It's All In Me

Chaka Khan : I'm Every Woman

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In November of 1978, Chaka Khan's "I'm Every Woman" broke into the Billboard Hot 100's Top 40 chart. It would peak at U.S. #21 and U.K. #11. A highlight of her first solo album, the Arif Mardin produced Chaka which featured members of the Average White Band, the Ashford and Simpson penned "I'm Every Woman" topped the R+B charts for three weeks in November. The success paved the way for Khan to leave Rufus the following year. 

At first Khan didn't feel worthy of the anthem which celebrates the power of women :

“That’s one of the world’s great songs, but I had to grow into it. I felt embarrassed at the age I was singing it. I wasn’t old enough. I was about 30. I just felt how dare I say ‘I’m every woman, it’s all in me.’ But it’s a song I feel comfortable singing now. But in the beginning it felt pompous.”