Rufus featuring Chaka Khan (album)
Rufus featuring Chaka Khan is the gold-selling fourth studio album by the funk band Rufus and Chaka Khan, released on the ABC Records label in 1975. It remained on top of the R&B album chart for six consecutive weeks.
| Rufus featuring Chaka Khan | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Rufus featuring Chaka Khan | ||||
| Released | November 18, 1975 | |||
| Recorded | May–August 1975 | |||
| Studio | The Record Plant (Los Angeles) Kendun Recorders (Burbank, California) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 38:46 | |||
| Label | ABC | |||
| Producer | Rufus | |||
| Rufus featuring Chaka Khan chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Rufus featuring Chaka Khan | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B[2] |
| The New Rolling Stone Record Guide | [3] |
History
editBy 1975, Rufus and lead front woman Chaka Khan had become one of the most popular bands in popular music.[citation needed] With their successful mixing of funk, rock, soul and jazz and the powerful vocals of 22-year-old Khan, the group had set themselves apart from similar groups such as The Isley Brothers and Earth, Wind & Fire. By now, the group's billing had changed. While they were just known as Rufus on their first two releases, after the success of "Tell Me Something Good", the media (and Rufus' label at the time, ABC Records) had recognized that Khan was the attraction of the group.
Khan's popularity was starting to usurp that of her bandmates. For example, on the album's back cover and inner sleeve, Khan is featured with her trademark hair and outfits, sitting on a lips-decorated couch. On the cover, an animated cover of lips, which appeared to emulate Khan's, gave the impression that Khan was the dominant member of the group. Khan also handled all the talk in interviews for the group and she was given solo covers on magazines such as Jet and EBONY. As they entered the studio to record their fourth album, Khan and Rufus remained a collaborative group together. Unlike their three previous albums, they only recorded one cover version - The Bee Gees' "Jive Talkin'", while other songs were handled by group members and outside collaborators including, most notably, Gavin Christopher.
Tony Maiden, who had joined the group in mid-1974, also wrote more for the album. Khan brought lyrics for three compositions including what became one of Rufus' biggest hits, the ballad "Sweet Thing", which Khan and Maiden co-wrote together. After its release, Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan repeated the success of the band's previous two albums, going gold (later platinum) with sales of one million copies in the United States. By the end of the album's promotion, tensions had grown between Khan and group member Andre Fischer. Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan was the band's first album to top Billboard's R&B Albums chart and also reached #7 on Pop. The album included the singles "Sweet Thing", their second #1 hit on the R&B Singles chart and also #5 hit on Pop, "Dance Wit Me" (US R&B #5, US Pop #39) and the Bee Gees cover "Jive Talkin'" (US R&B #35). By the end of the year "Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan" would be ranked by Billboard on their R&B year-end list as the best-charting album of 1976.
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Fool's Paradise" | Gavin Christopher | 4:41 |
| 2. | "Have a Good Time" | Gavin Christopher | 3:20 |
| 3. | "Ooh I Like Your Loving" | Bobby Watson, Tony Maiden, Chaka Khan | 3:39 |
| 4. | "Everybody Has an Aura" | Gordon DeWitty | 3:48 |
| 5. | "Circles" | Tony Dulaine | 3:56 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Sweet Thing" | Tony Maiden, Chaka Khan | 3:18 |
| 7. | "Dance Wit Me" | Gavin Christopher | 3:57 |
| 8. | "Little Boy Blue" | J. Farris | 5:02 |
| 9. | "On Time" (Instrumental) | Chaka Khan, Tony Maiden, Bobby Watson, Kevin Murphy, André Fischer | 3:31 |
| 10. | "Jive Talkin'" | Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb | 3:33 |
Personnel
edit- Rufus
- Chaka Khan – vocals
- Tony Maiden – guitar, vocals
- André Fischer – drums
- Kevin Murphy – keyboards
- Bobby Watson – bass guitar, vocals
with:
- Tower of Power Horn Section – horns
Production
edit- Rufus – producers
- Austin Godsey – engineer
- John Calder, Peter Chaikin, Doug Rider – assistant engineers
- Clare Fischer – string arrangements
- Greg Adams – horn arrangements
- Bill Imhoff - cover illustration
Charts
edit| Chart (1975–76) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[4] | 86 |
| U.S. Billboard Top LPs[5] | 7 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Soul LPs | 1 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[6] | Gold | 500,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Later samples
edit- "Ooh I Like Your Lovin'"
- "The Blueprint" by Boogie Down Productions from the album Ghetto Music: The Blueprint of Hip Hop
- "Circles"
- "The Becoming" by Little Brother from the album The Minstrel Show
- "Sweet Thing"
- "B-Boy in Love" by Mellow Man Ace from the album Escape from Havana
and "Remind Me" by RBL Posse from the album "A Lesson to Be Learned"
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Elias, Jason. "Rufus featuring Chaka Khan review". 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 261. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "US Charts > Rufus". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-10-19.
- ^ "American album certifications – Rufus – Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 13, 2024.