Jody Watley (album)

Jody Watley
Studio album by Jody Watley
Released	February 23, 1987
Recorded	1986
Genre	Pop R&B
Length	46:24
Label	MCA
Producer	André Cymone Bernard Edwards Patrick Leonard David Z.
Jody Watley chronology
Jody Watley (1987) Larger Than Life (1989)
Singles from Jody Watley
"Looking for a New Love" Released: January 6, 1987 "Still a Thrill" Released: April 27, 1987 "Don't You Want Me" Released: August 10, 1987 "Some Kind of Lover" Released: January 4, 1988 "Most of All" Released: April 18, 1988

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	C+ [2]
Rolling Stone	(positive) [3]

Jody Watley is the debut studio album by American singer Jody Watley, released on February 23, 1987, by MCA Records. Although Watley had already found success as a part of the trio Shalamar, the impact of this album made her a cultural style icon in contemporary R&B, pop and dance music. Its success culminated in Watley winning a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1988 against fellow artists Breakfast Club, Cutting Crew, Terence Trent D'Arby and Swing Out Sister. The album also produced three top-ten singles on the US Billboard Hot 100: "Looking for a New Love" (#2), "Don't You Want Me" (#6) and "Some Kind of Lover" (#10). The album has sold two million copies in the United States and over four million copies worldwide.

Track listing

All tracks are written by André Cymone and Jody Watley, except where noted

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Looking for a New Love"		André Cymone David Z	5:06
2.	"Still a Thrill"		Cymone David Z	4:48
3.	"Some Kind of Lover"		Cymone David Z	4:08
4.	"For the Girls"		Cymone David Z	3:51
5.	"Love Injection"	David Paul Bryant Paul Gurvitz	Bernard Edwards	3:45
6.	"Don't You Want Me"	Franne Golde David Paul Bryant Jody Watley	Bernard Edwards	4:10
7.	"Do it To The Beat"		Cymone David Z	4:45
8.	"Most of All"	Gardner Cole Patrick Leonard	Patrick Leonard	4:28
9.	"Learn to Say No" (Duet with George Michael)	Richard "Dimples" Fields George Michael	Bernard Edwards	3:35
10.	"Looking for a New Love" (Extended Club Version)		Louil Silas Jr.	7:28
Total length:				46:24

CD bonus track – Track 10. "Looking for a New Love" (Extended Club Version)

Personnel

• Jody Watley – lead vocals, backing vocals
• André Cymone – all instruments (1–4, 7, 8, 10)
• Jeff Bova – keyboards (5, 6, 9)
• Patrick Leonard – synthesizers (8), drum programming (8)
• Terrence Elliot – guitars (5, 6, 9)
• Eddie Martinez – guitars (5, 6, 9)
• John "LBJ" Staehely – guitars (5, 6, 9)
• Bruce Gaitsch – guitars (8)
• Bernard Edwards – bass (5, 6, 9)
• Tony Thompson – drums (5, 6, 9)
• Larry Schneider – saxophone (2, 3)
• Roy Galloway – backing vocals (5, 6, 9)
• Fonzi Thornton – backing vocals (5, 6, 9)
• Gardner Cole – backing vocals (8)
• Tampa Lann – backing vocals (8)
• George Michael – lead vocals (9)

Production

• Producers – André Cymone (tracks 1–4, 7, 8, 10); Patrick Leonard (track 8); Bernard Edwards (tracks 5, 6, 9); David Z (tracks 1–4, 7, 8, 10).
• Engineers – Josh Abbey, Darren Chadwick, Bridget Daly, Jon Ingoldsby, Glenn Kurtz, Csaba Petocz, Chris Porter and Erik Zobler.
• Assistant engineer – Scott Church (tracks 5, 6, 9)
• Mixing – André Cymone (track 9); Coke Johnson (tracks 1–4, 7, 8, 10); Michael Verdick (track 8); David Z. (tracks 1–4, 7, 8, 10).
• Remixing – Taavi Mote and Louis Silas, Jr. (tracks 1, 10)
• Mix assistant – Michael Blum (track 8)
• Art direction and design – Lynn Robb
• Cover art concept and hair stylist – Jody Watley
• Photography – Victoria Pearson
• Make-up – Beth Katz

