PRODUCER IS CUTS ABOVE THE FIELD

In the rec room of a North Hollywood studio, Nile Rodgers, hottest record producer in the business, took a break from work on a track for Rod Stewart’s next album.

He was a little groggy. Extensive partying the night before had taken its toll on the high-energy New Yorker.

“I’ve got to slow down,” groaned Rodgers, 33, rubbing his red eyes. “I’m getting too old for this. I remember the days when I could hang out all night and go in the studio the next morning with no problems--that was when I was 25. Right now I feel 72.”

Finding time for fun isn’t easy for Rodgers, who usually works as a composer and guitarist on records he produces. Since 1983, when he co-produced and co-wrote David Bowie’s smash album, “Let’s Dance,” he’s been in great demand. That project led to another, Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” an even bigger smash that’s sold more than 5 million in this country.

Two Rodgers productions have just been released. One, the Thompson Twins’ LP “Here’s to Future Days,” is headed for the Top 10; the first single, “Lay Your Hands on Me,” is already there. The other album, Sheena Easton’s “Do You,” and her new single, “Do It for Love,” have Top 10 potential.

Rodgers is besieged with requests to produce artists. “I work too much,” he conceded. “I should learn to say no. I always bite off more than I can chew. But how do you say no to people like Rod Stewart?”

He does say no sometimes. Recently he turned down opportunities to produce Eddie Murphy and the Rolling Stones because he couldn’t find the time and they weren’t willing to wait.

Rodgers, in town from New York for a few days, was squeezing the Stewart sessions into a schedule mostly devoted to work on a sound track for David Lee Roth’s slapstick movie, “Crazy From the Heat.”

“This is more of a traditional big band jazz score,” Rodgers said. “I’ll show these movie people what I can do.”

Rodgers first surfaced in the late ‘70s with the group Chic, which was enormously popular in the disco era with hits like “Dance, Dance Dance,” “Good Times” and “Le Freak.” The other half of the duo was bassist Bernard Edwards, Rodgers’ musical partner since the early ‘70s. In the early ‘80s, they also produced dance-oriented albums for Diana Ross and Debbie Harry of Blondie.

After Chic faded, Rodgers couldn’t shake the disco label. It wasn’t until 1983, when he co-produced the Bowie dance/rock album, that he finally started to be recognized as more than a disco musician. Suddenly, everyone wanted to work with Rodgers (who had split with Edwards by then).

He’s had successes with a variety of artists, including the hits “Reflex” and “Wild Boys” by the teen-rock kings, Duran Duran.

He’s had his flops, too. His most recent and most painful was a Sister Sledge album. Back in the disco days he and Edwards assembled the Sledges’ biggest hit, “We Are Family.” The new album featured the single “Frankie,” which had been No. 1 in England. But the album failed badly in the American market, which still haunts him.

“I thought it was the best record I had done in my life,” he said. “I still do. I thought ‘Frankie’ had bridged the gap between black band music and great black pop. But no one wanted to hear it.”

Another thing that puzzles Rodgers is the lack of repeat business. Usually, a successful artist-producer team will attempt to repeat, but that hasn’t been the case with Rodgers. The Big One That Got Away was the assignment to produce the follow-up to Bowie’s “Let’s Dance.”

“I was dying to do that album,” Rodgers bellowed, reliving the anguish. “We had a winning combination. He never told me I wasn’t doing the next album; I found out from musicians who were working on it. I was hurt. I didn’t think he’d do that to me. I haven’t spoken to him since a few days after our record came out (March, 1983).”

Rodgers isn’t producing Madonna’s follow-up to “Like a Virgin” either. She’s doing it herself. That news was also a blow to him.

“I was hurt,” he admitted. “She didn’t tell me, her manager did. She’s my friend; it would have been better if she’d told me herself. We were a great team. I’m sorry to see it end.”

LIVE ACTION: Tickets go on sale Monday for Dio’s Dec. 7 show at the Forum and for Heart’s Dec. 14 date at the Long Beach Arena. . . . Heart will also be at the Universal Amphitheatre Dec. 15 and 17. Tickets for those shows will be available Sunday. . . . The Damned will be at the Santa Monica Civic on Dec. 12. . . . Tickets go on sale Monday for Michael McDonald’s two shows at the Wiltern on Dec. 13.