Alpha Anderson, singer of some of the disco group Chic's biggest hits, including 'Le Freak', 'Good Times', 'My Forbidden Lover', 'At Last I Am Free', 'I Want Your Love', has died . The band's Nile Rodgers shared the news on social media, but did not reveal the cause of death. Anderson was 78 years old.
Anderson was born in Augusta, Georgia, on September 7, 1946. She is said to have composed her first song at the age of three, but as she grew older, she focused on her education, eventually attending school to become a teacher. first at Paine College and then at Columbia University. However, she sang in her school choirs and eventually made her debut as a backup singer for Cannonball Adderley at Carnegie Hall in 1976. Anderson went on to record vocals for Dionne Warwick and Roy Buchanan. He was also featured on the Quincy Jones-produced 1978 soundtrack The Wiz. While working on the soundtrack, she met Luther Vandross, who encouraged her to audition for the newly formed Chic in 1977.
Both Vandross and Anderson sang on Chic's self-titled debut in 1977, but Anderson wouldn't claim her spot as a vocalist until the departure of original lead Norma Jean Wright the following year. It would go on to feature prominently on the group's biggest albums—1978 C'est Chic and of 1979 Daring—until Chic first broke up in 1983. During this time, Anderson was a frequent guest on Soul train and Top of the Popsand sang on Chic-produced albums such as We are Familyby Sister Sledge, and Artemisby Diana Ross.
After touring internationally with Vandross in the mid-1980s, Anderson turned to teaching, eventually becoming the director at Brooklyn's El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice. Released music intermittently throughout the 2010s, including the single “Former First Lady of Chic” and the self-released album Music from my heart. In 2015, Chic's “Le Freak” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and, three years later, added to the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry.
