Australian Musician editor Greg Phillips was thrilled to catch up with multiple Grammy Award-winning composer, producer, arranger and guitarist NILE RODGERS to chat about a range of topics including: the work ethic of recording, his Hitmaker Strat, his views on the Fender Acoustasonic Strat, working with INXS, selling his cars and guitars and more.
Multiple Grammy Award-winning composer, producer, arranger and guitarist Nile Rodgers is known as one of the most decorated musicians in the history of music, with his name appearing in the credits of countless smash hits. As the co-founder of CHIC and the current Chairman of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Rodgers pioneered a musical language that generated chart-topping hits like “Le Freak,” (the biggest selling single in the history of Atlantic Records!) and sparked the advent of hip-hop with “Good Times”. His work in the CHIC Organization and his productions for artists like David Bowie, Diana Ross, and Madonna have sold over 500 million albums and 75 million singles worldwide while his innovative, trendsetting collaborations with Daft Punk, Avicii, Sigala, Disclosure, and Sam Smith reflect the vanguard of contemporary music.
Throughout Rodgers’ distinguished career, his signature tool of his trade has always been his trademark 1960 Stratocaster with a 1959 neck — otherwise known at the “Hitmaker”. Fender recently introduced Nile Rodgers to the innovative American Acoustasonic Stratocaster and he was immediately drawn to its seamless and endless combination of acoustic and electric tones.