''Risqué'' is the third studio album by American

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

band

Chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Pronounced Chick. Etymology ''Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English dictiona ...

, released on

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

on July 30, 1979. One of the records that defined the

disco era Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

, the album became highly influential not only within the movement, but also in other styles such as hip hop,

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an art ...

and new wave. In 2020, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' ranked the album at number 414 on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Release

''Risqué'' includes three classic Chic hits; "

Good Times ''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was television's first African ...

" (#1 US Pop, #1 US R&B June 23, 1979, #5 UK), "

My Forbidden Lover "My Forbidden Lover" is the second single from Chic's 1979 album '' Risqué''. From the funk/soul genre, and in the style of disco, the song was written and produced by Chic's two frontmen, Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers. The song's backing ...

" (#33 US R&B, #43 US Pop October 13, 1979, #15 UK) and "

My Feet Keep Dancing "My Feet Keep Dancing" is the third single from Chic's third studio album '' Risqué''. It features a co-lead vocal by Luci Martin and Bernard Edwards and a tap dance solo by Fayard Nicholas Fayard Antonio Nicholas (October 20, 1914 – January ...

" (#42 US R&B, #101 US Pop December 8, 1979, #21 UK). ''Risqué'' reached #5 on the US albums chart and #2 on the US R&B chart. It has been certified Platinum by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

for sales over 1 million copies. It peaked at #29 in the UK and was certified Silver by the BPI. ''Risqué'' was released on

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...

Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

in 1991 (catalogue number 7567-80406-2). The album was digitally remastered and re-issued by

Warner Music Japan Warner Music Group's labels include the following. Flagship labels *Atlantic Records *Elektra Records *Parlophone Records *Warner Records Atlantic Records Group * 1st & 15th Entertainment * Nipsey Hussle, All Money In * Mike Caren, Artist Par ...

in 2011.

Critical Reception

''Risqué'' received widespread critical acclaim for its lyrics and tone. In a review for

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

, Daryl Easlea called the album "one of the greatest exhibits in the case for disco's defence," and saying that it was "Chic's most sustained artistic statement, a celebration of a 70s that was collapsing under its own excess and

hedonism Hedonism refers to a family of theories, all of which have in common that pleasure plays a central role in them. ''Psychological'' or ''motivational hedonism'' claims that human behavior is determined by desires to increase pleasure and to decr ...

Legacy

" has been extensively sampled in other artists' works, most notably in the first top 40 rap single, "

Rapper's Delight "Rapper's Delight" is a 1979 hip-hop track by the Sugarhill Gang, produced by Sylvia Robinson. Although it was shortly preceded by the Fatback Band's "King Tim III (Personality Jock)", "Rapper's Delight" is credited for introducing hip-hop mus ...

" by

Sugarhill Gang Sugar Hill may refer to: Places In the United States: * Sugar Hill, Georgia, a city * Sugar Hill, New Hampshire, a town * Sugar Hill, Manhattan, New York, a section of Harlem * Sugar Hill (New York), a mountain in Schuyler County * Sugar Hill, P ...

, that same year. "Will You Cry" was sampled in " Just a Moment" by

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

from the 2004 album ''

Street's Disciple ''Street's Disciple'' is the seventh studio album by American rapper Nas, released as a double album by Columbia Records. Originally scheduled for a September 14, 2004 release, the album was ultimately released on November 30, 2004. Named after on ...

''.

Accolades

The information regarding accolades attributed to ''Risqué'' is adapted from

Acclaimed Music Acclaimed Music is a website created by Henrik Franzon, a statistician from Stockholm, Sweden in September 2001. Franzon has statistically aggregated hundreds of published lists that rank songs and albums into aggregated rankings by year, deca ...

, except where otherwise noted.

Track listing

Personnel

* Alfa Anderson – lead vocals (1, 4, 6, 7) * Luci Martin – lead vocals (1, 3, 4, 5) *

Fonzi Thornton Alfonso "Fonzi" Thornton is a U.S. songwriter/producer and vocal contractor. In a career spanning 40 years, Thornton has sung backing vocals for top artists across many genres of music. His vocal credits can be found on the recordings of Aret ...

– vocals * Michelle Cobbs – backing vocals *

Ullanda McCullough Ullanda McCullough is an American pop music singer most noted as a backing vocalist. Career McCullough began her singing career at age 13 in Detroit, Michigan. In early 1970s she sang numerous advertising jingles including the 1971 Coca-Cola com ...

