There’s no question that Chaka Khan has proven time and time again, that she is not the one to be messed with. She’s a 5’4″ firecracker and makes it clear that nobody bett’ NOT play with her, nor her family. Otherwise, she’s a really classy lady.
There was one time when Chaka had to put her classy persona to the side to let her inner firecracker emerge, when drama reportedly went down in the bathroom of a recording studio between herself, her then-husband Richard Holland, and Rufus drummer, Andre Fischer — who is also Natalie Cole’s ex-husband. Chaka told it all in her autobiographical book, “Chaka! Through The Fire.”
Chaka Detailed Two Reported Beatdowns By Natalie’s Ex
According to Chaka Khan, businessman Richard Holland (married to Chaka from 1976-1980), walked into a studio session while Andre Fischer (pictured above, 2nd from left) was listening to a playback recording of Richard’s song, “Better Days,” for their then-upcoming Rufus ft. Chaka Khan album, “Ask Rufus.” Chaka says Richard told Andre the recording sounded great. A few minutes later Andre reportedly asked Richard, to talk in the restroom down the hall, for privacy…things quickly got ugly.
Chaka says Andre went off on Richard, yelling “Don’t you ever tell me what to do!”. He then punched Richard in the head, but Richard couldn’t completely defend himself, given that he was 5’9″ and about 140 pounds, while Andre was 6’5″ weighing about 350 pounds, according to Chaka.
Once Chaka heard Richard’s screams from down the hall, Chaka says she rushed the scene…and all hell broke loose:
“Richard’s screams were so loud that they registered on the monitor inside the studio. Long story short: When I got to the bathroom, I went upside Andre’s head with a Courvoisier bottle (which didn’t break, like it does in the movies). And next, Andre was all over me. By then, a roadie and some of the guys in the band were on the scene, too,” Chaka wrote.
She continued:
“Richard wanted to sue Andre, but our manager talked him out of it because it would have been bad publicity for the group. Andre was soon out of Rufus and I never spoke to him again.”
Chaka also claims that wasn’t the only time folks had to yank Andre off of her, claiming Andre beat her while she was pregnant, during their tour with rockstar, Iggy Pop:
“On one night, we had been asked to do a double show because Iggy had gone too far in his first set and cut himself pretty badly. I was game to do a double—as long as we got Iggy’s money. Andre thought we should be grateful for the extra stage time with or without extra pay. When I stood my ground, Andre literally jumped all over me—pregnant with Milini. If the rest of the band hadn’t been there to pull him off… I don’t want to think about what might have happened,” Chaka explained.
Chaka’s Friend, Natalie Cole’s, Marriage To Fischer Caused Friction
Chaka’s close friend, the late Natalie Cole, eventually married Andre Fischer in 1989, which allegedly caused Chaka and Natalie to not be as close as they once were during that time. Natalie also stated in her book, that she, too, allegedly experienced consistent domestic abuse at the hands of Andre. They divorced in 1995.
[Source: “Chaka! Through The Fire” by Chaka Khan and Tonya Bolden]
One thing I’ve learned from this is to never mess with Chaka…especially when a whine bottle is nearby…I kid, I kid. Seriously though, it was probably best that both she and Natalie distanced themselves from those allegedly violent situations…good for them.
-ILoveOldSchoolMusic, Old School news with a new point of view
