"Strut" | ||||
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Single by Sheena Easton | ||||
from the album A Private Heaven | ||||
B-side | "Letters from the Road" | |||
Released | August 1984 (US) 26 November 1984 (UK) [1] | |||
Length | 3:59 | |||
Label |
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Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Greg Mathieson | |||
Sheena Easton singles chronology | ||||
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"Strut" is a song by Scottish singer Sheena Easton for her fifth studio album, A Private Heaven (1984). It was composed by singer-songwriter Charlie Dore and her longtime songwriting partner Julian Littman. [2] Easton was sent the demo for the song by Christopher Neil, who was Easton's first producer. [3] "Strut" was released by EMI America in August 1984 as the album's lead single and peaked that November at No. 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100. In the UK—where the single was released in November 1984—the track became the first US top-40 single by Easton to completely miss the top 100 of the UK Singles Chart.
While Easton had achieved success with singles over her career, The Philadelphia Inquirer asserted in 1984 that "the old Sheena Easton was running into some identity problems" due to her management not knowing whether to promote her as a rock or pop artist. [4] EMI record executive Dick Williams noted Easton's concerns with being branded as a middle of the road artist, stating, "I think she felt, as did a lot of programmers, that her image was predominantly 'pop adult' and that limited her exposure to radio and television." [5] : SE11
After the success of the top-10 single "Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair)", Easton wanted to keep exploring that genre and move away from her image as a ballad singer. [6] [7] She recalled in a 1984 interview that both she and producer Greg Mathieson "wanted to keep it young, spiky and aggressive" for A Private Heaven, stating that Mathieson "fought in my corner to get me songs that normally wouldn't be sent to me, songs with a more adult lyric but a younger feel." [8] : SE9 Finding such material proved difficult; Easton noted that songs with a harder edge would be first offered to artists like Pat Benatar. [9] She eventually found a suitable single in "Strut", however, after being sent a demo of the song by her friend and former producer, Christopher Neil. Neil encouraged her to take the song to Mathieson, who liked it enough to produce the track. [8] : SE8 [9]
The song appears to be about the singer being upset with a man for wanting her to be like a previous lover, and about the sexism of men in general for wanting or expecting women to behave in a certain fashion ("Strut, pout/Put it out/That's what you want from women").
It was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female at the 27th Grammy Awards. [10] Like its parent album overall, the "Strut" single and accompanying video signaled Easton's shift towards a more sexually suggestive image. [11]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Canada (Music Canada) [26] | Gold | 50,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Sheena Shirley Easton is a Scottish singer and actress who achieved recognition in an episode of the reality television series The Big Time: Pop Singer, which recorded her attempts to gain a record deal and her eventual signing with the EMI label. Her first two singles, "Modern Girl" and "9 to 5", both entered the top ten of the UK Singles Chart simultaneously. She became one of the most successful British female recording artists of the 1980s. Easton became the first and only recording artist in Billboard history to have a top five hit on each of Billboard's primary singles charts: "Morning Train ", "We've Got Tonight" with Kenny Rogers and "Sugar Walls".
"U Got the Look" is a song by American musician Prince. It opens the second disc of Prince's double album Sign o' the Times (1987), and became the album's runner-up chart single. Musically, the song is a standard 12-bar rock song with emphasis on the contrast between heavy drum beats by a Linn LM-1 drum machine and Sheila E.'s live percussion, and a vastly distorted almost completely saturated guitar sound. Although not credited on the single release, the song also features Scottish recording artist Sheena Easton. Prince sings in his sped-up "Camille" voice, although the song was not intended for the Camille album. The lyrics recite the familiar "boy versus girl in the World Series of love" line.
"9 to 5" (or "Morning Train") is a song by Sheena Easton from 1981 album Take My Time. It was written by British songwriter Florrie Palmer and recorded and released as single in 1980, becoming Easton's biggest hit. It peaked at number three in the United Kingdom in August 1980 and was certified gold. In February 1981, it was released in the United States and Canada under the title "Morning Train (Nine to Five)" to avoid confusion with Dolly Parton's recent hit "9 to 5". It reached number one in both countries, becoming Easton's only chart-topper in those nations.
A Private Heaven is the fifth studio album by Scottish pop singer Sheena Easton, released on 21 September 1984 by EMI America Records. The album featured two US Top 10 hit singles: the lead single "Strut" and the controversial "Sugar Walls". "Swear", a third single, peaked at No. 80.
"Sugar Walls" is the second single from Sheena Easton's 1984 album A Private Heaven. It spent 16 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, nine of which were in the top 40. It reached number 9 on the Hot 100, number 3 on the R&B chart and number 1 on the Dance chart. The song did not chart in Easton's native UK. The music was credited to Alexander Nevermind, a pseudonym used by Prince.
"Endless Love" is a song written by Lionel Richie and originally recorded as a duet between Richie and singer/actress Diana Ross. In this ballad, the singers declare their "endless love" for one another. It was covered by Luther Vandross with R&B-pop singer Mariah Carey, and also by country music singer Shania Twain. Richie's friend Kenny Rogers also recorded the song. Billboard has named the original version as the greatest song duet of all time.
