Alfa Anderson Dies: Lead Singer On Chic’s ‘Le Freak’ Was 78

Natalie Oganesyan
·3-min read
Alfa Anderson Dies: Lead Singer On Chic’s ‘Le Freak’ Was 78

Alfa Anderson, who lent her lead vocals to the seminal, Grammy Hall of Fame-inducted Chic track “Le Freak,” has died at 78.

“Thank you for everything,” Nile Rodgers, who co-founded the 1970s disco band alongside Bernard Edwards, wrote in an Instagram tribute shared earlier this week. “RIP Alfa Anderson. CHIC Organization. Forever loved ❤️🙏🏽,” he added in the video post set to the group’s “At Last I Am Free” (on which Anderson lent her voice), featuring images of the two musical colleagues.

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A cause of death has not been given.

As an early vocalist for the group, the notable soul and dance musician contributed to such classics like “Good Times,” “Everybody Dance” and “I Want Your Love.” These tracks have been subsequently sampled by the likes of The Sugarhill Gang, Will Smith, Grandmaster Flash, Michael Jackson, Kylie Minogue, LL Cool J and many others.

Per her official biography, Anderson got her start through a featured role in jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley’s Big Man, which debuted at Carnegie Hall in 1976. She also starred in Lincoln Center’s production of Children of the Fire, scored by legendary trumpeter Hannibal Lokumbe (née Marvin Peterson).

Throughout the ’70s, she recorded background vocals for a variety of artists, including Nat Adderley, Ray Barretto, Odyssey, Major Harris and Roy Buchanan. Additionally, she sang on the Quincy Jones-produced soundtrack to The Wiz (1978), featuring Diana Ross and Jackson.

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Anderson’s life changed when famed record producer Luther Vandross invited her to a vocal session for Chic, then just recently formed with Tony Thompson on drums and Norma Jean Wright on lead vocals. She first began as a background vocalist, on one of Chic’s first singles for Atlantic Records, “Everybody Dance,” which catapulted Chic to the top of the dance charts for seven consecutive weeks in 1977. After joining Chic on tour, Anderson was promoted to lead vocalist, a role she shared with Luci Martin from the late ’70s through the early ’80s.

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The group’s second album, C’est Chic (1978), was a critical and commercial darling, featuring Anderson’s two solo numbers, “At Last I Am Free” and “I Want Your Love.” Renowned vocalist Diva Gray and Anderson both sang lead on “Le Freak,” the group’s beloved ode to Studio 54 that has since been added to the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as of 2018. That track became Chic’s most successful single, as well as Atlantic’s for more than three decades.

Anderson continued as lead vocalist throughout Chic’s albums released in the early ’80s, appearing with the group on Soul Train and New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. Meanwhile, she lent her vocals on Chic-produced sessions for artists like Ross, Sister Sledge and Johnny Mathis.

Following Chic’s dissolution, Anderson continued her singing career with a number of artists, including Vandross (whose touring band she performed with at Wembley Stadium and other prestigious venues), as well as Gregory Hines, Mick Jagger, Teddy Pendergrass and more.

Prior to her death, Anderson continued working as a musician, releasing her first solo effort, 2017’s Music From My Heart, which she premiered with a standing room-only concert at Joe’s Pub (The Public Theater) in New York City.

Anderson was born Sept. 7, 1947 in Augusta, Georgia, where she was eventually bestowed a key to the city in 2018. She was married to producer, composer and bass player Eluriel “Tinkr” Barfield, with whom she founded the faith-based group Voices of Shalom, releasing two albums.

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