Street Life (The Crusaders album)

Last updated
Street Life
Street Life.jpg
Studio album by
the Crusaders
ReleasedDecember 9, 1979
Recorded1979
StudioHollywood Sound Recorders, Hollywood, California
Genre Jazz, R&B, disco
Length39:21
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.

Contents

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

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [5]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [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
Additional personnel

Charts

Album - Billboard (United States)

YearChartPosition
1979Black Albums3
1979Jazz Albums1
1979Pop Albums18

Singles - Billboard (United States)

YearChartSinglePosition
1979Black Singles"Street Life"17
1979Club Play Singles"Street Life"75
1979Pop Singles"Street Life"36

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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.
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