Chaka Khan

Whether she's bending a note, perfectly soaring above or below a melody, sliding into a peerless funk groove, or reaching out to us with aching clarity on one word, make that one syllable, there's a perfection and a precision to the music of Chaka Khan that, 25 years after her recording debut, is still without comparison.

For female vocalists, Chaka Khan has provided the standard to follow. Crossing the borders between rhythm & blues, jazz, pop, fusion and funk with ease, She has not only become one of the premier vocalists of our time, but one of the few female singers who can legitimately lay claim to the term "diva."

Now, for the first time ever, the songs that have made Chaka Khan a legend plus five brand-new track can be heard on one album: Epiphany: The Best Of Chaka Khan, on Reprise Records.

While the catchword in the title may mean "a great or sudden revelation," the path that led to this epiphany was not so clear cut. "I'd thought about it many times," says Chaka, "and I've always gotten it from a lot of people, friends, colleagues, fans that I should do a 'Best Of' album. But I really didn't know where to start. My biggest problem was that I had such a huge gang of songs from the past 25 years."

For Epiphany: The Best Of Chaka Khan, that massive list was whittled down to 11 classic cuts and five recently recorded bonus tracks, including the new single, "Never Miss The Water," which teams Chaka with critically acclaimed musician Me'shell NdegEocello.

"I think that anyone buying this greatest hits album would want to know that they're going to get these particular songs," says Chaka. "But we wanted to make it really special by adding new material."

The road to divadom can be a roller coaster ride, and the ascent of Chaka Khan has been no less intense. Born Yvette Marie Stevens and hailing from the South Side of Chicago, Chaka began her singing career at the tender age of 11, forming a group called the Crystalettes. At 13, she was christened Chaka, which means fire, by an African shaman, and by 15, she was performing in local clubs under that name. (She acquired Khan after a brief marriage.)

At 18, she found herself in Los Angeles, fronting a group of fledgling musicians by the name of Rufus. Chaka brought to the ensemble a vocal range that can only be described as primal; her impassioned and perfectly pitched contralto was in a class by itself. The proof of that powerful voice was apparent in the band's 1974 debut, which netted a Grammy for "Tell Me Something Good." Written especially for Chaka by Stevie Wonder, the track appears on Epiphany: The Best Of Chaka Khan in a smokin' live version with Rufus.

In the years to come, Chaka and Rufus would prove to be one of the most popular and influential groups in music, effortlessly bridging the gap between pop, rock and soul. In just five years, they notched 11 chart albums and nine Top 40 hits, including "Sweet Thing," "Once You Get Started" and "You Got The Love." The girl who had set out to become a singer had found stardom.

It was inevitable that Chaka would one day step out on her own, and when she did, the results were nothing short of spectacular. Her solo debut in 1978 yielded the smash hit, "I'm Every Woman," while her follow-up album two years later, Naughty, weighed in with "Papillon"a cut destined to become a live-performance favorite. Both of these classic tracks are included on Epiphany: The Best Of Chaka Khan. (Listen closely and you can hear Luther Vandross and Cissy Houston singing back-up on "Papillon.")

Blazing into the 80's, Chaka's What Cha' Gonna Do For Me, released in 1981, yielded a huge hit with the title-track single. Also on the record, "I Know You, I Live You" and the genre-splicing "And The Melody Lingers On (Night In Tunisia)," which features bebop progenitors Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. The year 1983 saw a reunion of sorts, as Chaka rejoined Rufus to record Rufus And Chaka Khan Live: Stompin' At The Savoy, producing the watershed cut, "Ain't Nobody." Penned by the group's Hawk Wolinski and recorded as a studio track, the song still enjoys a special place in Chaka's repertoire. "I've got to say," she admits, "'Ain't Nobody' is one of my favorite songs. It's a song I'll be singing probably for the rest of my life."

Also represented in the collection is 1984's I Feel For You, which spawned an across-the-board smash and a Grammy for the title track, which was composed by Prince and featured Stevie Wonder and rapper Melle Mel in guest roles. Also from that album is "Through The Fire," a Chaka classic that transcends the boundaries of radio playlists even today.

In an evocative nod to her musical mentor, Billie Holiday, Chaka has also included "The End Of A Love Affair" (from Holiday's Spain LP). Produced by veteran Russ Titelman, Chaka first recorded it in 1988 for her C.K. release.

Rounding out the list of previously released material on Epiphany: The Best Of Chaka Khan is the moving, almost folk-tinged "Love Me Still." "My songs are not just about a lost soul," Chaka says. "They're about love as strength. I think when a person loves someone, they should love them in a way that's good for that person. Love in a way that's helpful. It's important to me that my songs have real-life applications." "Love Me Still," which was co-written and performed by Chaka with Bruce Hornsby for the motion picture Clockers, is an exquisite example of just how commandingly the artist turns her philosophy to lyrics.

Of the new material, David Gamson, who produced "Love Me Still," provided the catalyst for the album's first single, "Never Miss The Water," a dynamic collaboration between Chaka and Me'Shell NdegEocello. "She played bass on almost everything he did with other artists," says Chaka, "and they were writing alot together. I liked her immediately when we met. Of course, I just fall in love with any chick who's playing an instrument and doing her music that is just so wonderful to see. When I got into her music and saw what she was about, it was like, 'Yes, this is a marriage made in heaven.' She's got another way of talking, and that moved me."

Also produced by Gamson with Andre Betts is Chaka's standout version of "Everywhere," written by Christine McVie as a Fleetwood Mac single. "David and I discussed the fact that I should do at least one cover song, and this was the first one that popped into my head," explains Chaka. "It's one of the songs I carry with me, inside of me. If I did happen to break into song in the shower, this might be it. We decided to take it a little reggae, because it just seemed so natural."

Given her stature as a gut-wrenching soul singer, isn't Fleetwood Mac rather an odd choice for inspiration? "I love Fleetwood Mac," Chaka asserts. "I listen to Joni Mitchell, Fleetwood Mac, The Doors I listen to a lot of rock. It's one of my main loves. I eventually want to do some rock." (Given her boundless talent, it should come as no surprise that Chaka fits so easily into other musical genres. Earlier this year, she won the coveted Capital Listeners Radio Poll Award [British equivalent to a Tony Award] for best actress for her role as Sister Carrie in the London-based musical, Mama, I Want To Sing a role that not only had this Catholic girl belting gospel songs but acting as well.)

To complete the lineup are three more new songs: "Your Love Is All I Know," "Every Little Thing" and "Somethin' Deep" the latter two co-written by Chaka herself. Of songwriting she says, "When I know I have to write a song, I'll do anything else. But once I get into it, I don't want to stop. It kind of reminds me of schoolwork or something but I love to write, and I've been doing quite a bit of it lately."

And what of the magical process that occurs in the studio when Chaka enters to sing her vocal, an occurrence she has, in the past, described as something close to a religious experience? It might surprise some to know that a little bit of ignorance goes a along way in capturing the magnificence of Chaka Khan's voice. Explains the singer: "Spontaneity has always been a good thing for me. When I'm recording, I listen to the demo as little as possible, so I go in with a little bit of ignorance as to what the song has to offer. I look at it as an overall map, and I work out the little road maps and streets once I get in the studio. It doesn't take long. I just sort of throw my head back, open my ears and go for it. The quicker I do it, the better I feel. I like to keep a human quality there."

The dictionary defines epiphany as "the manifestation of a supernatural or divine entity." In the case of The Best Of Chaka Khan, it's a very human one as well.