I'm in Love (Evelyn King album)

Last updated
I'm in Love
Iminlovealbum.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 21, 1981
Genre R&B, post-disco, soul
Length58:31
Label RCA Victor
Big Break Records (reissue)
Producer Morrie Brown
Willie Lester
Rodney Brown
Kashif
Paul Lawrence Jones
Evelyn "Champagne" King chronology
Call on Me
(1980)
I'm in Love
(1981)
Get Loose
(1982)
Singles from I'm in Love
  1. "I'm in Love"
    Released: June 1981
  2. "If You Want My Lovin'"
    Released: July 1981
  3. "Don't Hide Our Love"
    Released: October 1981
  4. "Spirit of the Dancer"
    Released: January 1982
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Smash Hits 7/10 [2]

I'm in Love is the fourth album by R&B singer Evelyn "Champagne" King, released on RCA Records in 1981. It was produced by Morrie Brown, Willie Lester, Rodney Brown, Kashif, and Lawrence Jones.

Contents

Background

By the time her previous album Call on Me was released, disco music in the United States faced severe backlash across the country pressuring it to move underground. The now infamous so-called "death of disco" propelled artists to look elsewhere for inspiration, one of which was the way of "one-man bands" pioneered by Stevie Wonder. King was one of the previous successful disco artists who followed the new direction in music, "my whole thing was, I was a big believer in making sure others were heard because they had a different sound." Theodore Life (or T. Life) who produced her chart-topping song "Shame" and album Call on Me was replaced by multi-instrumentalist Kashif and songwriters Morrie Brown, and Paul Lawrence Jones III. The songwriting duo Rodney Brown and Willie Lester, who were involved in working with Gayle Adams and Sharon Redd, composed, arranged and produced "Don't Hide Our Love," "What Are You Waiting For," "The Other Side Of Love," "I Can't Take It," and "The Best Is Yet To Come." On her producer change King commented, "I'm not going to say my new producers were a better fit than, say, T. Life. I'm going to just say they were a good match for the time. [...] If you keep staying in the same area, if you sound the same all the time—people can get bored with that. They made sure that Evelyn hit the top spot again! It was just fun." [3]

History

The album peaked at number 6 on the R&B albums chart. It also reached number 28 on the Billboard 200. It produced the hit singles "I'm In Love", "If You Want My Lovin'", "Don't Hide Our Love", and "Spirit of the Dancer". The album was digitally remastered and reissued on CD with bonus tracks in 2011 by Big Break Records.

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I'm in Love" Kashif Saleem 5:01
2."If You Want My Lovin'"Lawrence Jones, Morrie Brown4:18
3."Don't Hide Our Love"Lawrence Jones, Arthur Moore5:22
4."What Are You Waiting For"Willie Lester, Rodney Brown4:09
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."Spirit of the Dancer"Kashif Saleem, Morrie Brown4:50
6."The Other Side of Love"Willie Lester, Rodney Brown4:24
7."I Can't Take It"Rodney Brown, Willie Lester4:07
8."The Best Is Yet to Come"Willie Lester, Rodney Brown5:13
2011 remastered bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
9."I'm in Love" (Single Version)3:51
10."If You Want My Lovin'" (UK Single Version)3:15
11."Don't Hide Our Love" (Single Version)4:11
12."Spirit of the Dancer" (Single Version)3:25
13."I'm in Love" (12" Dance Mix)5:52

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1981)Peak
[4]
U.S. Billboard Top LPs 28
U.S. Billboard Top Soul LPs 6
Singles
YearSinglePeak chart positions
US
[4]
US
R&B

[4]
US
Dance

[4]
1981"I'm in Love"4011
"Don't Hide Our Love"28
1982"Spirit of the Dancer"5154

Related Research Articles

Pearls Before Swine was an American psychedelic folk band formed by Tom Rapp in 1965 in Eau Gallie, which is now part of Melbourne, Florida. They released six albums between 1967 and 1971, before Rapp launched a solo career.

