Alfa Anderson

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Alfa Anderson (September 7, 1946 – December 17, 2024) was an American singer and educator best known as a lead vocalist for the 1970s disco group Chic.

She was born in Augusta, Georgia. Her parents named her Alfa because she was their first child. She showed musical talent early and even wrote her first song at age three.

Anderson studied at Paine College and earned a master’s degree in English from Teachers College, Columbia University. She sang in the choir at both colleges. Her first major stage appearances included Lincoln Center in 1974 and Carnegie Hall in 1976.

She worked as a lecturer at Hunter College in New York while singing on weekends with the band Raw Sugar. Through these connections she met Luther Vandross and began recording background vocals for many artists, including Nat Adderley, Dionne Warwick, and others. Her voice can be heard on soundtracks like The Wiz (1978) and on live albums.

In 1977 Vandross encouraged her to audition for Chic, a band started by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards. She sang background on Chic’s debut album and became a lead singer in 1978 after Norma Jean Wright left the group. Chic had many hits with Anderson as a lead, including Le Freak, Good Times, My Forbidden Lover, I Want Your Love, and At Last I Am Free. She also appeared on TV shows like Soul Train and Top of the Pops.

Chic ended in 1983. Anderson then toured with Luther Vandross from 1982 to 1987. She continued working with many artists and earned a second master’s degree in educational leadership from Bank Street College.

In the 1990s she became a principal at El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice High School in Brooklyn. She kept recording and performing, releasing the single “Former First Lady of Chic” in 2013 and the album Music from My Heart in 2017. She also toured with a trio that included former Chic members Norma Jean Wright and Luci Martin. In 2016 they released “Get on Up,” which reached No. 2 on Billboard’s Club Chart. A Chic track featuring her, “I’ll Be There,” released in 2015, reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Songs chart.

Anderson was married to Eluriel “Tinkr” Barfield, a producer and musician. They formed Voices of Shalom, a project focused on spiritual music, releasing two albums: Messages (1999) and Daily Bread (2005).

She died on December 17, 2024, at age 78. She received several honors, including the Golden Mic Award from the Global Entertainment Media Arts Foundation in 2014, and a City of Philadelphia citation. “Le Freak,” on which she sang lead, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2015 and added to the National Recording Registry in 2018. In 2018 the Mayor of Augusta declared Alfa Anderson Day in her honor.