Chaka Khan (1982 album)
Encyclopedia
Chaka Khan is the eponymous fourth solo album by American
R&B
/funk singer Chaka Khan
, released on the Warner Bros. Records
label in 1982.
cover "Got to Be There
" (US Pop #67, US R&B #5) and "Tearin' It Up" (US R&B #48), the latter also as a 12" single including an extended remix (- 7:21) as well as an instrumental version (- 8:07), both mixed by Larry Levan
and included on Warner Music Japan's 1999 compilation Dance Classics of Chaka Khan
. The album track "Slow Dancin'" was a funky ballad duet with the late Rick James
. On Billboard's charts, the album reached #5 on Black Albums and #52 on Pop Albums. The "Bebop Medley" won producer Arif Mardin
and Khan a Grammy Award
in 1984 in the Best Vocal Arrangement For Two Or More Voices category.
Following the release of the Chaka Khan album and the greatest hits package The Very Best of Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
later that same year Khan reunited with the band Rufus
for one final album together, the double live/studio set Stompin' at the Savoy - Live
(1983). Her next solo album I Feel for You
followed in 1984.
Despite its many accolades and artistic achievements the Chaka Khan album remained unreleased on CD in both the United States and Europe, and was only available as an import from Japan, until it was finally issued on CD in the UK in 2010 as part of a Five disc set containing Khan's first five solo albums.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
/funk singer Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...
, released on the Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
label in 1982.
Overview
Two singles were released from Chaka Khan: the Michael JacksonMichael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
cover "Got to Be There
Got to Be There (song)
"Got to Be There" is a 1971 single released by Michael Jackson on the Motown label. It was the singer's first solo single following his successful tenure as the lead singer of The Jackson 5. Jackson's solo career began in earnest after its success. The single, written by Elliot Willensky and...
" (US Pop #67, US R&B #5) and "Tearin' It Up" (US R&B #48), the latter also as a 12" single including an extended remix (- 7:21) as well as an instrumental version (- 8:07), both mixed by Larry Levan
Larry Levan
Larry Levan was a DJ best known for his decade-long residency at the New York City night club Paradise Garage, which has been described as the prototype of the modern dance club. He developed a cult following who referred to his sets as "Saturday Mass"...
and included on Warner Music Japan's 1999 compilation Dance Classics of Chaka Khan
Dance Classics of Chaka Khan
Dance Classics of Chaka Khan is a compilation album of recordings by American R&B/funk singer Chaka Khan released on the Warner Bros. Records label in Japan in 1999....
. The album track "Slow Dancin'" was a funky ballad duet with the late Rick James
Rick James
James Ambrose Johnson, Jr. , better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. James was a popular performer in the late 1970s and 1980s, scoring four number-one hits on the U.S. R&B charts performing in the genres of funk and R&B...
. On Billboard's charts, the album reached #5 on Black Albums and #52 on Pop Albums. The "Bebop Medley" won producer Arif Mardin
Arif Mardin
Arif Mardin was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco, and country...
and Khan a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
in 1984 in the Best Vocal Arrangement For Two Or More Voices category.
Following the release of the Chaka Khan album and the greatest hits package The Very Best of Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
The Very Best of Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
The Very Best of Rufus featuring Chaka Khan is a greatest hits album by funk band Rufus , originally released on the MCA Records label in 1982. The collection comprises ten of the group's biggest hits on the ABC/MCA labels, including "You Got the Love," "Sweet Thing"...
later that same year Khan reunited with the band Rufus
Rufus (band)
Rufus was an American funk band from Chicago, Illinois best known for launching the career of lead singer Chaka Khan. They had several hits throughout their career, including "Tell Me Something Good," "Sweet Thing," and "Ain't Nobody."-Origins:...
for one final album together, the double live/studio set Stompin' at the Savoy - Live
Stompin' at the Savoy - Live
Stompin' at the Savoy – Live is an album by American R&B/funk band Rufus, , released on the Warner Bros. Records label in 1983....
(1983). Her next solo album I Feel for You
I Feel for You (album)
I Feel for You is the Platinum certified fifth solo album by American R&B/funk singer Chaka Khan, released on the Warner Bros. Records label in 1984.-Overview:...
followed in 1984.
Despite its many accolades and artistic achievements the Chaka Khan album remained unreleased on CD in both the United States and Europe, and was only available as an import from Japan, until it was finally issued on CD in the UK in 2010 as part of a Five disc set containing Khan's first five solo albums.
