Street Player | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | January 17, 1978 | |||
Recorded | 1977 | |||
Studio | Dawnbreaker (San Fernando) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 40:32 | |||
Label | ABC AA 1049 | |||
Producer | Rufus, Roy Halee | |||
Rufus chronology | ||||
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Chaka Khan chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Record Mirror | [2] |
Rolling Stone | (not rated) [3] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [4] |
Street Player is the sixth studio album by funk band Rufus (and their fourth album featuring singer Chaka Khan),released on the ABC Records label in 1978. Street Player was the band's third album to top Billboard 's R&B Albums chart and also reached number 14 on Pop. The album includes the singles "Stay" (US R&B number 3,US Pop number 38) and "Blue Love" (US R&B number 34).
In 1978,Rufus and Chaka Khan were a top-selling band. Their last four releases had gone platinum and the group continued to sell out in arenas as a headlining act with fiery Khan leading the way. By this point,Khan's stardom outside the group had grown and it led to the group drifting apart. While Khan opted to stay a member of the group,other members were uncomfortable that Khan was now offered solo contracts.
After the release of this record,Khan would sign a solo deal with Warner Bros. Records releasing her debut album,featuring the hit "I'm Every Woman". While Khan went on to a solo career,Rufus cut Numbers ,in 1979,without her. Khan,however,didn't leave the group,returning for their Quincy Jones-produced Masterjam later that same year.
Also after the departure of original drummer Andre Fischer,Richard "Moon" Calhoun took over on this album on drums. This would be his only album with the group. Additionally,the jazz/rock band Chicago featured a version of the title track on their 1979 album Chicago 13 ,with Peter Cetera on lead vocals. The song was co-written by Chicago's drummer at that time,Danny Seraphine. The track "Stay" was covered by Erykah Badu on her 1997 album Live .
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Street Player" | David Wolinski, Daniel Seraphine | 4:54 |
2. | "Stay" | Richard Calhoun, Chaka Khan | 5:41 |
3. | "Turn" | Bobby Watson, Wolinski | 4:43 |
4. | "Best of Your Heart" | Watson, Wolinski | 3:45 |
5. | "Finale" (Instrumental) | Watson, Wolinski | 2:10 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
6. | "Blue Love" | Calhoun, Wolinski | 3:18 |
7. | "Stranger to Love" | Wolinski | 3:33 |
8. | "Take Time" (Instrumental) | Tony Maiden | 4:16 |
9. | "Destiny" | David Batteau, Richard Holland | 4:25 |
10. | "Change Your Ways" | Maiden, Traude Sapik | 3:27 |
The listing of tracks on the back of the album as distributed in Canada (GRT of Canada Ltd.) is in the following order:
The listing on the album labels (sides 1 & 2) is as on the main listing. [5]
Album
Chart (1978) | Peak [6] |
---|---|
U.S. Billboard Top LPs | 14 |
U.S. Billboard Top Soul LPs | 1 |
Singles
Year | Single | Peak chart positions | |
---|---|---|---|
US [6] | US R&B [6] | ||
1978 | "Stay" | 38 | 3 |
"Blue Love" | 105 | 34 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA) [7] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Yvette Marie Stevens, better known by her stage name Chaka Khan, is an American singer. Known as the "Queen of Funk", her career has spanned more than five decades beginning in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. With the band she recorded the notable hits "Tell Me Something Good", "Sweet Thing", "Do You Love What You Feel" and the platinum-certified "Ain't Nobody". Her debut solo album featured the number-one R&B hit "I'm Every Woman". Khan scored another R&B charts hit with "What Cha' Gonna Do for Me" before becoming the first R&B artist to have a crossover hit featuring a rapper, with her 1984 cover of Prince's "I Feel for You". More of Khan's hits include "Through the Fire" and a 1986 collaboration with Steve Winwood that produced a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, "Higher Love".
Rufus is an American funk band from Chicago best known for launching the career of lead singer Chaka Khan. They had several hits during their career including "Tell Me Something Good", "Sweet Thing", "Do You Love What You Feel", and "Ain't Nobody". Rufus and Chaka Khan were one of the most popular and influential funk bands of the 1970s; they had four consecutive number-one R&B albums, ten top 40 pop hits, and five number-one R&B singles among other accolades.
Gavin Christopher was an American R&B singer, songwriter, musician, and producer.
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Chaka Khan is the fourth solo album by American singer Chaka Khan. It was released on the Warner Bros. Records label on November 17, 1982. Khan worked with frequent collaborator Arif Mardin on the album, who would produce all the tracks on Chaka Khan. The "Be Bop Medley" won the pair Grammy Award for Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices at the 26th awards ceremony.
Chaka is the debut solo album by American singer Chaka Khan. It was released on October 12, 1978, through Warner Bros. Records. Following the release of the Chaka album, Khan reunited with Rufus for the recording of 1979's Masterjam, produced by Quincy Jones. Her second solo album Naughty followed in 1980.
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Rufus is the debut album by American R&B and funk band Rufus, released on the ABC Records label in 1973 fronted by singers Chaka Khan and Ron Stockert. The album is notable for an upbeat rock/soul sound that would be replaced by a more heavy direction into funk and jazzy-styled recordings.
Rufusized is the gold-selling third studio album by funk band Rufus, featuring Chaka Khan, on the ABC Records label in 1974, their second album release that year. The album peaked at number 7 on the Billboard album chart the week ending March 1, 1975.
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Ask Rufus is the platinum-selling fifth studio album by funk band Rufus, released on the ABC Records label in 1977. The album spent three weeks atop the Billboard R&B Albums Chart in 1977. In 2020, it was ranked number 499 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Numbers is the seventh studio album by funk band Rufus, released on the ABC Records label in 1979. It was the band's first album without Chaka Khan on lead vocals. Instead, band members Tony Maiden and David "Hawk" Wolinski shared lead vocal duties, with additional female leads by Helen Lowe and Maxayne. The album reached #15 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart, #81 on Pop and included the single release "Keep It Together ".
Masterjam is the platinum-selling eighth studio album by funk band Rufus. Released in 1979, it was their debut on the MCA Records label following their purchase and dissolution of ABC Records.
Party 'Til You're Broke is the ninth studio album by funk band Rufus, released on the MCA Records label in 1981. Party 'Til You're Broke which was the band's second album not to be fronted by Chaka Khan reached number 24 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart and number 73 on Pop and included the singles "Tonight We Love" and "Hold on to a Friend", making Party 'Til You're Broke the most successful Khan-less album from Rufus.
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Seal in Red is the eleventh and final studio album by funk band Rufus, their debut on the Warner Bros. Records label, released in 1983. Seal in Red, which was the band's third album to be recorded without Chaka Khan, peaked at number 49 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart and included the single "Take It to the Top".
"Once You Get Started" is a horn-driven funk number written by musician Gavin Christopher, and recorded and released by the band Rufus featuring Chaka Khan in late 1974. The song is led mostly by Khan, though fellow group member Tony Maiden contributed lead vocals for the song's second verse. It helped to make their third album Rufusized go platinum. "Once You Get Started", peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1975, giving the group their second top ten single and third top forty single overall. The song also hit number-four on the Hot Soul Singles chart as well as number six on the Record World, Disco File Top 20 chart.
Leonid and Friends is a Chicago tribute band based in Moscow. They began as a YouTube band, and now occasionally tour as well. Leonid Vorobyev, is the founder and leader of the band. Vorobyev is a multi-instrumentalist, a recording studio sound engineer and choir conductor by training, at the East Siberian Institute of Culture. Vorobyev made his first Chicago video recording of the song "Brand New Love Affair" in 2014.
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