Alfa Anderson, disco powerhouse and lead vocalist of the 1970s band Chic, has died

The singer was best known for working with Chic, who created notable hits like “Good Times,” “I Want Your Love,” and “Le Freak.”

Credit: Alfa Anderson/YouTube

Alfa Anderson, a vocal powerhouse best known as the lead vocalist of the iconic 1970s disco band Chic, has died. She was 78.

Niles Rodgers, founder of Chic, broke the news on social media. “RIP Alfa Anderson. CHIC Organization,” he wrote. “Forever loved.” No cause of death has been revealed yet.

A native of Augusta, Georgia, Anderson showed interest in music from an early age. She sang in the choir at Paine College, which “re-ignited her passion for singing,” and also sang at Columbia University’s Teachers College in New York, where she earned a master’s degree in English.

In 1977, Luther Vandross introduced Anderson to Rodgers and his songwriting partner Bernard Edwards, and they invited her to a vocal session for their new band. Loving her voice, they brought Anderson aboard and she performed on “Dance, Dance, Dance” and “Everybody Dance” from the band’s debut album.

After Norma Jean Wright, an original lead vocalist for Chic, left the band in 1978, Anderson became co-lead vocalist. Chic took off from there, and with Anderson’s exceptional performance on the classic hits “Le Freak” and “Good Times,” the group realized she was there to stay.

“Le Freak,” perhaps the band’s most notable song, was the “biggest-selling single in Atlantic Records history” for more than 30 years and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2015.

“The thing that made Chic interesting is that we did a lot of harmony in our vocals,” Anderson told the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder in 2017. “[But] when you sing in unison, everything has to click — every breath, every nuance has to be on. That was harder for me, but I loved it. Harmonies I love. It’s perfect, and it’s a joy.”

After Chic fell apart in 1983, Anderson toured with her longtime friend Vandross as a backup singer during the 1980s. She worked with some of the biggest names in music, from Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Gregory Hines, Teddy Pendergrass, and even Mick Jagger. “The thing I got from all of them [is] their passion, the honesty and the truth,” she said.

She released her first solo album, “Music from My Heart,” in 2017.

Ultimately, Anderson would return to her first passion: educating others. She earned a second master’s degree in school leadership from Bank Street College in New York City, which helped her serve as a principal of El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice High School in Brooklyn.

“During her tenure, Alfa inspired and transformed the lives of our young people and community with her profound grace, wisdom, artistry and indomitable spirit,” the school wrote in a statement. “We thank you, dear Alfa and may you continue to dance with the angels with eternal peace and power!”