Street Life (The Crusaders album)

Street Life
Studio album by the Crusaders
Released	December 9, 1979
Recorded	1979
Studio	Hollywood Sound Recorders, Hollywood, California
Genre	Jazz, R&B, disco
Length	39:21
Label	MCA
Producer	Wilton Felder, Stix Hooper, Joe Sample
The Crusaders chronology
Images (1978) Street Life (1979) Rhapsody and Blues (1980)

Street Life is a studio album by the American jazz band the Crusaders. It was a top 20 album on three Billboard charts and represents the peak of the band's commercial popularity. The title track, featuring singer Randy Crawford, was a Top 40 pop single (No. 36) and became the group's most successful entry on the soul chart (No. 17). ^[1] It was No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart. "Street Life" also hit the disco chart, peaking at No. 75, ^[2] and was re-recorded by Doc Severinsen with Crawford reprising her vocal for the opening sequence of the noir crime drama Sharky's Machine , directed by Burt Reynolds in 1981. This faster paced version was also featured in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown , released in 1997.

The cover photograph was taken at 409 N Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, California. ^[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	[5]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[6]

The Bay State Banner noted that "Crawford's voice has passion and intensity, unlike the meanderings heard on her albums." ^[7]

The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . ^[8]

Track listing

1. "Street Life" (Will Jennings, Joe Sample) – 11:18
2. "My Lady" (Wilton Felder) – 6:43
3. "Rodeo Drive (High Steppin')" (Sample) – 4:28
4. "Carnival of the Night" (Felder) – 6:24
5. "The Hustler" (Stix Hooper) – 5:18
6. "Night Faces" (Sample) – 5:10

Personnel

The Crusaders

• Wilton Felder – tenor saxophone (tracks 1, 2, 3, 4), alto saxophone (track 5, 6), bass (tracks 1, 2, 5)
• Joe Sample – keyboards, horn and string arrangements
• Stix Hooper – drums

Additional personnel

• Randy Crawford – vocals (track 1)
• Louis Aldebert – vocals (track 2)
• Monique Aldebert – vocals (track 2)
• Oscar Brashear – trumpet (tracks 1, 3)
• Robert O. Bryant Sr. – trumpet (track 1)
• Jerome Richardson – alto saxophone (track 1)
• Robert Bryant Jr. – tenor saxophone (track 1)
• William Green – baritone saxophone (track 1)
• Garnett Brown – tenor trombone (tracks 1, 3)
• Maurice Spears – bass trombone (tracks 1, 3)
• Arthur Adams – guitar (tracks 1, 4)
• Billy Rogers – guitar (track 1)
• Roland Bautista – guitar (tracks 1, 4)
• Barry Finnerty – guitar (tracks 2–5)
• Paul Jackson Jr. – guitar (tracks 2, 5)
• David T. Walker – guitar (track 4)
• Alphonso Johnson – bass (tracks 3, 6)
• James Jamerson Jr. – bass (track 4)
• Paulinho Da Costa – percussion (tracks 1–5)

Charts

Album - Billboard (United States)

Year	Chart	Position
1979	Black Albums	3
1979	Jazz Albums	1
1979	Pop Albums	18

Singles - Billboard (United States)

Year	Chart	Single	Position
1979	Black Singles	"Street Life"	17
1979	Club Play Singles	"Street Life"	75
1979	Pop Singles	"Street Life"	36

References

1. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 140.
2. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 66.
3. "Musical Maps". Musicalmaps.com.au. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
4. "Street Life". AllMusic . Retrieved 4 August 2018.
5. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 323. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.
6. Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 53. ISBN   0-394-72643-X.
7. Lane, George (7 June 1979). "Shades of Blue". Bay State Banner. No. 35. p. 13.
8. Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (7 February 2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN   0-7893-1371-5.

External links

• Transcription of Joe Sample's piano solo on Track 1 - "Street Life"