If My Friends Could See Me Now (Linda Clifford album)

If My Friends Could See Me Now
Studio album by Linda Clifford
Released	1978
Recorded	Curtom Studios (Chicago, Illinois)
Genre	Soul, disco
Length	39:17
Label	Curtom
Producer	Gil Askey, Curtis Mayfield
Linda Clifford chronology
Linda (1977) If My Friends Could See Me Now (1978) Let Me Be Your Woman (1979)
Singles from If My Friends Could See Me Now
"Runaway Love" Released: April 1978 "If My Friends Could See Me Now" Released: July 1978 "Gypsy Lady" Released: November 1978

If My Friends Could See Me Now is the second studio album by American singer Linda Clifford, released in 1978 on the Curtom label.

Chart performance

The album peaked at No. 9 on the R&B albums chart. It also reached No. 22 on the Billboard 200. The album features a disco-styled cover version of the title track, which peaked at No. 68 on the Hot Soul Singles chart and No. 54 on the Billboard Hot 100. Another single, "Runaway Love", also charted at No. 3 on the Hot Soul Singles chart and No. 76 on the Billboard Hot 100. Both tracks, along with the track "Gypsy Lady" peaked at No. 1 on the Hot Dance/Disco chart.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

The Bay State Banner noted that "Clifford isn't really a disco singer—she lacks the idiom's prankish, frivolous attitude—but rather a torch chanteuse who simply lacks the bodily bulk to bring the red-hot mamma role off." ^[2]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"If My Friends Could See Me Now"	Cy Coleman, Dorothy Fields	7:53
2.	"You Are, You Are"	Curtis Mayfield	5:16
3.	"Runaway Love"	Gil Askey	7:04

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
4.	"Broadway Gypsy Lady"	Curtis Mayfield	3:41
5.	"I Feel Like Falling in Love Again"	Carl Wurzbach	5:04
6.	"Please Darling, Don't Say Goodbye"	Gil Askey, Linda Clifford	4:36
7.	"Gypsy Lady"	Curtis Mayfield, Gil Askey	5:42

Personnel

• Keni Burke – bass guitar
• Calvin Bridges, Rich Tufo, Eric Hackett – keyboards
• Eric Hackett – synthesizer
• Donnell Hagan – drums
• Curtis Mayfield, Ronnie Vann, William Ross Traut – guitars
• The Jones Girls – background vocals
• Sol Bobrov – horns and strings contractor

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1978) Peak position Australia Albums ( Kent Music Report ) [3] 86 US Billboard 200 [4] 22 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [5] 9

Year-end charts Chart (1978) Position US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [6] 47

Singles

Year	Single	Peaks
		US [7]	US R&B [7]	US Dan [7]
1978	"Runaway Love"	76	3	1
	"If My Friends Could See Me Now"	54	68
	"Gypsy Lady"	—	—

References

1. Guarisco, Donald A.. If My Friends Could See Me Now review at AllMusic. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
2. Freedberg, Mike (18 May 1978). "Soul Dog". Bay State Banner. No. 32. p. 14.
3. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 66. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
4. "Linda Clifford Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
5. "Linda Clifford Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
6. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1978". Billboard. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
7. "US Charts > Linda Clifford". Billboard . Retrieved 23 October 2016.

External links

• If My Friends Could See Me Now at Discogs (list of releases)