Get Closer
Encyclopedia
Get Closer is a Gold-plus, Grammy-nominated album by singer/songwriter/producer Linda Ronstadt
. It arrived two and a half years after Ronstadt's controversial Punk Rock Mad Love
album. It was taken out of print in 2009.
that had resulted in her commercial and critical success throughout the 1970s, and working again with British musician and producer Peter Asher
. It was noted by critics that, whereas she had spent the '70s channeling the music of then-upcoming songwriters such as Warren Zevon
, Elvis Costello
, Karla Bonoff
and J. D. Souther
, on Get Closer Ronstadt sang older songs, some originated by established artists such as Billy Joe Royal
, George Jones
and Ike and
Tina Turner
, and others originated by lesser-known soul
artists and one-hit wonder
s such as the Knickerbockers
, the Exciters
, Lee Dorsey
and Wade Flemons
.
Also, the album contained two tracks originally recorded for but never included on previous albums. The first, a re-make of Jones
' "Sometimes You Just Can't Win," was recorded in June 1977 with J. D. Souther
on harmony vocals and intended for the album Simple Dreams
. The other, a remake of Dolly Parton
's 1971 recording "My Blue Tears," was performed with Parton and Emmylou Harris
as part of a planned trio album that, because of scheduling and record company conflicts, was never released. The trio's version was originally recorded in January 1978 (Parton, Ronstadt and Harris would eventually record and release the first of two Trio
albums in 1987). Also on Get Closer was a duet with James Taylor
, a remake of Ike and
Tina Turner
's "I Think It's Gonna Work Out Fine".
released Get Closer in late September 1982. Reviewers wrote about a newfound confidence in Ronstadt's vocals. Ken Tucker of Rolling Stone
magazine wrote in his November 11 review, "Linda Ronstadt's voice has never sounded better than it does on Get Closer. It's an uneven album, to be sure, but its spirit is unassailable." Noting her turn in Pirates, Tucker wrote that Ronstadt's vocal development on Broadway
"hasn't made her self-conscious. Just the opposite, in fact: Linda Ronstadt is no longer a prisoner of technique." Tucker did decry much of the album's second side, saying that some of the oldies in the soul genre were performed too meticulously.
Stephen Holden of The New York Times
wrote, "Miss Ronstadt's singing is so strong and unaffected." He paid special attention to the title track, calling it "the album's most adventurous performance" and noting Ronstadt's "shouting, growling exuberance reminiscent of Aretha Franklin
's 'Respect
.'
Commercially, the album fell short of Ronstadt's prior efforts, peaking at #31 on the Billboard
album chart in late 1982 and being certified Gold
by the Recording Industry Association of America
for sales of over 500,000 copies. (By contrast, 1980's Mad Love
had debuted in the Top Five and was certified Platinum in several weeks.) Get Closer was Ronstadt's first album release in 10 years to miss a million-selling Platinum certification although it reached sales of 900,000 copies.
This album's driving title track, "Get Closer" was written by Washington D.C.-based singer-songwriter Jon Carroll , an original member of the Starland Vocal Band
and a current member of Mary Chapin Carpenter
's backup band. The song, notable for its 7/4 time signature, was also chosen to promote Close Up toothpaste ("Get Close Up"). Assisted by a popular MTV music video, it peaked at #29 on the Billboard Hot 100
in late 1982 and garnered considerable airplay on AOR (Album-Oriented Rock) stations while its follow-up single, "I Knew You When", peaked at #37. Ronstadt's seductive interpretation of Jimmy Webb
's "Easy For You To Say" was a surprise Top Ten hit on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. "Sometimes You Just Can't Win," the B-side
to the "Get Closer" single, peaked at #27 on Billboard
s Hot Country Songs
chart.
Ronstadt was nominated in early 1983 for the Grammy Award
s for Best Pop Vocal Performance Female
and Best Rock Vocal Performance Female
for the album and song "Get Closer," losing to Melissa Manchester
and Pat Benatar
respectively. The album did, however, win the Grammy for Best Album Package
, an art director's award. The trophy went to well known designers Kosh
and Ron Larson
.
