Season finale of Unsung features Niles Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic

I have been a big fan of the TV One series Unsung, which features artistes known for making hits in their heyday, but who never got the full credit they deserved or are being re-introduced to today's generation of music loving fans unaware of their influences on current music.

Tonight's season 7 finale featured disco greats Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards who were largely responsible for the success of the disco era of the '70s and '80s with songs like "Good Times," "I want your love," and "Le freak," also known as freak out. I am a product of the '80s, but I grew up in a musically appreciative family, and the memories of weekends spent listening to the tunes of Barry White or Regina Belle's version of "Baby come to me," are a reminder of how music served as a bonding agent for my family.

At its peak, Chic added another female singer, and replaced Wright who went solo

Thanks to my parents, who introduced me to music by artistes who came decades before I was born, and an older sister and brother who made sure I knew of every hit song that was released in the late '80s and early '90s, I have been labeled an old soul by some of my friends, who are amazed by how much I seem to know about "old school music." A run through my Itunes catalog will reveal music by the likes of John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald, Zapp & Roger, Billy Ocean, Siedah Garrett and The Manhattans.

Chic was one of such groups that I grew up listening to, though I didn't know much about the story behind their music. That's why I love shows like Unsung, because I've learned so much about the history behind music greats. Rodgers and Edwards, were electrifying guitarists who were rejected by record companies because no one thought two black guys with a rock sound would sell. They formed the band Chic after adding drummer Tony Thompson and singer Norma Jean Wright.

The original Chic: Bernard Edwards, Norma Jean Wright, Nile Rodgers and Tony Thompson

By 1977, they became one of the biggest acts in music, churning out hits after hits after hits behind the electrifying bass guitar sounds created by Rodgers and Edwards. That song credited as the foundation of the Hip-Hop industry, "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugar Hill Gang? Yep, it borrowed the instrumentals to Good Times. Something else I wasn't even aware of was that Faith Evans' major hit "Love like this," used the instrumentals for "Chic Cheer."

Sadly, by the summer of 1979, just two years after their massive break out, the group's run of hits would be over after the death of the disco event in which tons of disco records were blown up at a Chicago stadium. Nevertheless Rodgers, Edwards and Thompson remained relevant as hit producers and drummer for several major singers of the '80s and '90s. Sister Sledge (We are a family, He's the greatest dancer,) Diana Ross (I'm coming out, upside down,) Madonna (Like a virgin,) David Bowie (Let's dance,) Rod Stewart (Out of order, Vagabond heart,) and Led Zepellin (Thompson toured as a drummer) are just a few of many artistes who turned to the brains behind Chic for a career boost.

Sadly Edwards died of complications from pneumonia the morning after a performance with Rodgers in Tokyo in 1996. The group had started performing again after a long hiatus and Rodgers was the one who found Edwards in his hotel room. His condition was so bad that he had reportedly fallen asleep during the performance. Thompson died in 2003, a month after he was diagnosed with a form of kidney cancer. Wright, after a brief singing career, became a school principal and currently performs with another female member of the group.

Rodgers remains the most successful member of the band and has managed to keep his career going with production work for current artistes like American Idol alum Adam Lambert. His 2013 collaboration with Daft Punk and Pharrell Williams on the song "Get Lucky," continues to top the charts in 2014 and won several Grammys including record of the year.

You can watch the full episode of Unsung: Nile Rodgers and Chic here.