The Whispers (album)
| The Whispers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by The Whispers | ||||
| Released | October 24, 1979 | |||
| Recorded | 1979 at Studio Masters, (Los Angeles, California) | |||
| Genre | Soul, Disco, Boogie, Funk, R&B | |||
| Label | SOLAR Records | |||
| Producer |
The Whispers Dick Griffey | |||
| The Whispers chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from The Whsipers | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Robert Christgau | (B)[2] |
| Smash Hits | 5/10[3] |
The Whispers is the ninth studio album by American R&B/Soul vocal group The Whispers, released on October 20, 1979 by SOLAR Records. The album, itself topping the R&B Album Charts (and reaching #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 Album Charts) spawned four singles.
It includes the number-one R&B single, "And The Beat Goes On" and "A Song For Donny", a tribute song to American musician and vocalist Donny Hathaway who died in January 1979. "A Song For Donny" was a success on the R&B Charts, making it to #21. The third single, "Lady", was another success, peaking at #3 on the R&B Charts, as well as entering the US Pop and Adult Contemporary Charts, and the UK Singles Chart, in 1980. A cover of The Temptations' classic hit, "My Girl", is also included. It was released as the album's fourth and final single, and (despite failing to chart at all in the US) was a Top 30 hit in the UK, reaching #26.
Track listing
- "A Song for Donny" - (Donny Hathaway, special lyrics by Carrie Lucas) - 4:27
- "My Girl" - (Smokey Robinson, Ronald White) - 5:53
- "Lady" - (Nicholas Caldwell) - 5:05
- "Can You Do the Boogie" - (Carrie Lucas, Norman Beavers) - 6:07
- "And The Beat Goes On" - (William B. Shelby, Stephen Shockley, Leon Sylvers III) - 7:30
- "I Love You" - (Kossi Gardner) - 5:10
- "Out the Box" - (William B. Shelby, Leon Sylvers III) - 4:57
- "Welcome into My Dream" - (Grady Wilkins) - 4:40
Personnel
- Bass – Craig "Mr. Bass" Raglin, Leon Sylvers III, Melvin Coleman
- Drums – Kirk Perkins, Wardell Potts, William "Buba" Bryant
- Guitar – Larry White, Stephen Shockley, Werner Schuchner (Bear)
- Keyboards – Barry Sarna, Grady Wilkins, Kevin Spencer, Kossi Gardner, Norman Beavers, Ricky Smith, William Shelby
- Percussion – Bobbye Hall, Fred "Timbales" Lewis, Karl E. Dickens
- Vocals – Leaveil Degree, Marcus Hutson, Nicholas Caldwell, Wallace Scott, Walter Scott
Charts
| Chart (1980) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Pop Albums[4] | 6 |
| Billboard Top Soul Albums[4] | 1 |
Singles
| Year | Single | US Chart positions[5] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B |
US Dance | ||
| 1979 | "A Song for Donny" | — | 21 | — |
| 1980 | "Lady" | 28 | 3 | — |
| 1980 | "And The Beat Goes On" | 19 | 1 | 1 |
| 1980 | "My Girl" | — | — | — |
See also
References
- ↑ Elias, Jason. The Whispers: The Whispers > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
- ↑ "Robert Christgau review". Robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 2013-04-21.
- ↑ Hillier, Bev. "The Whispers: The Whispers". Smash Hits (April 3–16 1980): 31.
- 1 2 "The Whispers US albums chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-04-14.
- ↑ "The Whispers US singles chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-04-14.