Spanish Fly | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | April 8, 1987 | |||
Recorded | September 1986–March 1987 | |||
Genre | Contemporary R&B, dance-pop, Latin freestyle | |||
Length | 42:43 | |||
Label | Columbia [1] | |||
Producer | Full Force | |||
Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Spanish Fly | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Robert Christgau | C+ [3] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [4] |
Los Angeles Times | [5] |
Orlando Sentinel | [6] |
The Philadelphia Inquirer | [7] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [8] |
Spanish Fly is an album by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, released in 1987. [9] The singles "Head to Toe" and "Lost in Emotion" both reached number one in the United States. The album peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard 200. [10] It has sold more than a million copies. [11]
The album was written and produced by Full Force. [12]
People wrote that Lisa has "a rich, versatile sound and the vocal strength to penetrate the album’s percussion-heavy arrangements." [13] The Globe and Mail thought that Lisa's "accounts of her various sex and dance urges are both funny and salacious." [14] The Los Angeles Times called the album "an urban contemporary kitchen sink—everything is in there, from dance to doo-wop to crackling funk to spicy salsa." [15] USA Today deemed Lisa "today's Ronnie Spector: a technically limited singer who succeeds by projecting a girlish attitude that's both vulnerable and indomitable." [16]
All tracks are written by Full Force, with additional "Someone to Love Me for Me" writing by Lisa Lisa
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Everything Will B-Fine" | 5:11 |
2. | "Head to Toe" | 5:03 |
3. | "A Face in the Crowd" | 6:10 |
4. | "Someone to Love Me for Me" | 4:51 |
5. | "Talking Nonsense" | 1:08 |
6. | "I Promise You" | 4:46 |
7. | "A Fool Is Born Everyday" | 5:23 |
8. | "Lost in Emotion" | 5:07 |
9. | "Playing With Fire" | 5:04 |
10. | "Spoken Word" | 0:24 |
Chart (1987) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canadian Albums ( RPM ) [17] | 18 |
US Billboard 200 [18] | 7 |
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [19] | 7 |
Chart (1987) | Position |
---|---|
US Billboard 200 [20] | 42 |
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [21] | 31 |
Chart (1988) | Position |
---|---|
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [22] | 67 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [23] | Gold | 50,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [24] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Control is the third studio album by American singer Janet Jackson, released on February 4, 1986, by A&M Records. Her collaborations with the songwriters and record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis resulted in an unconventional sound: a fusion of rhythm and blues, rap vocals, funk, disco, and synthesized percussion that established Jackson, Jam and Lewis as the leading innovators of contemporary R&B. The distinctive triplet swing beat utilized on the record is also considered to be a precursor to the new jack swing genre. The album became Jackson's commercial breakthrough and enabled her to transition into the popular music market, with Control becoming one of the foremost albums of the 1980s and contemporary music.
Wide Open Spaces is the fourth studio album and the major label debut of American country music band Dixie Chicks. It was their first record with new lead vocalist Natalie Maines, and became their breakthrough commercial success. It received diamond status by the RIAA on February 20, 2003, in the United States, having shipped 13 million units worldwide, while spending more than six years in the Australian ARIA music charts Country Top 20.
Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter is the fourth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z. It was released on December 28, 1999, by Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. According to USA Today critic Steve Jones, the record marked a return to the street-oriented sound of Jay-Z's 1996 debut album, Reasonable Doubt. Vol. 3... featured production from Swizz Beatz, Timbaland, K-Rob, DJ Clue, Rockwilder, DJ Premier, and Irv Gotti, among others.
Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam were an urban contemporary band and one of the first freestyle music groups to emerge from New York City in the 1980s. Cult Jam consisted of vocalist Lisa Lisa, guitarist/bassist Alex "Spanador" Moseley, and drummer/keyboardist Mike Hughes. They were assembled and initially produced by Full Force.
It's Dark and Hell Is Hot is the debut album by American rapper DMX. It was released on May 19, 1998, by Def Jam Recordings and Ruff Ryders Entertainment. It was supported by four singles—"Get at Me Dog", "Stop Being Greedy", "Ruff Ryders' Anthem" and "How's It Goin' Down", in order of release—and their accompanying music videos.
Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom is the third studio album by Tom Tom Club, released in 1988. It includes a cover of the Velvet Underground's "Femme Fatale", with David Byrne, Lou Reed, and Jerry Harrison. The track "Suboceana" was released as a single in the UK in late 1988 and received some radio airplay. In the US, a 12-inch single of the song was released, which featured a remix by Marshall Jefferson, and contains the track "Devil, Does Your Dog Bite". That song is a bonus on the Japanese issue of the album that has the original 10 songs. The track "Don't Say No" was released as a single in the UK, Europe, and Australia. The 7" version was remixed by Tuta Aquino and various 12" releases included acid house remixes by Marshall Jefferson. "Challenge of the Love Warriors" is played over the ending credits of Mary Lambert's 1987 mystery thriller Siesta though it is not included on the soundtrack album, also released in 1987, from Miles Davis and Marcus Miller.