B.T. Express was an American funk/disco group that had a number of successful songs during the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evelyn "Champagne" King</span> American singer, songwriter, and producer (born 1960)

Evelyn "Champagne" King is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. She is best known for her hit disco single "Shame", which was released in 1977 during the height of disco's popularity. King had other hits from the early through the mid–1980s including; "I'm in Love" (1981), "Love Come Down" (1982) and "Your Personal Touch" (1985).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobby Robinson (record producer)</span> American record producer and songwriter

Bobby Robinson was an American independent record producer and songwriter in New York City, most active from the 1950s through the mid-1980s.

<i>Ol Waylon</i> 1977 studio album by Waylon Jennings

Ol' Waylon is a studio album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released on RCA Victor in 1977. It eventually became one of Jennings' highest-selling albums, due in no small part to the phenomenal success of the chart-topping "Luckenbach, Texas ." It was also the singer's fourth solo album in a row to reach the top of the country charts, remaining there for thirteen weeks and becoming country music's first platinum album by any single solo artist.

Gayle Adams is an American urban contemporary and house music musician, who is best known for her hit singles "Love Fever", "Stretch'in Out" and "Your Love Is a Lifesaver." She recorded two albums for the dance-oriented Prelude record label in the early 1980s, which were written and produced by the Washington D.C. based record producers, Willie Lester and guitarist Rodney Brown. Adams most successful single was "Love Fever", which reached number six on the US dance charts, and number 24 on the soul singles chart in 1981. "Stretch'in Out" peaked at number 64 in the UK Singles Chart in July 1980. Her most recent hit single was "I'm Warning You" (1984).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linda Clifford</span> American singer

Linda Clifford is an American R&B, disco and house music singer who scored hits from the 1970s to the 1980s, most notably "If My Friends Could See Me Now", "Bridge over Troubled Water", "Runaway Love" and "Red Light".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love Come Down</span> 1982 single by Evelyn King

"Love Come Down" is a song written by American musician Kashif. It was recorded by American singer Evelyn King for her fifth album Get Loose (1982). "Love Come Down" was released in July 1982 by RCA Records as the lead single from Get Loose. In the United States, it reached number one on the Billboard Black Singles and Hot Dance/Disco charts and number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also cracked the top 20 on the charts in several other countries as well.

Post-disco is a term to describe an aftermath in popular music history circa 1979–1986, imprecisely beginning with an unprecedented backlash against disco music in the United States, leading to civil unrest and a riot in Chicago known as the Disco Demolition Night on July 12, 1979, and indistinctly ending with the mainstream appearance of new wave in 1980. During its dying stage, disco displayed an increasingly electronic character that soon served as a stepping stone to new wave, old-school hip hop, Euro disco, and was succeeded by an underground club music called hi-NRG, which was its direct continuation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kashif (musician)</span> American musician (1956–2016)

Kashif Saleem was an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, record producer, artist, composer, author, director and educator from New York City. As a teenager, Kashif joined the funk group B. T. Express. He studied Islam and changed his name from Michael Jones to Kashif. He later signed with Arista Records enjoying success as a solo artist.

Alfred Orlando Johnson was an American R&B singer, writer, arranger and producer. He co-wrote the song "We Have Love for You" with Deniece Williams from her 1977 album Songbird.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'm in Love (Evelyn "Champagne" King song)</span> 1981 single by Evelyn "Champagne" King

"I'm in Love" is a 1981 single by singer Evelyn "Champagne" King. The single was a hit on three different music charts in the United States, hitting number one on both the Soul and dance charts and number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the first of two chart entries by King to reach number one on both the Soul and dance charts.

