Chaka Khan (born Yvette Marie Stevens; March 23, 1953) is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter best known for such hit songs as "I'm Every Woman", "Ain't Nobody", "I Feel for You"  . .   Expand    Wikipedia

Chaka Khan (born Yvette Marie Stevens; March 23, 1953) is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter best known for such hit songs as "I'm Every Woman", "Ain't Nobody", "I Feel for You" and "Through the Fire". She sang a modernized theme song for the popular children's TV show Reading Rainbow in the show's later years. Khan was featured vocalist in the funk band Rufus with hit songs, "Tell Me Something Good", "You Got The Love", "Once You Get Started", 'Sweet Thing", "Everlasting Love" and "Stay", before launching a solo career. Khan was born Yvette Marie Stevens in North Chicago, Illinois. Her sister is dance music artist Taka Boom, and her brother is Mark Stevens of the band Aurra. Khan was raised on Chicago's South Side, and at the age of eleven formed her first group, the Crystalettes. She went to Calumet High School and Kenwood Academy on the city's south side and while in high school, she joined the Afro-Arts Theater group, which toured with Motown great Mary Wells. She adopted the African name "Chaka" while working as a volunteer on the Black Panthers' Free Breakfast for Children program in Chicago. During a naming ceremony at the Afro-Arts Theater, a Yoruba priest christened her Chaka Adunne Aduffe Yemoja Hodarhi Karifi (as stated on her official website). After quitting high school in 1969, Chaka joined the group Lyfe, before leaving to join another soul band, The Babysitters, replacing former lead singer Baby Huey. Neither group enjoyed mainstream success, but her fortunes changed when she teamed with ex-American Breed member Kevin Murphy and Andre Fischer to form Rufus. Around this time she married bass guitarist Hassan Khan.

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