Red Hot Rhythm & Blues
Encyclopedia
Red Hot Rhythm & Blues is a 1987
album released by Diana Ross
on the RCA
label. The album was the last contractual album the singer released on RCA before heading back to Motown Records the end of the following year. The album yielded the top 20 R&B and UK top 50 hit, "Dirty Looks," written by Richard Scher & Lotti Golden
and the lush and atmospheric Luther Vandross
-produced ballad "It's Hard for Me to Say". The album also included cover versions of several R&B classics, including The Bobbettes
' "Mr. Lee" (a PWL
remix of which charted as a single in the UK), Jackie Ross
' "Selfish One," Etta James
' "Tell Mama", and The Drifters
' "There Goes My Baby". A Shep Pettibone
remix of "Shockwaves" was released as a single in the UK, but it narrowly failed to chart.
The album was promoted with a TV special featuring Etta James
, Little Richard
, Billy Dee Williams
, LL Cool J
and Run DMC.
The tracks "Mr Lee" and "Tell Mama" did not feature on the US version of the album and "Dirty Looks" was a different mix to that on the UK version.
The cover photography was by Herb Ritts
.
Side B
1987 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1987.See also:Record labels established in 1987-January-February:*January 3 – Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
album released by Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
on the RCA
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
label. The album was the last contractual album the singer released on RCA before heading back to Motown Records the end of the following year. The album yielded the top 20 R&B and UK top 50 hit, "Dirty Looks," written by Richard Scher & Lotti Golden
Lotti Golden
Lotti Golden is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and poet. A cult icon of the late 1960s, Golden is best known for her 1969 debut album, Motor-Cycle on Atlantic Records which "captured women's liberation and motorcycle soul in one psychedelic swoop."Winner of the ASCAP Pop Award for...
and the lush and atmospheric Luther Vandross
Luther Vandross
Luther Ronzoni Vandross was an American singer-songwriter and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times...
-produced ballad "It's Hard for Me to Say". The album also included cover versions of several R&B classics, including The Bobbettes
The Bobbettes
The Bobbettes were an R&B girl group who had a 1957 top 10 hit song called "Mr. Lee." The group included Jannie and Emma Pought, Reather Dixon, Lara Webb, and Helen Gather.-History:...
' "Mr. Lee" (a PWL
PWL
Pete Waterman Entertainment is the production company one-time pop and dance record label owned by pop mogul Pete Waterman. The label, originally PWL, is most famous for being the home of hit record producers Stock Aitken Waterman....
remix of which charted as a single in the UK), Jackie Ross
Jackie Ross
Jackie Ross is an American soul singer.Ross sang gospel music as a child, and performed on a radio show run by her parents, both preachers. After her father died in 1954 she moved to Chicago and was signed to SAR Records by Sam Cooke...
' "Selfish One," Etta James
Etta James
Etta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...
' "Tell Mama", and The Drifters
The Drifters
The Drifters are a long-lived American doo-wop and R&B/soul vocal group with a peak in popularity from 1953 to 1963, though several splinter Drifters continue to perform today. They were originally formed to serve as Clyde McPhatter's backing group in 1953...
' "There Goes My Baby". A Shep Pettibone
Shep Pettibone
Robert E. Pettibone, Jr. is a record producer, remixer, songwriter and club DJ, one of the most prolific of the 1980s. His earliest work known to the public was for one of New York City's top disco/dance radio stations, WRKS 98.7 "Kiss" FM, and later as remixer/producer for the disco label Salsoul...
remix of "Shockwaves" was released as a single in the UK, but it narrowly failed to chart.
The album was promoted with a TV special featuring Etta James
Etta James
Etta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...
, Little Richard
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
, Billy Dee Williams
Billy Dee Williams
William December "Billy Dee" Williams, Jr. is an American actor, artist, singer, and writer.-Early life:Williams was born in New York City, New York, the son of Loretta...
, LL Cool J
LL Cool J
James Todd Smith , better known as LL Cool J , is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and actor...
and Run DMC.
The tracks "Mr Lee" and "Tell Mama" did not feature on the US version of the album and "Dirty Looks" was a different mix to that on the UK version.
The cover photography was by Herb Ritts
Herb Ritts
Herbert "Herb" Ritts was an American fashion photographer who concentrated on black-and-white photography and portraits, often in the style of classical Greek sculpture.-Early life and career:...
.
Track listing
Side A- "Dirty Looks" (Richard Scher, Lotti GoldenLotti GoldenLotti Golden is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and poet. A cult icon of the late 1960s, Golden is best known for her 1969 debut album, Motor-Cycle on Atlantic Records which "captured women's liberation and motorcycle soul in one psychedelic swoop."Winner of the ASCAP Pop Award for...
) – 3:21 (different mix to US release, which runs at 4:10) - "Stranger in Paradise" (John CapekJohn Capek-Biography:John Capek was born in Prague, Czech Republic, the son of a concert pianist and his wife, a survivor of Auschwitz. Capek moved with his family to Melbourne, Australia at the age of three.-Career:...
