ITunes Live: Chaka Khan

Aretha, Janis, Tina, Beyonce? there are barely a handful of female soul singers for whom only a first name will do. Chaka, however, has a CV to rival any of them. Born Yvette Marie Stevens, she grew up in Chicago during the political turmoil of the 1950s and 1960s. Having formed her first singing group at eleven, by twenty she had found a musical outlet as lead singer for Rufus.A string of classic hits ? including party perennials ?Ain?t Nobody,? ?I?m Every Woman,? and ?I Feel For You? ? established her as a worldwide concern. In the years since, collaborations with an A-Z of stars ranging from Ray Charles to Stevie Wonder to Kanye West have confirmed her reputation as the same free-thinking radical who joined The Black Panthers as a teenager. An inspiration to everyone from long-term fan Prince to The Gossip, her new album Funk This ? a collaboration with hit-making giants Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis ? is a gritty return to her roots which features new material, including a duet with Mary J. Blige and covers of Chaka's musical idols ranging from Joni Mitchell to Jimi Hendrix. See her live however, and you?ll have something to tell your grandchildren.