Bad Influence (Robert Cray album)

Last updated

Bad Influence
Bad Influence (Robert Cray album).jpg
Studio album by
Released1983
Genre Soul blues
Length41:57
Label Hightone [1]
Producer Bruce Bromberg, Dennis Walker
The Robert Cray Band chronology
Who's Been Talkin'
(1980)
Bad Influence
(1983)
False Accusations
(1985)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
The Village Voice B+ [4]

Bad Influence is the second studio album by the blues singer-songwriter and guitarist Robert Cray. [1]

Contents

Released with Hightone Records, this was the album thought to have put Cray on the map, prior to his explosion into the mainstream with Strong Persuader in 1986. It was his second release and his first on Hightone Records. It contained two cover versions: Johnny Guitar Watson's "Don't Touch Me" and Eddie Floyd's "Got to Make a Comeback". [1] The most well-known songs off the album are probably the funky minor-key blues song "Phone Booth", later covered by Cray's idol Albert King, and the title track which was subsequently covered by Eric Clapton. Bruce Bromberg and Dennis Walker produced the album for the California-based label. [1] To date the album has sold over one million copies.[ citation needed ]

Track listing

  1. "Phone Booth" (Robert Cray, Richard Cousins, Dennis Walker, Mike Vannice) (3:32)
  2. "Bad Influence" (Cray, Mike Vannice) (2:56)
  3. "Grinder" (Cray, David Amy) (4:09)
  4. "To Make a Comeback" (Eddie Floyd, Joe Shamwell) (2:50)
  5. "So Many Women, So Little Time" (Oscar Washington, David Amy, N.T. Clemens) (4:01)
  6. "Where Do I Go from Here" (Cray, Mike Vannice, Dennis Walker) (4:03)
  7. "Waiting for the Tide to Turn" (Cray, Mike Vannice, Dennis Walker) (3:31)
  8. "March On'" (Cray) (2:25)
  9. "Don't Touch Me" (Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Shawn Dewey) (3:25)
  10. "No Big Deal" (Cray, David Amy) (4:14) [1]

Bonus Tracks

  1. "I Got Loaded" (Robert Camille) (3:37)
  2. "Share What You've Got, Keep What You Need" (Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper) (3:50) [1]

Personnel

The Robert Cray Band

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T-Bone Walker</span> American blues musician and singer-songwriter (1910–1975)

Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker was an American blues musician, composer, songwriter and bandleader, who was a pioneer and innovator of the jump blues, West Coast blues, and electric blues sounds. In 2018 Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 67 on its list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Cray</span> American blues guitarist and singer

Robert William Cray is an American blues guitarist and singer. He has led his own band and won five Grammy Awards.

<i>Strong Persuader</i> 1986 studio album by Robert Cray

Strong Persuader is the fifth studio album by American blues singer and guitarist Robert Cray. It was recorded by Cray at the Los Angeles studios Sage & Sound and Haywood's with producers Bruce Bromberg and Dennis Walker, before being released on November 17, 1986, by Mercury Records and Hightone Records. Strong Persuader became his mainstream breakthrough and by 1995 it had sold over two million copies. The record was later ranked #42 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest albums of the 80's.

<i>Dont Be Afraid of the Dark</i> (album) 1988 studio album by The Robert Cray Band

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, released in 1988, is American blues musician Robert Cray's follow-up to Strong Persuader. It was unable to match the mainstream success of Strong Persuader, peaking at number 32 on the Billboard 200 and staying on the chart for 60 weeks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny "Guitar" Watson</span> American musician (1935–1996)

John Watson Jr., known professionally as Johnny "Guitar" Watson, was an American musician. A flamboyant showman and electric guitarist in the style of T-Bone Walker, his recording career spanned forty years, and encompassed rhythm and blues, funk and soul music.

<i>False Accusations</i> 1985 studio album by The Robert Cray Band

False Accusations is the third studio album by the Robert Cray Band, released 1985.

HighTone Records was an American independent record label based in Oakland, California, United States. HighTone specialized in American roots music including, country, rockabilly, western swing, blues and gospel. The label was created by Larry Sloven and Bruce Bromberg in 1983. The label's first release that year was Bad Influence by bluesman Robert Cray. In 1984, the label released Frankie Lee's debut album, The Ladies and the Babies. Some of the label's releases in the late 1980s featured Joe Louis Walker including Cold is the Night and The Gift.