Track listing
- "Tearin' It Up" (Bunny Sigler, Jane Lumibao) - 6:39
- "Slow Dancin'" (featuring Rick JamesRick JamesJames Ambrose Johnson, Jr. , better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. James was a popular performer in the late 1970s and 1980s, scoring four number-one hits on the U.S. R&B charts performing in the genres of funk and R&B...
) (Loz Netto) - 5:22 - "Best In The West" (Dominick Bugatti, Frank MuskerFrank MuskerFrank Musker is a songwriter and composer. Especially in the 80s and 90s he worked with artists like Sheena Easton, The Babys, Robert Miles, Jennifer Rush, Bucks Fizz , Air Supply, Zucchero and Brian May...
) - 4:00 - "Got to Be ThereGot to Be There (song)"Got to Be There" is a 1971 single released by Michael Jackson on the Motown label. It was the singer's first solo single following his successful tenure as the lead singer of The Jackson 5. Jackson's solo career began in earnest after its success. The single, written by Elliot Willensky and...
" (Elliot Willenski) - 4:00 - Be Bop Medley: "Hot House" / "East Of Suez (Come On Sailor)" / "Epistrophy (I Wanna Play)Epistrophy"Epistrophy" is a jazz standard composed by Thelonious Monk and Kenny Clarke in 1942. It has been called "the first classic, modern jazz composition."Its 'A' section is based on a pattern of alternating chords a semitone apart....
" / "Yardbird SuiteYardbird SuiteYardbird Suite is a bebop standard composed by Charlie Parker in 1946. It follows an AABA form. It was used as the title of Lawrence O. Koch's biography of Parker....
" / "Con AlmaCon AlmaCon Alma is a jazz standard written by Dizzy Gillespie. It incorporates aspects of bebop jazz and Latin rhythm, and is known for its frequent changes in key centers , while still maintaining a singable melody....
" / "Giant StepsGiant Steps (composition)"Giant Steps" is a jazz composition by John Coltrane, first appearing as the first track on the album of the same name . The composition contains a rapid and improvised progression of chord changes through three keys shifted by major thirds, creating an augmented triad.-Title:The song title comes...
" (Tadd DameronTadd DameronTadley Ewing Peake "Tadd" Dameron was an American jazz composer, arranger and pianist. Saxophonist Dexter Gordon called Dameron the "romanticist" of the bop movement, while reviewer Scott Yanow writes that Dameron was the "definitive arranger/composer of the bop era".-Biography:Born in Cleveland,...
) / (Lou SteinLou SteinLou Stein was an American jazz pianist.Stein's first major gig came in 1942 when he joined Ray McKinley's band. He also played with Glenn Miller when the latter was stateside during World War II.After the war he worked with Charlie Ventura and following this became a session musician...
) / (Thelonious Sphere Monk) / (Charlie ParkerCharlie ParkerCharles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
) / (Dizzy GillespieDizzy GillespieJohn Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
) / (John ColtraneJohn ColtraneJohn William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
) - 5:22 - "Twisted" (Colin Campsie, George McFarlane) - 4:12
- "So Not To Worry" (Mark McMillan) - 4:55
- "Pass It On (A Sure Thing) (Pasalo Esta Seguro)" (Lalomie WashburnLalomie WashburnLalomie Washburn was a R&B Singer Song Writer.She was born on August 25, 1941 in Memphis, Tennessee and went on to sing backup with such legends as Ray Charles, Ike & Tina Turner and Chaka Khan...
, Tony Maiden) - 4:32
Personnel
- Chaka KhanChaka KhanChaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...
- vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists... - Steve FerroneSteve FerroneSteven "Steve" Ferrone is a British drummer.He was a member of the Average White Band, and has recorded and performed with numerous other high-profile acts, including Slash, Chaka Khan, Eric Clapton, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Scritti Politti...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
& hand claps trk: 1, drums trks: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 - Lenny Underwood - electric pianoElectric pianoAn electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented...
trk: 1 - Paul Jackson Jr. - electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
trks: 1, 2, 3, 4 - Sammy FigueroaSammy FigueroaSammy Figueroa is an American percussionist born in The Bronx, New York. At 18 he joined the band of bassist Bobby Valentín and also co-led the Brazilian/Latin fusion group Raices....
- percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
trks: 1, 3 - Robbie BuchananRobbie BuchananRobbie Buchanan is a Canadian keyboardist, songwriter, arranger, and producer.Buchanan began playing the piano at the age of 6. He acquired his first paying gig as a pianist at the age of 12 playing 6 nights a week in Dawson City, Yukon Territory. While still a teenager, Buchanan joined a band...
