Discover Nile Rodgers' Love Letter to Abbey Road Studios
This February, we asked well-known personalities to tell us about the buildings they couldn’t live without. Here is a love letter by Nile Rodgers, legendary co-founder of CHIC and Chairman of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Abbey Road Studios is a grade II listed building.
Everyday it’s a joy to look out the window of my studio as I write and produce and watch people from all over the world pretending they are John, Paul, George and Ringo crossing Abbey Road.
Nile Rodgers' love letter to Abbey Road Studios
“When you think of London it immediately evokes history and substance. Further still if you are focused on business and culture the foundation of the world as we know it today is London.
From the contrast of the dungeons and Crown Jewels of the Tower to her majesty and Buckingham Palace, London is full of so many wonders of the world but if, like me, you are a music lover none are more important than Abbey Road, the North London house turned recording studio Mecca under the guidance of Elgar that The Beatles called home. Almost every note they recorded was birthed here and from Edith Piaf to Pink Floyd to Ed Sheeran it’s been, and remains, a thrill for all of us to be in its hallowed halls.
I consider it a privilege to be [the Abbey Road Studios] Chief Creative Advisor and despite having sold over 500 million records this is a highlight of my career. Last year was sensational and culminated with me conducting the orchestral version of David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance”.
2019 is even more exciting. I can honestly say you haven’t truly visited London until you’ve set eyes on Abbey Road. Everyday it’s a joy to look out the window of my studio as I write and produce and watch people from all over the world pretending they are John, Paul, George and Ringo crossing Abbey Road. That’s a special moment no one, who has experienced it, will ever forget!”
About Nile Rodgers
Among music legends, Nile Rodgers is truly exceptional. He amplifies his legacy as a multiple GRAMMY-winning composer, producer, arranger and guitarist by constantly traversing new musical terrain and successfully expanding the boundaries of popular music.
As the co-founder of CHIC and the newly elected 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”.
Nile Rodgers transcends all styles of music across every generation with a body of work that’s garnered him inductions into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (2017) and the Songwriters Hall of Fame (2016).
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.
Nile Rodgers & CHIC recently released their first new studio album, “It’s About Time” in over 26 years to critical acclaim and a Top 10 position in the UK album charts.
