Big Fun | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | August 30, 1979 | |||
Recorded | 1979 at Studio Masters, Los Angeles, CA, Jack Clement Studios, Nashville, TN | |||
Genre | Pop, disco, R&B | |||
Length | 37:07 | |||
Label | SOLAR | |||
Producer | Leon Sylvers III | |||
Shalamar chronology | ||||
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Big Fun is the third album by the American musical group Shalamar, released in 1979 through SOLAR Records. [1] Big Fun was produced by Leon Sylvers III and is the first album to feature what is considered the 'classic' Shalamar line-up (Jeffrey Daniel, Howard Hewett and Jody Watley), with Hewett having replaced Gerald Brown. The album features the group's most successful hit on the Hot 100 pop chart, "The Second Time Around".
Big Fun has been certified Gold in the United States for sales of over 500,000. It peaked at #4 on the R&B chart and #23 on the Billboard chart (Shalamar's highest-placing album on this chart). In the UK it reached #45.
In 2002, Big Fun was re-released by Sanctuary Records in the United Kingdom in a two-for-one CD format with Shalamar's following album Three for Love .
The song "I Owe You One" was sampled in Raw Man's "Beautiful", and Le Knight Club's "Mosquito".
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [1] |
The New York Times called the album "a very eclectic blend of pop hooks and light disco with funk trimmings." [2] AllMusic rated the album four out of five stars. [3] Writer Colin Larkin rated it three out of five. [4]
The album sold 625,000+ units as of July 1982. Its single "The Second Time Around" sold around 1.8 million units. [5]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "The Right Time for Us" | Leon Sylvers III, Dick Griffey | 5:53 |
2. | "Take Me to the River" | Renaldo Benson, Lawrence Payton | 4:57 |
3. | "Right in the Socket" | Kevin Spencer, Leon Sylvers III, Dick Griffey | 6:51 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
4. | "The Second Time Around" | Leon Sylvers III, William Shelby | 7:05 |
5. | "I Owe You One" | Joey Gallo, Leon Sylvers III | 5:11 |
6. | "Let's Find the Time for Love" | Kevin Spencer, Leon Sylvers III | 4:36 |
7. | "Girl" | Kossi Gardner | 5:24 |
Jody Watley, Jeffrey Daniel, Howard Hewett: lead and backing vocals
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
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1979 | I Owe You One | Hot Soul Singles | 60 |
1980 | The Second Time Around | Billboard Hot 100 | 8 |
1980 | The Second Time Around | Hot Soul Singles | 1 |
1980 | Right in the Socket | Hot Soul Singles | 22 |
Shalamar is an American R&B and soul music vocal group active since the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. Shalamar's classic line-up on the SOLAR label consisted of Howard Hewett, Jody Watley, and Jeffrey Daniel, together with dancer Jermaine Stewart. It was originally a disco-driven group created by Soul Train booking agent Dick Griffey and show creator and producer Don Cornelius. They went on to be an influential dance trio, masterminded by Cornelius. As noted in the British Hit Singles & Albums, they were regarded as fashion icons and trendsetters, and helped to introduce "body-popping" to the United Kingdom. Their name was created by Griffey.
Jody Vanessa Watley is an American singer whose music crosses genres including pop, R&B, jazz, dance and electronic soul. During the late 1970s and early 1980s she was a member of the R&B/funk band Shalamar, who scored many hits, notably in the UK. In 1988, she won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist and has been nominated for three Grammy awards.
Fulfillingness' First Finale is the seventeenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder, released on July 22, 1974 by Tamla, a subsidiary of Motown Records. It is the fourth of five albums from what is considered Wonder's "classic period".
SOLAR was an American record label founded in 1977 by Dick Griffey, reconstituted out of Soul Train Records only two years after it was founded with Soul Train television show host and creator Don Cornelius.
