Got My Head on Straight | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1975 | |||
Recorded | 1974 | |||
Studio | Sigma Sound, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |||
Genre | Soul, Philadelphia soul | |||
Length | 44:34 | |||
Label | Philadelphia International | |||
Producer | Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff | |||
Billy Paul chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Got My Head on Straight is an album by soul singer Billy Paul. It was produced by Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff, arranged by Bobby Martin and Lenny Pakula, and engineered by Joe Tarsia. Released in 1975, it reached #140 on the Billboard Pop Album chart and #20 on the Soul chart. It includes the singles "Be Truthful to Me" #37 R&B; "Billy's Back Home" #52 R&B; and "July, July, July, July" which did not chart.
As was customary with most PIR acts, MFSB completed the backing tracks for the album prior to Paul overdubbing the vocals in fall 1974. [2]
Prior to the album's release, the single "Be Truthful to Me" was issued in late 1974. While the single did crack the top forty on the soul charts, it failed to cross over to the pop charts.
The album was well received on its release in early 1975. In its February 8, 1975 issue, Billboard noted: "After a lull in activity, Paul has come up with one of his most together efforts to date. The singing is trademarked and the orchestrations and material fit in nicely. His voice is totally enchanting and many of these cuts should break out. Some of them will get disco play. Best cuts: 'Black Wonders Of The World,' 'Billy's Back Home,' 'When It's Your Time To Go,' 'Be Truthful To Me,' Everything Must Change.' Dealers: In-store play will sell records and the packaging is beautiful." [3]
Allmusic's Andrew Hamilton said of "Black Wonders of the World": "Above a moody but robust track that features a strident synthesizer, African drums, and Hammond organ chords, a geeked Billy Paul turns professor and lectures about the many black (people) wonders of the world, including Martin Luther King, Mahalia Jackson, Eli Whitney, Jimi Hendrix, Jackie Robinson, John Coltrane, and Billie Holiday." [4]
Despite the enthusiasm, neither the album nor any of the singles were able to reach a broad audience. Author John A. Jackson noted that the results were "disappointing" to Paul and everyone involved due to the LP's failure to "regenerate the brief crossover success he experienced two years earlier." [2]
All tracks composed by Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff; except where indicated
Side one
Side two
Albums
Chart (1975) | Peaks |
---|---|
Billboard Pop Albums [5] | 140 |
Billboard Top Soul Albums [5] | 20 |
Singles
Year | Single | Peaks [6] |
---|---|---|
US Soul | ||
1974 | "Be Truthful to Me" | 37 |
1975 | "Billy's Back Home" | 52 |
1975 | "July, July, July, July" | — |
Paul Williams, known professionally as Billy Paul, was an American soul singer, known for his 1972 No. 1 single "Me and Mrs. Jones". His 1973 album and single War of the Gods blends his more conventional pop, soul, and funk styles with electronic and psychedelic influences.
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The Spirit's in It is the fifth studio album by American singer Patti LaBelle. It was released by Philadelphia International Records on August 28, 1981, in the United States, her first with the label.
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Wilson Pickett in Philadelphia is the eleventh studio album by singer Wilson Pickett released in 1970. After cutting many of his earlier albums in the Deep South, Pickett headed to Philadelphia to work with Gamble and Huff at Sigma Sound Studios. The album features two of Pickett's most popular singles from the early 1970s - "Engine No. 9" and "Don't Let the Green Grass Fool You".
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When Love is New is an album by soul singer Billy Paul. It was produced by Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff; arranged by Bobby Martin, Dexter Wansel, Norman Harris, and Jack Faith; and engineered by Joe Tarsia. Released in December 1975, it reached #139 on the Billboard Pop Album chart and #17 on the Soul chart. It includes the singles "Let's Make a Baby" which hit #83 on the Pop singles chart, #18 on the Soul chart, and #30 in the UK and "People Power" which reached #82 on the Soul chart and #14 on the U.S. Dance chart. The album was reissued on CD in 2010 by the U.K.'s Edsel Records. This was the final album where Paul was backed by MFSB, the house band of Philadelphia International Records (PIR).
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