Street Player
| Street Player | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||
| Studio album by Rufus & Chaka Khan | |||||
| Released | January 17, 1978 | ||||
| Recorded | 1977 | ||||
| Studio |
Dawnbreaker Recording Studios (San Fernando, California) | ||||
| Genre | |||||
| Length | 40:32 | ||||
| Label |
ABC AA 1049 | ||||
| Producer | Rufus, Roy Halee | ||||
| Rufus chronology | |||||
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| Chaka Khan chronology | |||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [1] |
| Rolling Stone | (not rated) [2] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [3] |
Street Player is the gold-selling sixth studio album by funk band Rufus (billed as Rufus & Chaka Khan), released on the ABC Records label in 1978. Street Player was the band's third album to top Billboard's R&B Albums chart and also reached #14 on Pop. The album includes the singles "Stay" (US R&B #3, US Pop #48) and "Blue Love" (US R&B #34).
History
In 1978, Rufus and Chaka Khan was still a top-selling band. Their last four releases had gone platinum and the group continued to sell out in arenas as a top headlining act with fiery Khan leading the way. By this point, Khan's stardom outside the group had grown and it led to the group drifting apart. While Khan opted to stay a member of the group, other members were uncomfortable that Khan was now offered solo contracts.
After the release of this record, Khan would sign a solo deal with Warner Bros. Records. Khan would later have a hit with her debut album, which featured the hit, "I'm Every Woman". Due to their popularity and the strong cohesiveness of the songs, Street Player became their fifth consecutive platinum album. While Khan went on to a solo career, Rufus cut Numbers, in 1979, without her. Khan, however, didn't leave the group, returning for their Quincy Jones-produced Masterjam later that year.
Also after the departure of original drummer Andre Fischer, Richard "Moon" Calhoun took over on this album on drums. This would be his only album with the group. Additionally, the jazz/rock band Chicago featured a version of the title track on their 1979 album Chicago 13, with Peter Cetera on lead vocals. The song was co-written by Chicago's drummer at that time, Danny Seraphine. The track "Stay" was later covered by Erykah Badu on her 1997 album Live.
Track listing
| Side one | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Street Player" | David Wolinski, Danny Seraphine | 4:54 |
| 2. | "Stay" | Richard Calhoun, Chaka Khan | 5:41 |
| 3. | "Turn" | Bobby Watson, Wolinski | 4:43 |
| 4. | "Best of Your Heart" | Watson, Wolinski | 3:45 |
| 5. | "Finale" (Instrumental) | Watson, Wolinski | 2:10 |
| Side two | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 6. | "Blue Love" | Calhoun, Wolinski | 3:18 |
| 7. | "Stranger to Love" | Wolinski | 3:33 |
| 8. | "Take Time" (Instrumental) | Tony Maiden | 4:16 |
| 9. | "Destiny" | David Batteau, Richard Holland | 4:25 |
| 10. | "Change Your Ways" | Maiden, Traude Sapik | 3:27 |
The listing of tracks on the back of the album ( Canadian distribution { GRT of Canada Ltd. } ) is in the following order :
| Destiny | Stranger To Love | Street Player | Stay | Best Of Your Heart | Finale | Take Time | Blue Love | Turn | Change Your Ways
The listing on the album labels ( side 1 & 2 ) is as on the main listing [4]
Personnel
- Chaka Khan – lead vocals, background vocals
- Tony Maiden – guitar, percussion, lead vocals, background vocals
- Kevin Murphy – keyboards
- Bobby Watson – bass, percussion
- David "Hawk" Wolinski – keyboards, background vocals
- Richard "Moon" Calhoun – drums, percussion, background vocals
- Seawind – horns
- Jerry Hey – trumpet, flugelhorn
- Kim Hutchcroft – saxophone, flute
- William Reichenbach – trombone
- Larry Williams – saxophone, flute, piccolo
- Helen Lowe – additional background vocals
- Everett Bryson, Jr. – percussion
Production
- Rufus, Roy Halee – producers
- Roy Halee, George Belle – engineers
- Clare Fischer – string arrangements & conductor
- Seawind, Rufus – horn arrangements
- Brian Gardner – audio mastering
Charts
Album
| Chart (1978) | Peak [5] |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top LPs | 14 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Soul LPs | 1 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US [5] |
US R&B [5] | ||
| 1978 | "Stay" | 38 | 3 |
| "Blue Love" | 105 | 34 | |
See also
References
- ↑ Lytle, Craig. "Street Player review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
- ↑ McEwen, Joe. "Street Player review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008. Retrieved 2011-10-16.
- ↑ Gersten, Russell (1983). "Rufus". In Marsh, Dave; Swenson, John. The New Rolling Stone Record Guide. Random House/Rolling Stone Press. p. 438. ISBN 0394721071.
- ↑ Physical copy
- 1 2 3 "US Charts > Rufus". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-10-19.