– backing vocals * Raymond Jones – keyboards *

Robert Sabino Robert Sabino is an American rock keyboardist.(14 July 1996)Star Turns From a Home in the Firehouse ''The New York Times'' ("Mr. Sabino, a well-known keyboardist, attracted a record producer, Nile Rodgers, who lived in Fairfield County, to some o ...

– keyboards * Andy Schwartz – keyboards *

Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, record producer and composer. The co-founder of Chic, Rodgers has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million ...

– guitars, vocals *

Bernard Edwards Bernard Edwards (October 31, 1952 – April 18, 1996) was an American bass player and record producer, known primarily for his work in disco music with guitarist Nile Rodgers, with whom he co-founded Chic. In 2017, Edwards was selected as the ...

– bass guitar, lead vocals (3) * Tony Thompson – drums *

Sammy Figueroa Sammy Figueroa (born November 16, 1948, The Bronx, New York) is an American percussionist. At 18 he joined the band of bassist Bobby Valentín and also co-led the Brazilian/Latin fusion group Raíces. Selected Discography Alex Foster – saxophones * Barry Rogers – trombone *

Jon Faddis Jon Faddis (born July 24, 1953) is an American jazz trumpet player, conductor, composer, and educator, renowned for both his playing and for his expertise in the field of music education. Upon his first appearance on the scene, he became known ...

– trumpet * Ellen Seeling – trumpet * The Chic Strings: ** Valerie Heywood – strings ** Cheryl Hong – strings ** Karen Karlsrud – strings ** Karen Milne – strings *

Gene Orloff Gene Orloff (June 14, 1921 – March 23, 2009) was an American violinist, concertmaster, arranger, contractor and session musician. Background The son of a Russian immigrant violin maker, Orloff would try and get his father's violin down from th ...

– concertmaster Tap Dancers on "My Feet Keep Dancing" *

Eugene Jackson Eugene W. Jackson II (December 25, 1916 – October 26, 2001) was an American child actor who was a regular of the '' Our Gang'' short series during the silent Pathé era. Career When he joined the gang, Jackson replaced the series' firs ...

* Fayard Nicholas * Sammy Warren

Production

– producer for Chic Organization Ltd., arrangements and conductor *

Bob Clearmountain Bob Clearmountain (born January 15, 1953) is an American recording engineer, mixer and record producer. He has worked with many major acts, including Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Toto, Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams, with whom he has a very ...

– sound engineer * Jim Galante – assistant engineer * Jeff Hendrickson – assistant engineer * Peter Robbins – assistant engineer * Jackson Schwartz – assistant engineer * Raymond Willard – assistant engineer * Dennis King – mastering *

Carin Goldberg Carin Goldberg (June 12, 1953 – January 19, 2023) was an American graphic designer, publication designer and brand consultant. She was known for her cover designs for record albums and books, with her work appearing in and on the covers of the ...

– art direction * Ken Ambrose – photography * All songs recorded and mixed at The Power Station (New York, NY). * Additional recording at

Electric Lady Studios Electric Lady Studios is a recording studio in Greenwich Village, New York City. It was commissioned by rock musician Jimi Hendrix in 1968 and designed by architect John Storyk and audio engineer Eddie Kramer by 1970. Hendrix spent only ten ...

(New York, NY) and Kendun Recorders (Burbank, CA). * Mastered at

Atlantic Studios Atlantic Studios was the recording studio of Atlantic Records. Although this recording studio was located at 1841 Broadway (at the corner of 60th Street), in New York City, Atlantic Recording Studios was initially located at 234 West 56th Street ...

(New York, NY).

Certifications

References

External links

''Risqué''
(

Adobe Flash Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash) is a multimedia Computing platform, software platform used for production of Flash animation, animations, rich web applications, application software, desktop applications, mobile apps, mo ...

) at

Radio3Net Radio 3 net is the former ''Radio România Tineret'' (or Radio 3). More than 20,000 albums are stored on Radio 3 net. A few of the prominent features available on the website are "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" and "Search & Play". ...

(streamed copy where licensed) {{DEFAULTSORT:Risque (album) Chic (band) albums 1979 albums Atlantic Records albums Albums produced by Nile Rodgers Albums produced by Bernard Edwards