, Amy Sky) – 3:59 - "Summertime" (Leonard CohenLeonard CohenLeonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
, Sharon Robinson) – 4:04 - "Shine" (Mick HucknallMick HucknallMichael "Mick" Hucknall is a British singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the British band Simply Red, and is recognisable for his smooth, distinctive voice and wide vocal range, as well as his red curly hair.-Early life:...
) – 3:32 - "Tell Me Again" (Wintley PhippsWintley Phipps-External links:* * * * * * *...
) – 3:13 - "Mr. Lee" (Emma Pought, Jannie Pought, Helen Gather, Laura Webb, Reather Dixon) – 3:07 (song not included on US release)
Side B
- "Tell MamaTell MamaTell Mama is the seventh studio album by American Blues artist, Etta James. The album was released August 21, 1968 on Cadet Records and was produced by Rick Hall. Tell Mama was James's first album since 1963 to enter the Billboard 200 albums chart and contained her first Top 10 and 20 hits since 1964...
" (Clarence Carter, Marcus Daniel, Wilbur Terrell) – 3:38 (song not included on US release) - "Selfish One" (Carl Smith, Wilfred McKinley) – 3:31
- "Cross My Heart" (Sharon Robinson) – 4:09
- "There Goes My Baby" (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, George TreadwellGeorge TreadwellGeorge McKinley Treadwell was an American jazz trumpeter....
, Lover Patterson) – 3:03 - "It's Hard for Me to Say" (Luther VandrossLuther VandrossLuther Ronzoni Vandross was an American singer-songwriter and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times...
) – 4:43 - "Shockwaves" (Diana Ross, Mark Cawley, Bill Wray) – 3:46
Personnel
- Diana Ross – vocals
- Luther VandrossLuther VandrossLuther Ronzoni Vandross was an American singer-songwriter and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times...
– background vocals - John CapekJohn Capek-Biography:John Capek was born in Prague, Czech Republic, the son of a concert pianist and his wife, a survivor of Auschwitz. Capek moved with his family to Melbourne, Australia at the age of three.-Career:...
– keyboards - Chuck RaineyChuck RaineyChuck Rainey, is an American bass guitar session musician, known for playing with many well-known American musicians and acts, including Donald Byrd, Steely Dan, Quincy Jones, and Aretha Franklin.-Biography:Rainey's youthful pursuits included violin, piano and trumpet...
– bass - Tommy VigTommy VigTommy Vig is an award-winning jazz vibraharpist, drummer, percussionist, arranger, big band leader, film, television, and classical concert composer, inventor, author, and educator.- Life and Work :...
– drums, percussion - Darryl Tookes – background vocals
- Jocelyn BrownJocelyn BrownJocelyn Lorette Brown is an American R&B and dance music singer...
– background vocals - Dennis Collins – background vocals
- Francisco Centeno – bass
- Paulinho Da CostaPaulinho Da CostaPaulinho da Costa is a Brazilian percussionist born in Rio de Janeiro, considered one of the most recorded musicians of modern times. Playing over two hundred percussion instruments, he has participated in thousands of recording sessions, Grammy Award-winning albums, hit songs, soundtracks, radio...
– percussion - Benny Diggs – background vocals
- Nathan EastNathan EastNathan Harrell East is a jazz, R&B and rock bass player and vocalist. East holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from the University of California, San Diego...
– bass - Steve Farris – guitar
- Steve FerroneSteve FerroneSteven "Steve" Ferrone is a British drummer.He was a member of the Average White Band, and has recorded and performed with numerous other high-profile acts, including Slash, Chaka Khan, Eric Clapton, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Scritti Politti...
– drums, percussion - Sammy FigueroaSammy FigueroaSammy Figueroa is an American percussionist born in The Bronx, New York. At 18 he joined the band of bassist Bobby Valentín and also co-led the Brazilian/Latin fusion group Raices....
– percussion - Steve GaddSteve GaddSteve Gadd is an American session and studio drummer, notable for his work with popular musicians from a wide range of genres.-Biography:...
– drums, percussion - Eric GaleEric GaleEric J. Gale was a leading American jazz and session guitarist.Born in Brooklyn, New York, Gale began playing guitar at the age of 12. Although he majored in chemistry at Niagara University, Gale was determined to pursue a musical career, and began contributing to accompaniments for such stars as...
– guitar - Steve Goldstein – synthesizer
- Lani Groves – background vocals
- Ivan Hampden – drums
- Joseph Joubert – keyboards
- Jason Miles – synthesizer
- Jeff Mironov – guitar
- Greg PhillinganesGreg PhillinganesGreg Phillinganes is an active session keyboardist in Los Angeles, California. He is a graduate of Cass Technical High School, Detroit Michigan....
– keyboards - Richard TeeRichard TeeRichard Tee was a pianist, studio musician, singer and arranger.Tee graduated from the High School of Music and Art and attended the Manhattan School of Music. Though better known as a studio and session musician, Tee led a jazz ensemble, the Richard Tee Committee, and was a founding member of the...
– keyboards