Awards and nominations

• 1987 - American Music AwardNomination for R&B/Soul Single of the Year [Looking For A New Love]
• 1988 - Grammy Award for Best New Artist
• 1988 - Soul Train AwardNomination for Album of the Year
• 1988 - Soul Train AwardNomination for Single of the Year [Looking For A New Love]
• 1988 - Soul Train AwardNomination for Best Music Video [Looking For A New Love]
• 1988 - MTV Video Music AwardNomination for Female Video of the Year [Some Kind Of Lover]
• 1988 - MTV Video Music AwardNomination for Best New Artist Video of the Year [Some Kind Of Lover]
• 1988 - Billboard Music Award for Top Dance / Club Play Artist of the Year

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1987) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [4] 94 South African Albums (RISA) [5] 7 Canada Top Albums/CDs [6] 17 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [7] 23 UK Albums (OCC) [8] 62 US Billboard 200 [9] 10 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [10] 1 Year-end charts Chart (1987) Position Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM) [11] 64 US Billboard 200 [12] 41 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [13] 10 Chart (1988) Position US Billboard 200 [14] 35 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [15] 21

Singles Year Single Chart Position 1987 "Looking for a New Love" Dance Club Songs (Billboard) 1 Dance/Electronic Singles Sales (Billboard) 1 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) 1 Billboard Hot 100 2 "Still a Thrill" Dance Club Songs (Billboard) 8 Dance/Electronic Singles Sales (Billboard) 14 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) 3 Billboard Hot 100 56 "Don't You Want Me" Dance Club Songs (Billboard) 3 Dance/Electronic Singles Sales (Billboard) 3 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) 3 Billboard Hot 100 6 "Some Kind of Lover" Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) 3 1988 Dance Club Songs (Billboard) 1 Dance/Electronic Singles Sales (Billboard) 1 Billboard Hot 100 10 "Most of All" Dance Club Songs (Billboard) 8 Dance/Electronic Singles Sales (Billboard) 17 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) 11 Billboard Hot 100 60

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [16]	Gold	50,000^
United States (RIAA) [17]	Platinum	1,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of number-one R&B albums of 1987 (U.S.)

References

1. Promis, Jose. Jody Watley review at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-12-13.
2. Christgau, Robert. "Jody Watley review". Robert Christgau . Retrieved 2011-12-13.
3. Aletti, Vince (May 21, 1987). "Jody Watley: Jody Watley : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on 2008-02-22. Retrieved 2013-06-01.
4. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St. Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 334. ISBN   0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid 1983 and 19 June 1988.
5. "South African Divas Albums". Geo Cities. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
6. "CAN Charts > Jody Watley". RPM . Retrieved 2011-11-14.
7. "NZ Charts > Jody Watley". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand . Retrieved 2011-11-14.
8. "JODY WATLEY - full Official Chart History - Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
9. "JODY WATLEY - Billboard Chart History". www.billboard.com. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
10. "JODY WATLEY - Billboard Chart History". www.billboard.com. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
11. "Top 100 Albums of 1987". RPM . Library and Archives Canada . Retrieved November 27, 2022.
12. "Billboard Pop Albums - 1987" . Retrieved 2011-12-14.
13. "Billboard Black Albums - 1987". Archived from the original on 2012-07-23. Retrieved 2011-12-14.
14. "Billboard Pop Albums - 1988". Archived from the original on 2012-07-22. Retrieved 2011-12-14.
15. "Billboard Black Albums - 1988". Archived from the original on 2012-07-22. Retrieved 2011-12-14.
16. "Canadian album certifications – Jody Watley – Jody Watley". Music Canada . Retrieved April 7, 2020.
17. "American album certifications – Jody Watley – Jody Watley". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved April 7, 2020.

External links

• Jody Watley at Discogs