Chaka Khan: ‘Someone said there were too many black people in our band. He put some white guys on stage with us’

The singer on being impatient, mourning the death of the planet, and why sleep is her favourite thingBorn in Illinois, Chaka Khan, 71, joined the funk band Rufus in her teens and had hits with Tell Me Something Good and Ain’t Nobody. In 1978, she launched her solo career with the anthem I’m Every Woman. She has released 13 albums, won 10 Grammy awards and was recently inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In 1999, she established the Chaka Khan Foundation to help women and