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
. It arrived two and a half years after Ronstadt's controversial Punk Rock Mad Love
Mad Love (Linda Ronstadt album)
Mad Love is a Platinum certified, Grammy-nominated 1980 New Wave album by singer/songwriter/producer Linda Ronstadt. The album debuted at #5 on the Billboard album chart — a record at the time and a first for any female artist — and quickly became Ronstadt's seventh consecutive million-selling...
album. It was taken out of print in 2009.
History
Get Closer found Ronstadt returning to the genresMusic genre
A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music...
that had resulted in her commercial and critical success throughout the 1970s, and working again with British musician and producer Peter Asher
Peter Asher
Peter Asher is an English guitarist, singer, manager and record producer. He first came to prominence in the 1960s as a member of the vocal duo Peter and Gordon before going on to a successful career as a record producer.-Early life:He was born at the Central Middlesex Hospital, a child actor and...
. It was noted by critics that, whereas she had spent the '70s channeling the music of then-upcoming songwriters such as Warren Zevon
Warren Zevon
Warren William Zevon was an American rock singer-songwriter and musician noted for including his sometimes sardonic opinions of life in his musical lyrics, composing songs that were sometimes humorous and often had political or historical themes.Zevon's work has often been praised by well-known...
, Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
, Karla Bonoff
Karla Bonoff
Karla Bonoff is an American singer-songwriter, primarily known for her songwriting.As a songwriter, Bonoff's songs have been interpreted by other artists such as "Home" by Bonnie Raitt, "Tell Me Why" by Wynonna Judd, and "Isn't It Always Love" by Lynn Anderson...
and J. D. Souther
J. D. Souther
John David Souther is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and actor. He has written and co-written numerous hits songs recorded by artists such as Linda Ronstadt and Glenn Frey of the Eagles.-Singing career:...
, on Get Closer Ronstadt sang older songs, some originated by established artists such as Billy Joe Royal
Billy Joe Royal
Billy Joe Royal is an American singer.-Biography:Born in Valdosta and raised in Marietta in 1942, Royal became a local star at Savannah, Georgia's Bamboo Ranch in the 1950s and 1960s...
, George Jones
George Jones
George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
and Ike and
Ike Turner
Isaac Wister Turner was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, arranger, talent scout, and record producer. In a career that lasted more than half a century, his repertoire included blues, soul, rock, and funk...
Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
, and others originated by lesser-known soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
artists and one-hit wonder
One-hit wonder
A one-hit wonder is a person or act known mainly for only a single success. The term is most often used to describe music performers with only one hit single.-Characteristics:...
s such as the Knickerbockers
The Knickerbockers
The Knickerbockers were an American pop/rock music group, best remembered for their 1965 Beatles sound alike hit single, "Lies."-Formation:The band was formed in 1962 in Bergenfield, New Jersey by brothers Beau Charles and John Charles with fluctuating personnel until 1964, when they met...
, the Exciters
The Exciters
The Exciters were an American pop music group of the 1960s. They were originally a girl group, although a male member was added later. The group consisted of lead singer Brenda Reid, her husband Herb Rooney, Carolyn Johnson and Lillian Walker....
, Lee Dorsey
Lee Dorsey
Lee Dorsey was an African American pop/R&B singer during the 1960s. Much of his work was produced by Allen Toussaint with instrumental backing provided by the Meters.-Career:...
and Wade Flemons
Wade Flemons
Wade Flemons was an American soul singer.Born in Coffeyville, Kansas, Flemons began recording solo work in 1958, but is best remembered for his work as a musician and vocalist in the pop band Earth, Wind & Fire between 1970 and 1973...
.
Also, the album contained two tracks originally recorded for but never included on previous albums. The first, a re-make of Jones
George Jones
George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
' "Sometimes You Just Can't Win," was recorded in June 1977 with J. D. Souther
J. D. Souther
John David Souther is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and actor. He has written and co-written numerous hits songs recorded by artists such as Linda Ronstadt and Glenn Frey of the Eagles.-Singing career:...
on harmony vocals and intended for the album Simple Dreams
Simple Dreams
Simple Dreams is one of the most successful albums of Linda Ronstadt's career, spending five consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart in late 1977. It also knocked Elvis Presley out of No...