"We Belong" is a song recorded by American rock singer Pat Benatar, released through Legacy Music Group on October 16, 1984, as the lead single from her fifth studio album, Tropico (1984). The song was written by the songwriting duo of Eric Lowen and Dan Navarro. It matched the success of "Love Is a Battlefield" on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the United States, peaking at #5. It reached #3 on Billboard's Top Rock Tracks chart and #34 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
"Hello" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lionel Richie. Taken as the third single from his second solo album, Can't Slow Down (1983), the song was released in 1984 and reached number one on three Billboard music charts: the pop chart, the R&B chart, and the Adult Contemporary chart. The song also went to number one on the UK Singles Chart for six weeks.
"Let's Hear It for the Boy" is a song by Deniece Williams that appeared on the soundtrack to the feature film Footloose. The song was released as a single from both the soundtrack and her album of the song's same name on February 14, 1984, by Columbia Records. It was written by Tom Snow and Dean Pitchford and produced by George Duke. The song became Williams' second number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 on May 26, 1984, also topping the dance and R&B charts, and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, behind "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham!. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song, and was certified platinum in the US and gold in Canada and the UK by the Recording Industry Association of America, Music Canada and the British Phonographic Industry, respectively. The music video was released in mid-April 1984. The song features background vocals from George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam, who would go on to form the duo Boy Meets Girl.
"We've Got Tonite" is a song written by American rock musician Bob Seger, from his album Stranger in Town (1978). The single record charted twice for Seger, and was developed from a prior song that he had written. Further versions charted in 1983 for Kenny Rogers as a duet with Sheena Easton, and again in 2002 for Ronan Keating.
"You Might Think" is a song by American rock band the Cars from their fifth studio album, Heartbeat City (1984). The track was written by Ric Ocasek and produced by Mutt Lange and the Cars, with Ocasek also providing the lead vocals.
"For Your Eyes Only" is the theme to the 12th James Bond movie of the same name, written by Bill Conti and Mick Leeson, and performed by Scottish singer Sheena Easton. The song reached number four on the US Billboard Hot 100, and number eight on the UK Singles Chart. It was nominated for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards in 1982.
This is a complete discography of recording artist Sheena Easton, a Scottish singer with a discography that consists of 15 studio albums and 16 compilation albums. Easton released her debut album, Take My Time, in 1980, and the single "Morning Train " reached number 12 on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 in 1981. Her success continued primarily through the 1980s, where Easton garnered 5 Gold and 1 Platinum album certifications in the United States, with 7 Gold singles and 20 US Top 40 singles as well as 7 US Top Ten singles. Whilst her success was somewhat limited in her native Scotland and the United Kingdom, she scored one number one song in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1981 and 1991.
Best Kept Secret is the fourth album by Scottish singer Sheena Easton. It was released in 1983 on EMI Records.
"Modern Girl" is the debut single by Scottish pop singer Sheena Easton. The song was originally released in February 1980, reaching #56 in the UK charts, before being re-released to top ten success in August of the same year. The song would also go on to reach the US top 20, when it was released in 1981 as her second single, following the #1 hit "Morning Train ".
"The Lover in Me" is a song by Scottish singer Sheena Easton for her ninth studio album of the same name (1988). Released as the album's lead single on 11 October 1988, the song became Easton's first top-20 hit in the United Kingdom after a seven-year hiatus. The song was also Easton's final top-10 single on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Todo Me Recuerda a Ti is the sixth studio album by Scottish singer Sheena Easton. It was released on 23 November 1984 and reissued by Capitol/EMI Latin in 1989. This is an album of greatest hits featuring three new tracks all sung in Spanish and geared for the Latin markets. "Me Gustas Tal Como Eres", a duet with Mexican star Luis Miguel, was released as the first single and earned Easton a Grammy for Best Mexican-American Performance - 1984.
"Tonight She Comes" is a 1985 song by American rock band the Cars from their Greatest Hits album. It was released as a single in October 1985, reaching number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1986. The song reached number one on the Top Rock Tracks chart, where it stayed for three weeks.
"Almost Over You" is a 1983 single by Scottish singer Sheena Easton from her Best Kept Secret LP. It was written by Jennifer Kimball and Cindy Richardson. The single reached number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100, while its Adult Contemporary peak was number 4. In Canada, the song reached number 35 and number one on the Adult Contemporary chart.
Nick Mundy is an American singer, composer, guitarist and producer from Philadelphia. He was the lead singer of The Beck Family who had a hit in 1979 with the disco funk hit "Can't Shake the Feeling". He had a national hit with "Ain't It All Right" in 1984. He also co-wrote and produced the song "Talk to Me" for Chico DeBarge which was a hit in 1986. He has composed and produced hits for various artists and has worked with Gina Go-Go, Franne Golde and Paul Fox. His compositions have been used in mainstream films.