Le Freak - Edit

Chic was a group led by bass player Bernard Edwards and guitarist Nile Rodgers. Both were very successful writers and producers, combining to work on hits for Sister Sledge and Diana Ross. Edwards went on to produce for The Power Station, Joe Cocker, and Robert Palmer, while Rodgers has worked with Mick Jagger, David Bowie, and Madonna. Edwards died of pneumonia in 1996.

Rodgers and Edwards wrote this after they were denied admission to a nightclub, even though their song "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)" often played inside. It was New Year's Eve, 1977, and they were invited to Studio 54, a very popular club in New York City where many celebrities and trendsetters were known to hang out. A singer named Grace Jones wanted Rodgers and Edwards to do some production work for her, and asked them to come down to the club as her guest. When they got there, they were not on the list, and couldn't convince the doorman that they were the group Chic. All dressed up and nowhere to go on New Year's Eve, they left and started writing this song as a reply to the doorman. They called it "F--k Off," but when they decided to record it, Edwards wasn't comfortable with the cursing, so they tried it as "Freak Off." That title sounded lame, but when they made the opening lines "aaaahh Freak Out!" instead of "aaaahh F--k Off!", they came up with a better title: "La Freak." They ended up not working for Grace Jones, although Rodgers produced her comeback album in 1986.

Studio 54 is mentioned in the last verse: "Come on down to 54." A year after Rodgers and Edwards couldn't get into the club, this was included on an album of dance songs called A Night At Studio 54. They had no trouble getting in at this point.