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Music|Alfa Anderson, Singer With Chic, Dies at 78
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/23/arts/music/alfa-anderson-dead.html
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She sang the famous refrain “Le freak, c’est chic,” on one of disco’s biggest hits and was a sought-after vocalist for many prominent artists.
Dec. 23, 2024Updated 10:46 a.m. ET
Alfa Anderson, the singer behind hits including “Le Freak” and “Good Times,” has died. She was 78.
The death was confirmed by Ms. Anderson’s publicist, Tonya Hawley, who did not cite a cause or say when or where she died.
Ms. Anderson’s voice became a constant presence in the disco era from her work with the band Chic and other prominent artists, including Sister Sledge, Diana Ross and Mick Jagger.
Her musical career blossomed after she moved from Augusta, Ga., to New York, where she studied education and became a teacher, marking up homework and leading classes while performing with bands around the city.
She was eventually introduced to Luther Vandross, who invited her to a Chic vocal session, shortly after the disco band was formed by the guitarist Nile Rodgers and bassist Bernard Edwards. Ms. Anderson sang as a background vocalist on Chic’s debut album, before becoming a co-lead vocalist with Luci Martin from 1978 to 1983.
Her voice can be heard on some of the band’s best-known hits, including “Good Times.” She sang solo on “At Last I Am Free,” and “I Want Your Love.”
In 2013, she told Pop Matters that “I Want Your Love” was still a song she enjoyed decades later.
“It made me feel like I was really an integral part of the group, not just a background singer,” she said. “It actually forced me to throw off my Southern Baptist roots and not be so shy about expressing my sensuality or sexuality.”
