| Rickie Lee Jones | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 28, 1979 | |||
| Recorded | September–December 1978 | |||
| Studio | Warner Bros. Recording Studios and The Burbank Studios Tracks 2, 11 recorded live December 22, 1978 at TBS | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 42:11 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Rickie Lee Jones chronology | ||||
| ||||
Rickie Lee Jones is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones, released on February 28, 1979 by Warner Bros. Records.
 | This section needs additional citations for verification .(July 2022) |
Jones had begun playing live in the Los Angeles area at the age of 21, and after meeting singer-songwriter Alfred Johnson, the pair began writing and performing live together (most notably at the Ala Carte club.) Two of their collaborations, "Weasel and the White Boys Cool" and "Company," would later be recorded for Jones' debut album. She also sang jazz standards, as well as a song penned by her father ("The Moon Is Made of Gold") in her live sets.
Jones' performances around Los Angeles aroused interest from other local songwriters, as well as local record company executives. At a label showcase, Jones performed originals, including "Chuck E.'s in Love", "The Real Thing Is Back in Town" and "The Moon Is Made of Gold." This showcase performance, plus a demo containing "The Last Chance Texaco", "Easy Money", "Young Blood" and "After Hours" led to a record deal with Warner Bros. For her major label debut, Jones scrapped "The Real Thing Is Back in Town," but used the titular line in one of the album's tracks – "Coolsville."
Recording sessions (which began in September 1978) yielded eleven songs for inclusion on an album. Two of the songs – "On Saturday Afternoons in 1963" and "After Hours" – were recorded live on December 22, 1978.
The album cover photo was taken by Norman Seeff, and the art direction and design was by Mike Salisbury. [2]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [3] |
| Smash Hits | 8/10 [4] |
| The Village Voice | B− [5] |
A retrospective review from AllMusic stated; "With her expressive soprano voice employing sudden alterations of volume and force, and her lyrical focus on Los Angeles street life, Rickie Lee Jones comes on like the love child of Laura Nyro and Tom Waits on her astounding self-titled debut album that simultaneously sounds like a synthesis of many familiar styles and like nothing that anybody's ever done before."
The lead single "Chuck E.'s in Love" peaked at No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, while the album peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. [6] The album was further promoted by a performance on Saturday Night Live in April 1979, where she performed "Chuck E.'s in Love" and "Coolsville". [7] A second single, "Young Blood", peaked at No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1979. [6] The album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on August 7, 1979, for sales of one million copies. [8] The album was also certified Silver in the UK and 2x Platinum in Australia.
| Grammy Awards | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Work | Award | Recipient | Result | Ref |
| 1980 | Rickie Lee Jones | Best New Artist | Rickie Lee Jones | Won | [9] |
| "Chuck E.'s In Love" | Song of the Year | Nominated | |||
| Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female | Nominated | ||||
| "The Last Chance Texaco" | Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female | Nominated | |||
| Rickie Lee Jones | Best Engineered Recording – Non-Classical | Tom Knox | Nominated | [10] | |
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. [2] All tracks written by Rickie Lee Jones, except tracks 9 and 10, co-written by Alfred Johnson.
Side one
Side two
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA) [20] | 2× Platinum | 140,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) [21] | Silver | 60,000^ |
| United States (RIAA) [22] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Rickie Lee Jones is an American singer, musician and songwriter. Over the course of a career that spans five decades and 15 studio albums, she has recorded in various musical styles including rock, R&B, pop, soul, and jazz. A two-time Grammy Award winner, Jones was listed at No. 30 on VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Rock & Roll in 1999. AllMusic stated: "Few singer/songwriters are as individual and eclectic as Rickie Lee Jones, a vocalist with an expressive and smoky instrument, and a composer who can weave jazz, folk, and R&B into songs with a distinct pop sensibility."
Donald Jay Fagen is an American musician who was the co-founder, lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of the band Steely Dan, formed in the early 1970s with musical partner Walter Becker. In addition to his work with Steely Dan, Fagen has released four solo albums, beginning with The Nightfly in 1982, which was nominated for seven Grammys.