Conspiracy is the debut studio album by American hip hop group Junior M.A.F.I.A., released on August 29, 1995, by Big Beat Records and Atlantic Records.
Straight Outta Hell's Kitchen is a 1991 album by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, as well as their final studio album. It is best known for the lead track "Let the Beat Hit 'Em" which reached #1 on the Billboard R&B and Dance charts. The only other single released from the album was the ballad "Where Were You When I Needed You". The album's title is named for the Manhattan neighborhood in which lead vocalist Lisa Velez grew up and lived until the mid-2000s. The first half of the album was produced by C+C Music Factory's David Cole and Robert Clivillés, and the second half was produced, as with the previous Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam albums, by Full Force.
Straight to the Sky is a 1989 album by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam. It is best known for the lead track "Little Jackie Wants to Be a Star", which reached number 29 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Two further singles were released from the album; "Just Git It Together" and "Kiss Your Tears Away".
"Let the Beat Hit 'Em" is a song by American urban contemporary band Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, released as the first single from their fourth and final studio album, Straight Outta Hell's Kitchen (1991). The song spent one week at number-one on the US R&B chart in the week of September 14, 1991, and also reached No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100. On the US dance charts, it was the third and final number-one for the group. It also peaked at number-one on the Canadian RPM dance chart.
"I Wonder If I Take You Home" is a song recorded by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam with Full Force in 1984. Record Producer Kenny Beck discovered the song in a "discard bin" at Personal Records while looking for songs to include on his debut album with the label. He was so impressed that he created a compilation break-dancing album, CBS/SuzyQ, just to include the song. He released the album in Europe on CBS Records, and it immediately gained popularity as a dance hit with club DJs there. Soon American DJs began playing the song in the United States on Columbia Records. After the song received heavy play from these DJs, "I Wonder If I Take You Home" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart for one week in June 1985. On other US charts, it peaked at No. 6 on the R&B chart and reached No. 34 on the Hot 100. In 1991, the single was certified gold in the US by the RIAA. Overseas, it charted at No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart and number 41 in the Netherlands.
"Head to Toe" is a song recorded by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam that appeared on their 1987 album Spanish Fly and released as a single. The song hit number one on three charts: Billboard Hot 100 on June 20, 1987, the Hot Black Singles charts on May 30 of that year, and the dance charts on May 30. In Canada, the song topped the RPM 100 national singles chart on July 25 of the same year. The song sports a retro Motown flavor mixed with the Freestyle sound for which they were known.
"Lost in Emotion" is a song by urban contemporary band Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam that appeared on their 1987 album Spanish Fly. The song hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on October 17, 1987. The song was their second number-one single, after "Head to Toe" earlier in the year. The song also went to number one on the Black Singles chart, and number eight on the dance chart.
The Battle of Los Angeles is the third studio album by American rock band Rage Against the Machine, released by Epic Records on November 2, 1999. At the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards, it was nominated for Best Rock Album, and the song "Guerrilla Radio" won the award for Best Hard Rock Performance. In their year-end lists, Time and Rolling Stone magazines both named the album the best of 1999.
Lisa Velez, better known by her stage name Lisa Lisa, is an American singer. She rose to fame in the 1980s as one-third of the band Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam.
"Someone to Love Me for Me" is a song recorded by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam and Full Force that appeared on their 1987 album Spanish Fly. The song hit number 78 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 7 on the R&B chart in December 1987.
"Can You Feel the Beat" is a song recorded by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam and Full Force from their 1985 album Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force. The song hit number 69 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 40 on the R&B singles chart in December 1985. It achieved its biggest success on the Billboard Dance chart, where it peaked at number six.
"All Cried Out" is a song recorded by American band Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam from their 1985 album Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force. The song became a major hit, reaching number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in October 1986. It was also a major hit on the US R&B singles chart, peaking at number three.
Glenn Rosenstein is an American record producer, engineer, sound mixer and guitarist based in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, who engineered and produced many albums including the Grammy-winning One Bright Day by Ziggy Marley. Rosenstein worked at Sigma Sound Studios in New York City in the 1980s. He owns and runs Skylight Studio.
Female Trouble is an album by the American musician Nona Hendryx, released in 1987. It was her first album for EMI America. The album is dedicated to Winnie Mandela. "Why Should I Cry?" was the first single. Female Trouble peaked at No. 96 on the Billboard 200.