In 1953 Chaka Khan came into the world in Chicago under the name Yvette Marie Stevens. She had four brothers and sisters, and was the oldest of her siblings. The kids were raised on the south side of Chicago, an area known for its rough and tough way of life. Khan began performing and singing early on in life and formed her first musical group when she was eleven, The Crystalettes.
Chaka Khan came by her stage name when in 1973 she married Hassan Khan, her long-time boyfriend. She began to attract real notoriety when she joined the group Rufus. It was here that Stevie Wonder approached the group about collaborating on what would become their legendary hit, ‘Tell Me Something Good,’ written specifically for Khan. Khan began her solo career with a monster hit in ‘I’m Every Woman.’ From there she was off and running, having cemented a platinum recording career. With several hit singles released in throughout the 1980s and ‘90s, including the number one smash ‘Higher Love,’ with Steve Winwood. In 2011, Khan was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She has kept busy as the music industry has seen and felt many shifts, but Chaka Khan has embraced those shifts, preferring to look to the consistently focus on the future and new material.
