Khan Artist

Friday, May 17, 2002 | 2:52 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION: May 19, 2002

Chaka Khan.

The name sounds as exotic and mysterious as the outspoken singer who became an icon of R&B music in the 1970s and '80s.

Born Yvette Marie Stevens on March 23, 1953, in Great Lakes, Ill., she was christened Chaka at age 13 by an African shaman. She acquired the name Khan later during a brief marriage.

Khan will be the first guest headliner to star in "Signed, Sealed, Delivered," a tribute to the music of her friend, Stevie Wonder, debuting Saturday at The Venetian Showroom.

The production, created and directed by Billy Porter, will feature a rotating series of guest headliners (others will be announced). Each star will spend four to six weeks with the show, which will include eight supporting cast members and a 10-piece band.

Khan is expected to headline several times throughout the run of the show.

The 49-year-old diva is a versatile singer who easily crosses into such genres as jazz, pop, soul and funk. Her long list of hits include "You Got the Love," "Sweet Thing," "I'm Every Woman" and 1984's "I Feel For You."

Khan quit high school in 1969 and joined several dance bands before teaming up in 1973 with ex-American Breed member Kevin Murphy and Andre Fisher to form the group Rufus.

Rufus became one of the premier funk groups of the '70s. It earned several gold and platinum albums before Khan went solo in 1978. On her own, she had seven gold and two platinum albums.

Since Khan left Warner Brothers records in 1996, she has created her own label (Earth Song), and her own production company (Raeven Productions).

During a recent telephone interview from her home in Los Angeles, Khan talked about family, friends and a dynamic career that has spanned 30 years, through good times and bad.

Las Vegas Sun: Tell us about the show.

Chaka Khan: It's a musical play featuring the songs of Stevie. It tells the story about his love and life. The songs are great. The cast is phenomenal. The production is brilliant.

Sun: How did you become involved?

CK: They asked me, and I liked the idea.

Sun: Didn't Stevie Wonder write a song for you?

CK: A long time ago ("Tell Me Something Good," 1974).

Sun: Tell us about using rotating headliners in the show.

CK: I will be soliciting my friends to take part. I'll kickoff the first few weeks, and then someone else will take over. I'll be coming back on board now and then, when time permits. Don't ask who the guests will be, because I haven't asked anyone yet.

Sun: Do the producers plan to take it on the road?

CK: Yes. To Broadway, London and everywhere.

Sun: Where are you living these days?

CK: L.A. and London.

Sun: You've been in London quite a while.

CK: I've been there 12 years. I love Europe. I lived in Germany as well as England for years. Call me an Anglophile.

Sun: You must like the European lifestyle.

CK: Yes, I do. I like to get out of America as often as I can. I like to travel the earth. I consider myself an earthling.

Sun: Do you still do a lot of concert dates?

CK: Yes. Out of a year, I spend almost 11 months touring.

Sun: Doesn't that get to be a grind?

CK: Yeah, sometimes it does. But this is what I do. This is my job.

Sun: Have you lost any enthusiasm for the music business over the years?

CK: No, but the business has lost some of its integrity -- musical integrity for the most part. But I think we are in the beginning of fruition of better music coming.

A lot of kids today are not educated in the proper way, knowing the fundamentals of what it's really all about. Playing an instrument, for instance, is almost a lost art for younger musicians today.

Sun: Your music crosses many lines. Which genre do you prefer the most?

CK: Jazz is my first love, but I love all good music.

Sun: You've performed with so many legends during your career, among them the late Miles Davis. What was he like?

CK: It's interesting you would bring him up. He was my good friend. I miss him sorely. We were really tight. We had really big plans for the future. I'll catch up with him later, though.

Sun: Do you still do a lot of writing and composing?

CK: They're still a big part of my life. When I'm not traveling I'm in my studio. I'm looking to release my next album on my own label one day -- that's another whole battle in itself.

Sun: A lot of major recording artists are beginning to turn to independent labels, or starting their own labels. The major recording studios are looking for ...

CK: A slave.

Sun: ... For someone to package, like a Britney Spears, and not true artists.

CK: Major labels today are like glorified loan companies, with criminal interest rates, essentially.

Sun: Was that your motivation for going independent?

CK: Yes. That's a big aspect of my motivation. Plus, I want to own all my stuff. This is all that I possess, the only riches that I have, the things that I produced. I want to represent myself.

Sun: Have you done anything on your own label in the past?

CK: This will be my first.

Sun: Do you have a release date?

CK: No. I have so many loose ends to tie up. I have no idea of how long it's going to take. I don't want to make promises.

Sun: You've had a marvelous career. What were some of the high points and low points?

CK: My life is full of ups and downs. It's salt-and-peppered with great lows and great highs, and so I can't really tell you about one specific one, because there are so many of both. It's an exciting time right now. I'm trying to do something new, something different in my life.

Sun: Did something happen to make you look at the business in a different light, or did your feelings simply evolve over time?

CK: It's been coming. It's an ongoing discovery, a revelation. On the upside, I've never placed all my eggs in one basket. My life is full and multidimensional. I have so many things happening to me, when other things aren't. It keeps me busy, interested and afloat.

Sun: You've been an international celebrity for so long. Do you like that status?

CK: There are times I like it less than other times. But that's with everybody in any walk of life. I don't see myself as any different from anyone else.

Sun: What is your life like outside music?

CK: Busy. I have a wonderful, demanding family. My youngest granddaughter, Daija, is a year old. She was born on my birthday. We're very tight.

Sun: Does she sing?

CK: She sings, and in key. She has excellent intonation, and she is as bright as can be.

Sun: It sounds as though your family is very important to you. What about your friends? Are most of them in the business?

CK: Most of my friends are not people in this industry. My friends are everyday working people -- they work in the post office and places like that. I find a lot of flakes in Hollywood and in this business. I like to keep it real.

Sun: You seem to be an introspective person.

CK: Of sorts. It goes with the territory. I'm in a business where you're like a soothsayer, a storyteller, and that demands a philosophical sort of thing. I sing about life -- life itself motivates me, that's my number-one motivation. I'm like a wandering minstrel. I have so many things happening to me, when other things aren't. It keeps me busy, interested and afloat."

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