Busy Body (album)

Busy Body
Studio album by Luther Vandross
Released	November 25, 1983
Recorded	February–August 1983
Studio	Mediasound Studios (New York City, New York) Minot Sound (White Plains, New York) Warner Bros. Studios (Burbank, California) Westlake Studios, (Los Angeles, California)
Genre	R&B soul quiet storm
Length	41:24
Label	Epic
Producer	Luther Vandross Marcus Miller
Luther Vandross chronology
Forever, for Always, for Love (1982) Busy Body (1983) The Night I Fell in Love (1985)
Singles from Busy Body
"How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye" Released: November 1983 "I’ll Let You Slide" Released: December 1983 "Superstar" Released: March 1984 "Make Me a Believer" Released: May 1984

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Chicago Tribune	[2]
Robert Christgau	C+ [3]
Rolling Stone	[4]

Busy Body is the third studio album by American R&B/soul singer-songwriter Luther Vandross, released on November 25, 1983. It hit the number one position on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in the week of April 13, 1984 ^[5] and was certified Platinum by the RIAA in January 1985.

Track listing

Side A

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"I Wanted Your Love"	Luther Vandross, Marcus Miller	5:42
2.	"Busy Body"	Vandross, Miller	4:45
3.	"I'll Let You Slide"	Vandross, Miller	5:21
4.	"Make Me a Believer"	Vandross, Nat Adderley, Jr.	5:26

Side B

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
5.	"For the Sweetness of Your Love"	Vandross, Miller	7:28
6.	"How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye?" (Duet with Dionne Warwick)	Steve Goldman	3:25
7.	"Superstar/Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)"	Leon Russell, Bonnie Bramlett, Morris Broadnax, Clarence Paul, Stevie Wonder	9:18

Personnel

• Luther Vandross – lead vocals (1–3, 5–7), backing vocals (1–3, 5–7), all vocals (4), vocal arrangements
• Nat Adderley, Jr. – keyboards, string arrangements (2, 7), horn arrangements (4, 7), rhythm and synthesizer arrangements (4, 6, 7)
• Marcus Miller – synthesizers (1–5, 7), bass guitar, rhythm and synthesizer arrangements (1–3, 5)
• John "Skip" Anderson – synthesizers (4, 6, 7)
• Doc Powell – guitars
• Georg Wadenius – guitars
• Yogi Horton – drums
• Paulinho da Costa – percussion
• Michael White – percussion (7)
• Steve Kroon – congas (1, 3, 5–7), bongos (2, 4)
• Jimmy Webb – horn and string arrangements (6)
• Alfred Brown – horn and string contractor (2, 4, 6, 7)
• Tawatha Agee – backing vocals (1–3, 5, 7)
• Phillip Ballou – backing vocals (1, 2, 5–7)
• Robin Clark – backing vocals (1–3, 5, 7)
• Fonzi Thornton – backing vocals (1, 5)
• Brenda White King – backing vocals (1–3, 5–7)
• Alfa Anderson – backing vocals (2, 3, 6)
• Cissy Houston – backing vocals (2, 6)
• David Lasley – backing vocals (3, 5)
• Darlene Love – backing vocals (3, 5)
• Cheryl Lynn – backing vocals (3, 5)
• Paulette McWilliams – backing vocals (3, 5)
• Yvonne Lewis – backing vocals (5, 6)
• Patti Austin – backing vocals (6)
• Michelle Cobbs – backing vocals (6)
• Dionne Warwick – lead vocals (6)

Production

• Larkin Arnold – executive producer
• Marcus Miller – producer (1–3, 5)
• Luther Vandross – producer
• Ray Bardani – recording, mixing
• Michael Barbiero – additional engineer
• Carl Beatty – additional engineer
• Michael Christopher – additional engineer, assistant engineer
• Paul Brown – assistant engineer
• Rudy Hill – assistant engineer
• Bruce Robbins – assistant engineer
• Harry Spiridakis – assistant engineer
• Steve Bates – mix assistant
• Greg Calbi – mastering at Sterling Sound (New York, NY)
• Kate Jansen – album administrator
• Dana Lester – album administrator
• George Corsillo – art direction, design
• Brian Hagiwara – front and back photography
• Harry Langdon – photography of Luther Vandross
• Shep Gordon – management
• Daniel S. Markus – management
• Alive Enterprises, Inc. – management company

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1983) Peak position UK Albums (OCC) [6] 42 US Billboard 200 [7] 32 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [8] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1984) Position US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [9] 4

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [10]	Platinum	1,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. AllMusic
2. "THE BEST OF VANDROSS ON RECORD". Chicago Tribune . October 3, 1993. Archived from the original on June 28, 2017.
3. Robert Christgau
4. "Busy Body". Rolling Stone . February 16, 1984. Archived from the original on March 2, 2017.
5. "The Charlotte News, 29 March 1984". The Charlotte News. March 29, 1984. p. 41. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
6. "Luther Vandross | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
7. "Luther Vandross Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
8. "Luther Vandross Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
9. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1984". Billboard. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
10. "American album certifications – Luther Vandross – Busy Body". Recording Industry Association of America.