<i>I Like Your Lovin (Do You Like Mine?)</i> 1970 studio album by The Chi-Lites

I Like Your Lovin' is the second studio album by American soul group The Chi-Lites, produced and largely written by lead singer Eugene Record. The album was released in 1970 on the Brunswick label.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Glover</span> American songwriter, arranger, record producer and trumpet player

Henry Bernard Glover was an American songwriter, arranger, record producer and trumpet player. In the music industry of the time, Glover was one of the most successful and influential black executives. He gained eminence in the late 1940s, primarily working for the independent King label. His duties included operating as a producer, arranger, songwriter, engineer, trumpet player, talent scout, A&R man, studio constructor, while later in his career he became the owner of his own label. Glover worked with country, blues, R&B, pop, rock, and jazz musicians, and he helped King Records to become one of the largest independent labels of its time. Thanks to the efforts of family, friends and fans, Glover's hometown of Hot Springs, Arkansas celebrated the 100th anniversary of his birth in 2021 by inducting him into the downtown "Walk of Fame," the Mayor's "Proclamation," "Key to the City," and named a parklet "Henry Glover Way," along Black Broadway after him. In 2018, Glover was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the King Records 75th Anniversary. In 2013, he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.

<i>Get Loose</i> (album) 1982 studio album by Evelyn King

Get Loose is the fifth studio album from American singer Evelyn King, released by RCA Records in August 1982. It was produced by Morrie Brown with Kashif and Paul Lawrence Jones III as assistant producers.

<i>Smooth Talk</i> (album) 1977 studio album by Evelyn "Champagne" King

Smooth Talk is the debut album, released in 1977 by R&B singer Evelyn "Champagne" King by RCA Records and produced by Theodore Life. It contains singles "Shame", also one of King's signature songs, and "I Don't Know If It's Right", both of which were hits in the United States and Canada. Outside North America in music charts, "Shame" performed modestly in a few European countries, while the latter performed poorly in British and New Zealand charts.

<i>Stephanie</i> (album) 1981 studio album by Stephanie Mills

Stephanie is the Grammy-nominated fifth studio album by American R&B/soul singer Stephanie Mills. It was released in 1981 and produced by James Mtume and Reggie Lucas. The album features hit song "Two Hearts" a duet with Teddy Pendergrass. By default, this fulfilled her contract with 20th Century-Fox Records, as the following year, the label was sold to PolyGram Records, which quickly folded it into Casablanca Records, to which Mills' contract was subsequently transferred. Stephanie scored Mills her second nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 24th Annual Grammy Awards in 1982.

<i>Face to Face</i> (Evelyn King album) 1983 studio album by Evelyn "Champagne" King

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.

"If You Want My Lovin'" is a song released by American singer Evelyn "Champagne" King. Released on April 3, 1981, The song appears on the album I'm in Love. The single version of "If You Want My Lovin'" was the follow-up to her charting single "I'm in Love," but less successful.

<i>Kashif</i> (1983 album) 1983 studio album by Kashif

Kashif is the self-titled debut album by American singer Kashif. Produced by Kashif and Morrie Brown, it was released by Arista Records on February 22, 1983, in the United States, following his departure from the funk/disco group B. T. Express. The album reached number ten on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and spawned the top five single "I Just Gotta Have You ." Kashif also includes the singles "Stone Love", "Help Yourself to My Love" and "Say Something Love". The album was digitally remastered by Funky Town Grooves in 2012 and includes five additional tracks.

References

  1. Henderson, Alex. I'm in Love > review at AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  2. Hillier, Beverly (6–19 August 1981). "Evelyn King: I'm in Love" (PDF). Smash Hits . Vol. 3, no. 15. Peterborough: EMAP National Publications, Ltd. p. 27. ISSN   0260-3004. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 November 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2022 via World Radio History.
  3. Aerna, James (2013). First Ladies of Disco: 32 Stars Discuss the Era and Their Singing Careers. Penguin. p. 127. ISBN   978-1476603322.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "US Charts > Evelyn "Champagne" King". Billboard . Retrieved 2009-08-11.