<i>Slow Dancer</i> 1974 studio album by Boz Scaggs

Slow Dancer is the sixth album by Boz Scaggs, originally released by Columbia in 1974. It was produced by former Motowner Johnny Bristol of "Hang On In There Baby" fame.

<i>Under the Influence</i> (Alan Jackson album) 1999 studio album by Alan Jackson

Under the Influence is the eighth studio album by American country music artist Alan Jackson. It was released on October 26, 1999, and features covers of other country artists' material. Three singles were released from Under the Influence; "Pop a Top", "The Blues Man", and "It Must Be Love", which respectively reached No. 6, No. 37, and No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs charts. "My Own Kind of Hat", "Margaritaville" and "She Just Started Liking Cheatin' Songs" also entered the lower regions of the charts from unsolicited airplay.

<i>A Woman Like Me</i> (album) 2003 studio album by Bettye LaVette

A Woman Like Me is a studio album by American singer Bettye LaVette, released on January 21, 2003, by Blues Express. It was her first U.S. release in 20 years and was recorded by LaVette with producer and songwriter Dennis Walker.

<i>Bobby Bland and B. B. King Together Again...Live</i> 1976 live album by Bobby Bland and B. B. King

Bobby Bland and B. B. King Together Again...Live is a live album recorded in 1976 at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles by Bobby Bland and B. B. King.

<i>Butt Rockin</i> 1981 studio album by The Fabulous Thunderbirds

Butt Rockin' is the third studio album by Texas-based blues rock band the Fabulous Thunderbirds, released in 1981. The recording took the band closer to old rhythm and blues and added additional musicians playing piano and brass. A 2000 CD reissue contains three bonus tracks.

"634-5789 " is a soul song written by Eddie Floyd and Steve Cropper. It was first recorded by Wilson Pickett on December 20, 1965 and included on his 1966 Atlantic Records album The Exciting Wilson Pickett with backing vocals by Patti LaBelle and the Blue Belles. The single reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart and number 13 on the Hot 100 singles chart.

<i>I Was Warned</i> 1992 studio album by Robert Cray

I Was Warned is a blues album by Robert Cray. It was released in April 1992 through Mercury Records. Like Cray’s previous album, it features his regular backing band playing alongside the Memphis Horns.

<i>Midnight Stroll</i> 1990 studio album by Robert Cray

Midnight Stroll is a blues album by Robert Cray and featuring the Memphis Horns. It was released in June 1990 through Mercury Records.

<i>I Love Dixie Blues</i> 1973 live album by Merle Haggard and The Strangers

I Love Dixie Blues is a live album by American country singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1973.

<i>Live from Across the Pond</i> 2006 live album by Robert Cray

Live from Across the Pond is a live blues album by Robert Cray. It was released on September 12, 2006, through Vanguard Records. It is his first live album release.

<i>Blues Summit</i> 1993 studio album by B.B. King

Blues Summit is the thirty-third studio album by B.B. King released in 1993 through the MCA label. The album reached peak positions of number 182 on the Billboard 200, and number 64 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart. The album won a Grammy Award in 1994 for Best Traditional Blues Album.

<i>Im in a Phone Booth, Baby</i> 1984 studio album by Albert King

I'm in a Phone Booth, Baby is an album by the American blues musician Albert King. It was released in 1984 by Fantasy Records. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award, in the "Best Traditional Blues Recording" category.

<i>Whos Been Talkin</i> 1980 studio album by The Robert Cray Band

Who's Been Talkin' is the first album by the Robert Cray Band, released in 1980. It received little initial notice due to Tomato Records' bankruptcy. It has been rereleased a couple of times, including under the title Too Many Cooks.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Bad Influence - Robert Cray, Robert Cray Band | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  2. Larkin, Colin (2011). "Robert Cray". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN   978-0857125958.
  3. Russell, Tony; Smith, Chris (2006). The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings . Penguin. p. 143. ISBN   978-0-140-51384-4.
  4. Christgau, Robert (January 24, 1984). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice . New York. Retrieved April 29, 2013.