Chaka Khan walked into Rufus as a teenager with a voice that could peel paint and heal wounds in the same phrase. Yvette Marie Stevens from the South Side of Chicago, a mane of hair, a voice that sounded like it had already lived several lives. Tell Me Something Good, written by Stevie Wonder, was their first hit -- and Chaka's vocal made it undeniable.

Ain't Nobody is one of those songs that feels inevitable, like it existed before she sang it and she just opened a door. I'm Every Woman. I Feel for You -- the Melle Mel rap, the Stevie Wonder harmonica, the sheer joy. She fought addiction. She fought the industry. She kept singing.

Ten Grammys. Collaborations with Prince, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones. The voice has lost nothing over the decades. If anything it's gotten richer, more knowing, more willing to go wherever the song needs it. Ain't Nobody is still one of those records you put on and the whole room changes temperature.

Chaka Khan -- Ain't Nobody. I'm Every Woman. Ten Grammys. A voice from the South Side of Chicago that never stopped climbing.