. The other, a remake of Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
's 1971 recording "My Blue Tears," was performed with Parton and Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
as part of a planned trio album that, because of scheduling and record company conflicts, was never released. The trio's version was originally recorded in January 1978 (Parton, Ronstadt and Harris would eventually record and release the first of two Trio
Trio (album)
Trio was a collaboration album by three of the most successful American female singers of the 1970s and 1980s, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris...
albums in 1987). Also on Get Closer was a duet with James Taylor
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
, a remake of Ike and
Ike Turner
Isaac Wister Turner was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, arranger, talent scout, and record producer. In a career that lasted more than half a century, his repertoire included blues, soul, rock, and funk...
Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
's "I Think It's Gonna Work Out Fine".
Reception
Asylum RecordsAsylum Records
Asylum Records is an American record label founded in 1971 by David Geffen, and partner Elliot Roberts, who had previously worked as agents at the William Morris Agency. Founded specifically to provide a record contract for Jackson Browne, the label signed Tom Waits, Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell...
released Get Closer in late September 1982. Reviewers wrote about a newfound confidence in Ronstadt's vocals. Ken Tucker of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine wrote in his November 11 review, "Linda Ronstadt's voice has never sounded better than it does on Get Closer. It's an uneven album, to be sure, but its spirit is unassailable." Noting her turn in Pirates, Tucker wrote that Ronstadt's vocal development on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
"hasn't made her self-conscious. Just the opposite, in fact: Linda Ronstadt is no longer a prisoner of technique." Tucker did decry much of the album's second side, saying that some of the oldies in the soul genre were performed too meticulously.
Stephen Holden of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote, "Miss Ronstadt's singing is so strong and unaffected." He paid special attention to the title track, calling it "the album's most adventurous performance" and noting Ronstadt's "shouting, growling exuberance reminiscent of Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
's 'Respect
Respect (song)
"Respect" is a song written and originally released by Stax recording artist Otis Redding in 1965. "Respect" became a 1967 hit and signature song for R&B singer Aretha Franklin. The music in the two versions is significantly different, and through a few minor changes in the lyrics, the stories told...
.'
Commercially, the album fell short of Ronstadt's prior efforts, peaking at #31 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
album chart in late 1982 and being certified Gold
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
for sales of over 500,000 copies. (By contrast, 1980's Mad Love
Mad Love (Linda Ronstadt album)
Mad Love is a Platinum certified, Grammy-nominated 1980 New Wave album by singer/songwriter/producer Linda Ronstadt. The album debuted at #5 on the Billboard album chart — a record at the time and a first for any female artist — and quickly became Ronstadt's seventh consecutive million-selling...
had debuted in the Top Five and was certified Platinum in several weeks.) Get Closer was Ronstadt's first album release in 10 years to miss a million-selling Platinum certification although it reached sales of 900,000 copies.
This album's driving title track, "Get Closer" was written by Washington D.C.-based singer-songwriter Jon Carroll , an original member of the Starland Vocal Band
Starland Vocal Band
Starland Vocal Band were an American pop band, known primarily for "Afternoon Delight", one of the biggest-selling singles in 1976.-Career:The group began as 'Fat City', a husband/wife duo of Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert. The band was also composed of Jon Carroll and Margot Chapman...
and a current member of Mary Chapin Carpenter
Mary Chapin Carpenter
Mary Chapin Carpenter is an American folk and country music artist. Carpenter spent several years singing in Washington, D.C. clubs before signing in the late 1980s with Columbia Records, who marketed her as a country singer...
's backup band. The song, notable for its 7/4 time signature, was also chosen to promote Close Up toothpaste ("Get Close Up"). Assisted by a popular MTV music video, it peaked at #29 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in late 1982 and garnered considerable airplay on AOR (Album-Oriented Rock) stations while its follow-up single, "I Knew You When", peaked at #37. Ronstadt's seductive interpretation of Jimmy Webb
Jimmy Webb
Jimmy Webb is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He wrote numerous platinum selling classics, including "Up, Up and Away", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Wichita Lineman", "Galveston", "The Worst That Could Happen", "All I Know", and "MacArthur Park"...
's "Easy For You To Say" was a surprise Top Ten hit on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. "Sometimes You Just Can't Win," the B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
to the "Get Closer" single, peaked at #27 on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart.