In the Pocket is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter James Taylor and his last to be released under Warner Bros. Records before signing with Columbia. Released in June 1976, the album found Taylor recording in the studio with many colleagues and friends, mainly Art Garfunkel, Carly Simon, Stevie Wonder and David Crosby, Linda Ronstadt, and Bonnie Raitt, among others.
Minute by Minute is the eighth studio album by American rock band the Doobie Brothers, released on December 1, 1978, by Warner Bros. Records. It was their last album to include members John Hartman and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter.
One Step Closer is the ninth studio album by American rock band the Doobie Brothers. The album was released on September 17, 1980, by Warner Bros. Records. The album included the hit "Real Love", which reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. This album is the band's last studio album with Michael McDonald in the lineup until 2014's Southbound, and also the first studio album to feature John McFee as a member of the band.
Stars is the twelfth studio album by American singer-actress Cher, released in April 1975, by Warner Bros. Records. A covers album of rock, pop and other hits, Stars was one in a string of commercial disappointments for Cher in the late 1970s. It charted at number 153 on the Billboard 200 at the end of May 1975. Cher's earnest delivery of ballads and uptempo numbers was overwhelmed in a market newly dominated by disco. After two more albums that sold even less well, Cher made a successful comeback in 1979 with the disco album Take Me Home.
Strange Angels is the fifth album overall and fourth studio album by performance artist and singer Laurie Anderson, released by Warner Bros. Records in 1989.
Playing Possum is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Elektra Records, on April 21, 1975.
Pirates is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones, released on July 15, 1981, by Warner Bros. Records. The follow-up to her 1979 self-titled debut album, Pirates is partially an account of her break-up with fellow musician Tom Waits after the success of her debut album. The cover is a 1976-copyrighted photo by Brassaï.
Havana Moon is a solo album by Carlos Santana, released in 1983.
I'd Rather Believe in You is the thirteenth studio album by American singer-actress Cher, released on October 12, 1976 by Warner Bros. Records. This album was a commercial failure and failed to chart.
Naked Songs – Live and Acoustic is an album by the American singer–songwriter Rickie Lee Jones, released in October 1995 via Reprise Records. It reached No. 121 on The Billboard 200.
So Excited! is the ninth studio album by the Pointer Sisters, released in 1982 on the Planet label.
The Dream Weaver is a solo album by American singer and musician Gary Wright released in July 1975.
Nicolette is the debut album by Nicolette Larson, released in 1978 by Warner Bros. Records. It reached #15 on the US pop charts and #1 in Canada and was certified Gold in both markets.
Girl at Her Volcano is a 10" or 12" vinyl EP consisting mainly of cover versions, and the third release by musician Rickie Lee Jones.
20/20 is a studio album by George Benson, released on the Warner Bros. record label in 1985. The lead single by the same name reached #48 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA. "You Are the Love of My Life" is a duet with Roberta Flack; it was one of numerous songs used for Eden Capwell and Cruz Castillo on the American soap opera Santa Barbara. Also included on 20/20 is the original version of the song "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You" which would later become a smash hit for Hawaiian singer Glenn Medeiros.
I Love You So is an album by American singer Natalie Cole. Released on March 19, 1979, by Capitol Records, The album reached peak positions of number 52 on the Billboard 200 and number 11 on the Billboard R&B Albums chart.
"Chuck E.'s in Love" is a song by American singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones. Released in 1979 on her eponymous debut album Rickie Lee Jones, the song became her biggest hit, reaching number 4 on the Billboard U.S. Hot 100 list.
The discography of Rickie Lee Jones, an American singer, songwriter, and author, consists of 15 studio albums, two live albums, two compilation albums, one extended play, one video album, and 22 singles, on Warner Bros. Records, Geffen Records, Reprise Records, Artemis Records, V2 Records, New West Records, Fantasy Records, Rhino Entertainment, and the Other Side of Desire Records.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
