Eargasm

Last updated
Eargasm
Johnnie Taylor - Eargasm.png
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 1976
StudioUnited Sound Systems, Detroit; Muscle Shoals Sound Studios; Sundance Studios, Dallas
Genre R&B, soul
Length34:45
Label Columbia [1]
Producer Don Davis
Johnnie Taylor chronology
Super Taylor
(1974)
Eargasm
(1976)
Rated Extraordinaire
(1977)

Eargasm is an album by the American R&B singer Johnnie Taylor, released in March 1976 on Columbia Records. [2] [3] The album contains "Disco Lady", which was a No. 1 pop hit for four weeks, and achieved the first platinum certification for a single, with two million copies sold. [4] Eargasm was Taylor's first album for Columbia Records, after many years spent recording for Stax. [5]

Contents

The album peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200; it spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Soul Albums chart, [6] [7] and peaked at No. 41 in Canada. [8] Taylor's most commercially successful album, Eargasm achieved gold status in 1980 and platinum status in 2001. [9] [10] [11] The album's second single, "Somebody's Gettin' It", was also a hit. [12]

The album helped Taylor earn the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's award for the 1976 "Entertainer of the Year". [13]

Production and marketing

The album was produced by Don Davis. [14] Recorded in Dallas and Memphis, the backing musicians included Bernie Worrell and Bootsy Collins. [15]

The scholar Houston Baker contends that "Disco Lady" was among the first R&B singles to be advertised to white record buyers; this was part of a 1970s practice of major labels signing veteran black musicians, and then focusing on crossover hits rather than career growth. [16] [17]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [18]
Robert Christgau C+ [19]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [20]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [21]

Robert Christgau thought that "Taylor's commitment to the traditional soul style remains unimpeachable even when he accedes to material as modish as the likable but lightweight 'Disco Lady'." [19]

AllMusic deemed "Disco Lady" "the song of year", writing that "the rest of the album was standard soul, but this was overlooked in the rush". [18] The Rolling Stone Album Guide determined that "the songwriting is nowhere near as punchy or pointed as on the Stax records; however, Taylor throws down some heavy gospel-style testimony." [21]

The Dallas Observer , reviewing the album's 1999 rerelease on compact disc, called it "a wonderful record ... full of la-de-de, la-da-dum-da choruses and it-don't-hurt-me verses; the man could sing about infidelity and made it signify even among the most faithful." [15] The Fort Worth Star-Telegram concluded that "Taylor had the good sense to mix strings with the sort of horn-based soul that made him a star on Stax in the '60s and come up with a Memphis/Detroit/Philadelphia hybrid." [22] Music Week wrote that "the album is full of classy urban ballads and tidy midtempo grooves, with only 'It Don't Hurt Me Like It Used To' in true disco tempo." [23]

Track listing

Eargasm track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Disco Lady"Albert James Vance, Don Davis, Harvey Scales 4:25
2."Please Don't Stop (That Song from Playing)"Don Davis2:55
3."Don't Touch Her Body (If You Can't Touch Her Mind)"Don Davis3:13
4."I'm Gonna Keep On Loving You"Don Davis, Richard Morris4:00
5."You're the Best in the World"Norma Toney3:18
6."Running Out of Lies"Perry Jordan4:50
7."Somebody's Gettin' It"Chico Jones, Clarence Coulter, Don Davis4:01
8."It Don't Hurt Me Like It Used To"Herbert Ross, Perry Jordan3:13
9."Pick Up the Pieces"Don Davis, Fred Briggs, Kent Barker4:50
Total length:34:45

Personnel

Charts

Chart performance for Eargasm
Chart (1976)Peak
position
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [24] 41
US Billboard 200 [6] 5
US Soul Albums ( Billboard ) [25] 1

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [26] Platinum1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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References

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