Ronstadt was nominated in early 1983 for the 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...
s for Best Pop Vocal Performance Female
Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance is the latest in a series of awards recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. The award goes to the artist...
and Best Rock Vocal Performance Female
Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to female recording artists for works containing quality vocal performances in the rock music genre...
for the album and song "Get Closer," losing to Melissa Manchester
Melissa Manchester
Melissa Manchester is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Beginning in the 1970s, she has recorded generally in the adult contemporary genre. She has also appeared as an actress on television, in films, and on stage....
and Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar is an American singer and four-time Grammy winner. She had considerable commercial success particularly in the United States...
respectively. The album did, however, win the Grammy for Best Album Package
Grammy Award for Best Recording Package
The Grammy Award for Best Recording Package is one of a series of Grammy Awards presented for the visual look of an album. It is presented to the art director of the winning album, not to the performer, except if the performer is also the art director....
, an art director's award. The trophy went to well known designers Kosh
Kosh (art director)
Kosh is an English art director, album cover designer, graphic artist, and documentary producer/director. He was born in London, England and rose to prominence in the mid-1960s while designing for the Royal Ballet and the Royal Opera House...
and Ron Larson
Ron Larson
Ron Larson is an art director, album cover designer and graphic artist. He has won two Grammys for his designs. He has worked closely with John Kosh and also done many various projects for Disney. He was also responsible for helping with the design of the original Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope...
.
Track listing
- "Get Closer" - Jonathan Carroll – 2:29
- "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" - Jimmy WebbJimmy WebbJimmy Webb is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He wrote numerous platinum selling classics, including "Up, Up and Away", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Wichita Lineman", "Galveston", "The Worst That Could Happen", "All I Know", and "MacArthur Park"...
– 3:03 - "I Knew You When" - Joe SouthJoe SouthJoe South is a multi-talented American singer-songwriter and guitarist.-Career:...
– 2:53 - "Easy For You To Say" - Jimmy WebbJimmy WebbJimmy Webb is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He wrote numerous platinum selling classics, including "Up, Up and Away", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Wichita Lineman", "Galveston", "The Worst That Could Happen", "All I Know", and "MacArthur Park"...
– 4:03 - "People Gonna Talk" - William Wheeler/Lee DorseyLee DorseyLee Dorsey was an African American pop/R&B singer during the 1960s. Much of his work was produced by Allen Toussaint with instrumental backing provided by the Meters.-Career:...
/Morris LevyMorris LevyMorris Levy was an American music industry executive, best known as the founder and owner of Roulette Records...
/Clarence L. Lewis – 2:38 - "Talk To Me Of Mendocino" - Kate McGarrigleKate McGarrigleKate McGarrigle, CM was a Canadian folk music singer-songwriter, who wrote and performed as a duo with her sister Anna McGarrigle....
– 2:57 - "I Think It's Gonna Work Out Fine" (with James TaylorJames TaylorJames Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
) - Rose Marie McCoy/Sylvia McKinney – 4:01 - "Mr. Radio" - Roderick Taylor – 4:07
- "Lies" - Buddy Randell/Beau Charles – 2:35
- "Tell Him" - Bert Russell BernsBert BernsBertrand Russell Berns , most commonly known as Bert Berns as well as Bert Russell and Russell Byrd, was an American songwriter and record producer of the 1960s...
– 2:35 - "Sometimes You Just Can't Win" (with J. D. SoutherJ. D. SoutherJohn David Souther is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and actor. He has written and co-written numerous hits songs recorded by artists such as Linda Ronstadt and Glenn Frey of the Eagles.-Singing career:...
) - Smokey Stover – 2:30 - "My Blue Tears" (with Dolly PartonDolly PartonDolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
and Emmylou HarrisEmmylou HarrisEmmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
) - PartonDolly PartonDolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
– 2:40
Personnel
- Linda Ronstadt - Vocals, Background Vocals
- Emmylou HarrisEmmylou HarrisEmmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
- Vocals - Dolly PartonDolly PartonDolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
- Vocals - James TaylorJames TaylorJames Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
- Guitar, Background Vocals - Peter AsherPeter AsherPeter Asher is an English guitarist, singer, manager and record producer. He first came to prominence in the 1960s as a member of the vocal duo Peter and Gordon before going on to a successful career as a record producer.-Early life:He was born at the Central Middlesex Hospital, a child actor and...
- Guitar, Percussion, Vocals - Dan Dugmore - Electric Guitar
- Andrew GoldAndrew GoldAndrew Maurice Gold was an American singer, musician and songwriter. His works include the Top 10 single "Lonely Boy" , as well as the singles "Thank You for Being a Friend" , and "Never Let Her Slip Away" ....