Dynasty was an American band, based in Los Angeles, California, created by producer and SOLAR Records label head Dick Griffey, and record producer Leon Sylvers III. The band was known for their dance/pop numbers during the late 1970s and 1980s. Keyboardist Kevin Spencer and vocalists Nidra Beard and Linda Carriere originally comprised the group.
Howard Hewett Jr. is an American singer–songwriter. Hewett rose to fame as the lead vocalist of the group Shalamar. In 1985, he left the group to pursue his solo career, but he later returned to the group in 2001. He signed with Elektra Records. In 1986, he released his debut solo album I Commit to Love. Hewett and his group Shalamar contributed material to the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack. The soundtrack won a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media in 1986.
Leon Frank Sylvers III is an American singer, songwriter, disc-jockey, record producer and multi-instrumentalist. He was a member of the family group The Sylvers and became one of the most successful producers in black music in the late 1970s to the mid-1980s through his association with Dick Griffey's SOLAR Records. Artists such as J Dilla, Dr. Dre, and Madlib have sampled songs written and produced by him.
Carrie Lucas is an American R&B singer, born in Carmel, California. In 1976, she was signed to Soul Train Records. Lucas released six studio albums over seven years, with Soul Train and Solar Records.
"The Second Time Around" is a 1979 hit by Los Angeles–based group Shalamar. The song is the first single from their album, Big Fun. Released in August 1979, the single went to number one on the soul chart and was their most successful hit on the Hot 100 pop chart, reaching number eight in early 1980. "The Second Time Around" also went to number one on the disco/dance chart in January 1980. The song was produced by Leon Sylvers III, who cowrote the song with William Shelby.
Three for Love is the fourth album by American R&B group Shalamar, released in 1980 on the SOLAR label. It was produced by Leon Sylvers III and features the 'classic' Shalamar line-up.
Go for It is the fifth album by American R&B group Shalamar, released in 1981 on the SOLAR label. The album features the 'classic' Shalamar line-up.
Friends is the sixth album by American R&B group Shalamar, released in 1982 on the SOLAR label. The album, which features the 'classic' Shalamar line-up, topped the R&B chart and peaked at #35 on the Billboard chart. It has been certified Gold in the United States for sales over 500,000. It would eventually go Platinum. In the United Kingdom Friends gained impetus from a now-legendary demonstration of body-popping by Daniel during a performance of "A Night to Remember" on the BBC programme Top of the Pops. It reached #6 on the UK Albums Chart and produced four top 20 singles.
The Look is the seventh album by American R&B group Shalamar, released in 1983 on the SOLAR label. It is the last Shalamar album to feature the classic line-up of Jeffrey Daniel, Howard Hewett and Jody Watley, as both Daniel and Watley would leave the group shortly before its release. The album features the Grammy nominated hit single "Dead Giveaway".
Disco Gardens is the second album by the American R&B group Shalamar, released in 1978 on SOLAR Records. The group included Gerald Brown, Jeffrey Daniel and Jody Watley; it was the only Shalamar album on which Brown appeared.
Heartbreak is the eighth album by American R&B group Shalamar, released in 1984 on the SOLAR label. It features a new line-up of Delisa Davis, Micki Free and Howard Hewett. The album features Grammy nominated songs included on the Footloose and Beverly Hills Cop soundtracks. This would be Hewett's last album with the group before embarking on a solo career.
"This Is for the Lover in You" is a song written by Howard Hewett, member of the trio Shalamar, and songwriter Dana Meyers. The track was originally recorded by Shalamar and appeared on their 1980 Platinum album, Three for Love.
The Second Adventure is the third album by the Los Angeles, California-based R&B group Dynasty (band).
Concept is the ninth album by the Los Angeles, California-based R&B group the Sylvers.
Fantastic Voyage is the fourth album by the funk band Lakeside, released in 1980 via SOLAR Records. It was produced by the band. The album has sold over a million copies.
Face to Face is the sixth album released by R&B singer Evelyn "Champagne" King on RCA Records in 1983. It was produced by André Cymone, Leon Sylvers III, Foster Sylvers, and Joey Gallo.