Table of Biography
Chaka Khan is an American 10-time Grammy Awards winner singer and songwriter. Chaka Khan is known as the lead vocalist of the band Rufus from the 1970s. Likewise, she is also known as the Queen of Funk music. Her 12th studio album Hello Happiness’s title song Chaka Khan – Hello Happiness was released on January 14, 2019.
Early Life
Chaka Khan was born on March 23, 1953, in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Her zodiac sign is Aries and she holds American nationality. Her father’s name is Charles Stevens and her mother’s name is Sandra Coleman.
She was raised with her four siblings: Taka Boom, Kathleen Burrell, Tammy McCrary, and Mark Stevens in Hyde Park. She was the eldest child among other siblings in her family.
Currently, she is 69 years old. Her sister Taka Boom is a successful female R&B and dance music singer in America. Her brother Mark Stevens is a musician and former band member of Aurra.
She graduated from elementary school in Saint Thomas the Apostle Church. She dropped out of Calumet High School and Kenwood High School in 1969. Furthermore, she attended Berklee College to learn music.
Chaka Khan – Net Worth 2023
Khan’s net worth is around USD 30 million. Additionally, her primary source of revenue is her music career. Besides that, the average wage of a musician or artist in the United States is about $39k. Moreover, she receives even more from her singing, endorsements, shows, and other endeavors.
Achievements
Chaka Khan has ten Grammy Awards and an estimated 70 million records sold worldwide. She has got a nomination for 22 Grammy Awards, including three as a member of Rufus.
Moreover, she had four gold singles, four gold singles, and two platinum albums with Rufus.
The soul singer/songwriter has received several other awards, including the BET and World Music Awards Lifetime Achievement Awards, as well as the prestigious UNCF Award of Excellence for her exceptional achievements in the music industry.
In addition, Khan and her former band Rufus were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on September 27, 2011.
Relationship Status
Chaka Khan married Doug Rasheed in 2001. Additionally, Khan previously married Richard Holland in 1976 and filed for divorce in 1980.
She married Hassan Khan in 1970 when she was 17 years old. After that, they later divorced. She has two children: Indira Milini Khan, a daughter, and Damien Holland, a son.
On September 24, 2004, her son Damien Patrick Holland murdered Christopher Bailey, a 17-year-old teenage rapper. Since Holland didn’t want Christopher talking to his girlfriend, he killed him with an M-16 assault rifle.
Khan and her son, Holland paid more than $1.3 million to Christopher’s family and were discharged in May 2006, following a two-year jury trial.
Caption: Chaka Khan with her daughter Indira Khan (Source: Instagram)
Body Measurements
Chaka has dark brown eyes and black hair. Her height is 5 feet 4 inches and her weight is about 75 kilograms. Besides that, her body measurements are unavailable.
Caption: Chaka Khan body measurement (Source: Instagram)
Professional Life
Chaka was 11 years old when she formed a girl group the Crystalettes with her sister. At the age of 13, Yoruba Baba named her Chaka Adunne Aduffe Hodarhi Kari.
She started performing with Cash McCall’s group Lyfe, in which her first husband, Hassan Khan, was also a member. She asked to join the band Baby Huey and the Babysitters, but they disbanded within a year.
Caption: Khan’s album Hello Happiness cover photo (Source: Instagram)
A Career With Rufus Band
She joined the band Rufus in 1972 replacing singer Paulette McWilliams. Ike Turner, a musician, provided this band the chance to record at his studio Bolic Sound in Inglewood, California.
In 1973, they released their self-titled debut album on the ABC Records label. In 1974, Rufus Tell Me Something Good, written by Stevie Wonder, became a success and reached the top three on the Billboard Hot 100.
This song has earned them a Grammy Award. Rufus recorded six platinum-selling albums between 1974 and 1979. She reunited with Rufus again in 1979 for the song Do You Love What You Feel from the album Masterjam.
Moreover, she performed with Tony Maiden.
A Solo Career
Khan’s solo career began in 1978 when she signed with Warner Bros. Chaka, her first solo debut album, and the first single I’m Every Woman, composed by Ashford and Simpson, were released. Between 1981 and 1982, she recorded three solo albums
: Whatcha Gonna Do for Me, Echoes of Era, and Chaka. I Feel for You, Khan’s sixth studio album, was released in 1984. This album catapulted her solo career to new heights, peaking at No. 1 in the United Kingdom.
The album peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1984, where it stood for 26 weeks. It also peaked at No. 1 on the Cash Box chart and received the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song in 1985.
Her other albums include Destiny in 1986, CK in 1988, The Woman I Am in 1992, ClassiKhan in 2004, and Funk This in 2007. Hello Happiness, her first album in twelve years was released on February 15, 2019.
Furthermore, Khan and Ariana Grande collaborated on the song “Nobody” from Charlie’s Angels soundtrack in November 2019.
Chaka Khan – Social Media
Khan has over 2.2 million Facebook followers. She has 467.1k Twitter followers and over 617k Instagram followers. Moreover, her own YouTube channel has over 241K subscribers and has received over 66 million views.