- Moog bass synthesizerMoog synthesizerMoog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
, Prophet and Jupiter synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s trk: 1, keyboards & synthesizers trk: 2, 4, 6, keyboards & bass synthesizers trk: 3, electric piano & synthesizers trk: 5, piano & synthesizers trks: 7, 8 - Michael BreckerMichael BreckerMichael Leonard Brecker was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Acknowledged as "a quiet, gentle musician widely regarded as the most influential tenor saxophonist since John Coltrane," he has been awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer and was inducted into Down Beat Jazz...
- alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
solo trk: 1 - Hamish StuartHamish StuartHamish Stuart is a guitarist, bassist, singer, composer and record producer.- Biography :Stuart had recorded a couple of singles with his first band, the Dream Police, before he was invited to join the recently formed Average White Band in June 1972.A member of AWB from 1972 to 1982, he went on to...
- vocal ad libs trk: 1, background vocals trk: 7 - Alvin Fields - low voice trk: 1
- Rick JamesRick JamesJames Ambrose Johnson, Jr. , better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. James was a popular performer in the late 1970s and 1980s, scoring four number-one hits on the U.S. R&B charts performing in the genres of funk and R&B...
- vocals trk: 2 - Will LeeWill Lee (bassist)Will Lee aka William Franklin Lee IV is an American musician and bassist, best known for his work on the CBS television program The Late Show with David Letterman as part of the CBS Orchestra....
- bass trks: 2, 6, 8, background vocals trk: 7 - Bob Christianson - additional OBX synthesizer trk: 3, vocoderVocoderA vocoder is an analysis/synthesis system, mostly used for speech. In the encoder, the input is passed through a multiband filter, each band is passed through an envelope follower, and the control signals from the envelope followers are communicated to the decoder...
& additional synthesizers trk: 5 ("Con Alma") - Kenny Kossek: fiddleFiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
trk: 3 - Robert Bonfiglio - harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
trk: 3 - Eric WeissbergEric WeissbergEric Weissberg is an American banjo player, best known for the theme from the movie Deliverance.-Biography:Eric Weissberg went to the University of Wisconsin–Madison, then the Juilliard School of Music. He joined an early version of the Greenbriar Boys , but left before they made any recordings....
- steel guitarSteel guitarSteel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...
& jaw harp trk: 3; sitarSitarThe 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
trk: 5 - Hiram BullockHiram BullockHiram Law Bullock was an American jazz funk and jazz fusion guitarist.He was born in Osaka, Japan to African American parents serving in the U.S. Military. At the age of two he returned to Baltimore, Maryland with his parents, and quickly showed a prodigious musical talent...
- guitar trks: 5, 7, 8, rhythm guitar trk: 6 - Seyhun Celik - darbuka trk: 5 ("East Of Suez")
- Joe HendersonJoe HendersonJoe Henderson was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than forty years Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent labels, including Blue Note.-Early life:From a very large family with five sisters and nine...
- tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
trk: 5 - Ray Gomez - lead guitar trk: 6
- Anthony Jackson - bass trk: 7
- Dave Tofani - alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
trk: 8 - Mark Stevens - tube voice trk: 8
Production
- Arif MardinArif MardinArif Mardin was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco, and country...
- record producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, musical arranger (rhythm) trks: 1, 2, 3, musical arranger trk: 4, musical arranger & vocal arrangement trk: 5 - Randy BreckerRandy BreckerRandal "Randy" Brecker is an American trumpeter and flugelhornist. He is a highly sought after performer in the genres of jazz, rock, and R&B, and has performed or recorded with Stanley Turrentine, Billy Cobham, Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, Sandip Burman, Charles Mingus, Blood, Sweat & Tears,...
- musical arranger (horns) trk: 1 - Robbie BuchananRobbie BuchananRobbie Buchanan is a Canadian keyboardist, songwriter, arranger, and producer.Buchanan began playing the piano at the age of 6. He acquired his first paying gig as a pianist at the age of 12 playing 6 nights a week in Dawson City, Yukon Territory. While still a teenager, Buchanan joined a band...
- musical arranger (bass part) trk: 1, musical arranger (rhythm) trks: 2, 3, 6, 7, 8. musical arranger trks: 4, 5 - Danne Lemelle - musical arranger (horns) trk: 2
- Chaka KhanChaka KhanChaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...
- vocal arrangement & special lyrics trk: 5
External links
- Chaka Khan at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...