“My friend Gary Harris brought this musician named D’Angelo over to my NYC apt,” Rodgers began. “He was trying to figure out what to do with the music he’d brought with him. I listened to every cut … ...

At more than 20 years D'Angelo's senior, Nile Rodgers detailed an early encounter in which the younger singer, who died on Oct. 14, came to him in a moment of uncertainty about his music. Rodgers ...