Nile Rodgers Reacts To Chic's Rock Hall Snubbing

(Radio.com) Nile Rodgers appeared on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ballot 11 times and never made the cut until 2016. In a sense, his just-announced nomination makes history but for one glaring omission.

Rodgers has been recognized without his band, Chic, to whom he credits much of his subsequent success as a writer and producer. "It's sort of bittersweet," he told Rolling Stone.

"I'm a little perplexed because even though I'm quite flattered that they believed that I was worthy, my band Chic didn't win. They plucked me out of the band and said, 'You're better than Chic.' That's wacky to me. The only reason why I met Bowie and Madonna and Duran Duran and INXS is because they all loved Chic."

Despite Chic's relatively short two-year run, Rodgers says the band's success stacks up to Hall of Fame standards, purely by the numbers. "We never had a record that wasn't gold, platinum or multiple platinum," he said. "I'm talking singles. 'Le Freak' was the largest-selling single in the history of Atlantic Records for 37 years. No other record sold that much for 37 years. If I was an announcer of rock & roll statistics I'd say, 'There's a future hall of famer there.' 'Le Freak' went Number One three times, same song. Nobody in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has done that." Read more here.