- Acoustic and Electric Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Keyboards, Vocals, Harmony Vocals - Waddy WachtelWaddy WachtelRobert "Waddy" Wachtel is an American musician, composer and record producer, most notable for his guitar work...
- Acoustic and Electric Guitar, Vocals - Danny KortchmarDanny KortchmarDanny "Kootch" Kortchmar is a guitarist, session musician, and songwriter. Kortchmar's work with singer-songwriters such as David Crosby, Carole King, Graham Nash, Carly Simon and James Taylor helped define the signature sound of the singer-songwriter era of the 1970s...
- Electric Guitar - Bill PayneBill PayneBill Payne is a founding member of American rock band Little Feat. He is considered by many other piano rock musicians, including Elton John, to be one of the finest American piano rock and blues music artists...
- Organ, Piano, Conductor, Keyboards, Fender Rhodes, String Arrangements, Wurlitzer - Don GrolnickDon GrolnickDon Grolnick was an American jazz and pop pianist and composer, most noteworthy for his work with artists such as Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Roberta Flack, Carly Simon, Bette Midler, Billy Cobham, David Sanborn, Marcus Miller, Bob Mintzer, Dave Holland and Steely Dan...
- Organ, Synthesizer - Kenny EdwardsKenny EdwardsKenny Edwards was an American singer/songwriter. He was a founding member of The Stone Poneys and a long-time collaborator with both Linda Ronstadt and Karla Bonoff.-Biography:...
- Acoustic Bass, Vocals - Bob GlaubBob GlaubBob Glaub is an American bass player and session musician. He's played with such artists and bands as Journey, Jackson Browne, Bee Gees, Eric Carmen, Linda Ronstadt, Leo Sayer, Warren Zevon, Rod Stewart, Donna Summer, Bonnie Raitt and many others....
- Bass - Russ KunkelRuss KunkelRussell Kunkel , also known as Russ Kunkel, is an American drummer and producer who has worked as a session musician with a number of well-known artists.Kunkel was born in Pittsburgh, PA...
- Drums - Rick MarottaRick MarottaRick Marotta is a US-based drummer and percussionist who appears on many recordings by leading artists such as Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, Steely Dan, James Taylor, Paul Simon, John Lennon, Hall & Oates, Stevie Nicks, Wynonna, Roy Orbison, Todd Rundgren, Roberta Flack, Peter Frampton, Quincy...
- Drums - Rick Shlosser - Drums
- Jim HornJim HornJim Horn is an American saxophonist and woodwind player. He was born in Los Angeles, and after replacing saxophonist Steve Douglas in 1959, he toured with member Duane Eddy for five years, playing sax and flute on the road, and in the recording studio...
- Baritone Saxophone - Jerry Peterson - Saxophone
- Lindsey BuckinghamLindsey BuckinghamLindsey Adams Buckingham is an American guitarist, singer, composer and producer, most notable for being the guitarist and male lead singer of the musical group Fleetwood Mac. Aside from his tenure with Fleetwood Mac, Buckingham has also released six solo albums and a live album...
- Accordion - David GrismanDavid GrismanDavid Grisman is an American bluegrass/newgrass mandolinist and composer of acoustic music. In the early 1990s, he started the Acoustic Disc record label in an effort to preserve and spread acoustic or instrumental music.-Biography:Grisman grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey...
- Mandolin - Dennis Karmazyn - Cello
- J.D. Souther - Vocals
- Patti AustinPatti Austin-Life and career:Austin was born in Harlem, New York. She made her debut at the Apollo Theater at age four and had a contract with RCA Records when she was only five. Quincy Jones and Dinah Washington have proclaimed themselves as her godparents....
- Vocals, Background Vocals - Rosemary ButlerRosemary ButlerRosemary Butler began her career playing bass and singing in an all-girl band named the Ladybirds. The band appeared on several LA area television shows before opening for the Rolling Stones in 1964. She then joined all-female hard rock band Birtha who released two albums for Dunhill Records...
- Vocals, Background Vocals - Edie Lehmann - Vocals, Background Vocals
- Debbie Pearl - Vocals, Background Vocals
Chart performance
| Chart (1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 19 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 31 |
| Canadian RPM Top Albums | 48 |