Masterjam is the platinum-selling eighth studio album by funk band Rufus (and their fifth album featuring singer Chaka Khan). Released in 1979, it was their debut on the MCA Records label following their purchase and dissolution of ABC Records.
| Masterjam | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 1979 | |||
| Recorded | 1979 | |||
| Genre | Smooth soul[1] | |||
| Length | 39:31 | |||
| Label | MCA MCA 5103 | |||
| Producer | Quincy Jones | |||
| Rufus chronology | ||||
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| Chaka Khan chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Masterjam | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B−[3] |
| Record Mirror |  [4] |
| Rolling Stone | (not rated)[5] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [6] |
| Smash Hits | 6/10[7] |
History
editProduced by Quincy Jones, Masterjam was the band's fourth album to top Billboard's R&B Albums chart, and also reached number 14 on the Pop chart. The album includes the singles "Do You Love What You Feel", their fourth number-one hit on the R&B Singles chart and also number 30 on Pop, "Any Love" (US R&B number 24, 1980) and "I'm Dancing for Your Love" (US R&B number 43, 1980). In 1979, Chaka Khan found solo success with the release of the album, Chaka, and its parent single, "I'm Every Woman", which became her signature song years before "I Feel for You".
However, Khan wanted to remain a member of her long-standing band Rufus, a group she had joined in 1972. Since their 1973 debut, Khan had led on most of the group's songs. While Ron Stockert, an earlier member, had added vocals to the debut and their follow-up, Rags to Rufus, Stockert left after complaining of their label's focus on Khan, and Tony Maiden would begin to lead on more songs as the 1970s drew to a close, Khan's presence continued to boost the group.
For their first album with MCA Records, which had absorbed ABC Records a year before, the group enlisted Jones to help them with the record (Khan had recorded with Jones the year before for his album Sounds...and Stuff Like That!!). The group, while still with Khan, was now starting to record without her, while Khan was starting to express a view of going solo for good while still performing with the group onstage. Despite this, the album became a success upon its release. Following Masterjam Chaka Khan recorded her second solo album Naughty and Rufus Party 'Til You're Broke, released in 1980 and 1981 respectively. Khan reunited with the band again in 1981 for the recording of Camouflage.
Jones had also brought in the Seawind Horns for help, as well as the Brothers Johnson for additional percussion help. Rufus even does a funked-up cover of Jones's own "Body Heat".
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Do You Love What You Feel" | Hawk Wolinski | 4:27 |
| 2. | "Any Love" | Wolinski | 4:50 |
| 3. | "Heaven Bound" | Bill Meyers, Billy Durham, Lorrin Bates | 3:45 |
| 4. | "Walk the Rockway" | Tony Maiden | 4:04 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5. | "Live in Me" | Rod Temperton | 3:54 |
| 6. | "Body Heat" | Quincy Jones, Bruce Fisher, Leon Ware, Stan Richardson | 5:45 |
| 7. | "I'm Dancing for Your Love" | Wolinski, John Robinson, Patti Austin, Peggy Jones | 4:31 |
| 8. | "What Am I Missing?" | Chaka Khan, Mark Stevens | 4:03 |
| 9. | "Masterjam" | Temperton | 3:34 |
Personnel
edit- Chaka Khan – lead vocals, background vocals
- Tony Maiden – guitar, vocals
- Kevin Murphy – keyboards
- John Robinson – drums, additional percussion, hand-clapping
- Bobby Watson – bass
- David "Hawk" Wolinski – keyboards
- Bill Reichenbach Jr., Lew McCreary – trombone
- Louis Johnson, George Johnson, Richard Heath – percussion, hand-clapping
- Jerry Hey – trumpet, flugelhorn
- Gary Grant – trumpet, flugelhorn
- Larry Hall – trumpet, flugelhorn
- Kim Hutchcroft – saxophone, flute
- Larry Williams – saxophone, flute
Production
- Quincy Jones – producer
- Bruce Swedien – audio engineer, mixing
- Jerry Hey, Bill Reichenbach Jr. – string arrangements
- Sidney Sharp – strings concertmaster
- Rufus – rhythm arrangements
- Rod Temperton – rhythm arrangements, vocal arrangements
- Chaka Khan, Tony Maiden – vocal arrangements
- Ed Caraeff - photography, album design
Charts
editAlbum
| Chart (1979) | Peak [8] |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top LPs | 14 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Soul LPs | 1 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [8] |
US R&B [8] |
US Dance [8] | ||
| 1979 | "Do You Love What You Feel" | 30 | 1 | 5 |
| 1980 | "Any Love" | 102 | 24 | |
| "I'm Dancing for Your Love" | — | 43 | — | |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[9] | Gold | 500,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Molanphy, Chris (March 25, 2022). "Killing Me Softly Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
- ^ Elias, Jason. "Masterjam". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: R". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 12, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ Sexton, Paul (1 March 1980). "Rufus and Chaka: Masterjam". Record Mirror. p. 17.
- ^ Shewey, Don. "Masterjam review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 17, 2008. Retrieved 2011-10-16.
- ^ Gersten, Russell (1983). "Rufus". In Marsh, Dave; Swenson, John (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Record Guide. Random House/Rolling Stone Press. p. 438. ISBN 0394721071.
- ^ Starr, Red. "Albums". Smash Hits (January 24 – February 6, 1980): 21.
- ^ a b c d "US Charts > Rufus". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-10-19.
- ^ "American album certifications – Rufus – Masterjam". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 13, 2024.