"Le Freak" (Chic)

The members of the band Chic had been invited by artist Grace Jones to join her at the infamous Studio 54 to ring in the New Year, 1978.  So bassist Bernard Edwards and guitarist Nile Rodgers got dressed up in thousand-dollar suits and trudged through the dank Manhattan snow, trying hard not to ruin their finery, only to be told by a bouncer that they weren't getting into the club.  Jones had forgotten to leave their names at the door.

Understandably angry, they headed to Rodgers's apartment nearby and started jamming to vent their frustration.  Within no time, Rodgers came up with a funky guitar riff and Edwards fell in on bass, with the both of them chanting, Awww, f**k off!  F Studio 54 / Awww, f**k off!  F Studio 54.

In an April 2005 interview with Sound on Sound, Rodgers elaborated.

"We were so pissed off at what had happened.  I mean, it was Studio 54, it was New Year's Eve, it was Grace Jones, and we were wearing the most expensive outfits that we had...So 'F**k Off' was a protest song, and we actually thought it was pretty good."

As the song evolved, they kind of came to their senses, realizing that no radio station would ever play a single that featured the F-bomb, over and over.  So "F**k Off" quickly became the less profane "Freak Off," which ultimately became "Freak Out (Le Freak)."

Thing about "Le Freak" (1978), even if you're not a fan of disco (and I'm generally not), it's easy to love this track.  Even for all of its gloss, what with the lush strings and breathy female vocals, it feels rooted in rock and funk.  No other disco group had the gritty-sounding edge of Rodgers's fevered guitar licks and Edwards's larger-than-life bass.  I'd even go so far as to say that the instrumental break in the middle of the song is one of the best grooves of the 70s.  (My thumbs hurt just listening to that bassline!)