurch's blues-jazz-soul rhythm guitar a throughline, and there's an emphatic update of Rotary Connection's gospel-fied "Love Has Fallen on Me," composed by group producer/arranger Charles Stepney with Chess staff writer Lloyd Webber.

As with virtually every Chaka album with or without Rufus, there are some deep-cut knockouts. Dealing the strongest blow by far is the swirling belter "Some Love," introduced and driven by a bassline from Mark Stevens (Chaka's brother), and augmented by woodwinds and brass from David Sanborn and the Brecker Brothers. (Echoes of thissong can be heard in Aurra's "Nasty Disposition" and Snap!'s "The Power.") Beneath that is the lovely upbeat George Benson duet "We Got the Love," also written by the guitarist. Certified gold within a month of release, Chaka was quickly followed by seventh Rufus and Chaka album Masterjam, and then Chaka resumed solo work with Naughty.

Andy Kellman