Unchain My Heart (album)

Unchain My Heart
Studio album by Joe Cocker
Released	9 October 1987
Recorded	1986–1987
Studio	House of Music (West Orange, NJ) [1] Santa Barbara Sound Design (Santa Barbara, CA) O’Henry Sound Studios (Burbank, CA) Greene Street Recording (New York, NY) Bearsville Studios (Bearsville, NY).
Genre	Rock, blue-eyed soul
Length	42:05
Label	Capitol
Producer	Charlie Midnight, Dan Hartman
Joe Cocker chronology
Joe Cocker Classics Volume 4 (1987) Unchain My Heart (1987) One Night of Sin (1989)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
New Musical Express	5/10 [2]

Unchain My Heart is the eleventh studio album by Joe Cocker, released in 1987.

Miller Lite used Joe Cocker's recording of "Unchain My Heart" for their Dalmatian campaign as the dog jumps from the Budweiser Clydesdale horse-drawn carriage to the Miller Lite truck.

Track listing

1. "Unchain My Heart" (Bobby Sharp, Teddy Powell) – 5:02
2. "Two Wrongs" (Eddie Schwartz, David Bendeth) – 4:02
3. "I Stand in Wonder" (Schwartz, David Tyson) – 4:21
4. "The River's Rising" (Michael Lunn) – 4:05
5. "Isolation" (John Lennon) – 3:51
6. "All Our Tomorrows" (Schwartz, Tyson) – 4:21
7. "A Woman Loves a Man" (Dan Hartman, Charlie Midnight) – 4:14
8. "Trust in Me" (Francesca Beghe, Marc Swersky, Midnight) – 4:12
9. "The One" (Tom Kimmel, Jay Joyce) – 4:35
10. "Satisfied" (Hartman, Midnight) – 3:22

Personnel

• Joe Cocker – lead vocals
• Jeff Levine – keyboards (1–3, 5, 6, 8, 9), Hammond organ (4), grand piano (10)
• Robbie Kilgore – additional keyboards (3, 5, 6, 9), handclaps (4)
• Greg Johnson – grand piano (8), organ (10)
• Phil Grande – guitars, guitar solo (6, 10)
• T. M. Stevens – bass
• David Beal – drums
• Sammy Figueroa – percussion (3, 5–8)
• Glenn Ellison – handclaps (4)
• Charlie Midnight – handclaps (4)
• Clarence Clemons – tenor sax solo (1)
• The Uptown Horns – horns and horn arrangements (1)
  • Crispin Cioe – saxophones
  • Arno Hecht – saxophones
  • Robert Funk – trombone
  • "Hollywood" Paul Litteral – trumpet
• Lawrence Feldman – saxophone (3)
• Ric Cunningham – alto saxophone (7)
• Tawatha Agee – backing vocals (1–4, 6, 7, 9, 10)
• Benny Diggs – backing vocals (1–4, 6, 7, 9)
• Vaneese Thomas – backing vocals (1–4, 6, 7, 9)
• Dan Hartman – backing vocals (2, 4, 6, 7, 10), additional percussion (3), tambourine (4), handclaps (4), additional guitars (5, 6, 8, 10), keyboards (7), guitars (7)
• B.J. Nelson – backing vocals (2, 4, 6, 10)
• Renée Geyer – guest vocals (8)
• Phoebe Snow – guest vocals (9)
• Maxine Green – backing vocals (10)
• Jayne Ann Lang – backing vocals (10)
• Janice Singleton – backing vocals (10)

Production

• Producer – Charlie Midnight
• Executive Producer – Dan Hartman
• Engineer – John Rollo
• Additional Engineer – Joel Soyffer
• Assistant Engineers – Nelson Ayers, Thom Chadley, Mark Gaide, Danny Grigsby, Paul Higgins and Dave Mendenhall.
• Recorded at House of Music (West Orange, NJ); Santa Barbara Sound Design (Santa Barbara, CA); O’Henry Sound Studios (Burbank, CA); Greene Street Recording (New York, NY); Bearsville Studios (Bearsville, NY).
• Mixed by Chris Lord-Alge at Unique Recording Studios (New York, NY).
• Mix Assistants – Steve Entebbe and Matt Hathaway
• Mastered by Bob Ludwig at Masterdisk (New York, NY).
• Art Direction – Roy Kohara
• Design – Roland Young
• Photography – Abe Frajndilich
• Management – Michael Lang

Charts

Chart (1987)	Peak position
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [3]	14
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [4]	20
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [5]	2
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [6]	17
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [7]	15
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [8]	6
US Billboard 200 [9]	89

Chart (1988)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [10]	24
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [11]	5
Canadian Albums ( RPM ) [12]	40
French Albums (SNEP) [13]	21
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [14]	32

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [15]	Gold	50,000^
France (SNEP) [16]	Gold	100,000*
Germany (BVMI) [17]	3× Gold	750,000^
Italy (FIMI) [18]	Gold	100,000 [18]
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [19]	Platinum	100,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [20]	Platinum	50,000^
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Accolades

Company	Country	Accolade	Year	Rank
Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA)	Australia	Top 50 Albums	1988	48

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Unchain My Heart – Joe Cocker". AllMusic . Retrieved 25 April 2020.
2. Minkoff, Myrna (12 December 1987). "Joe Cocker: Unchain My Heart". NME . p. 36.
3. "Dutchcharts.nl – Joe Cocker – Unchain My Heart" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
4. Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Joe Cocker". Sisältää hitin – 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 50.
5. "Offiziellecharts.de – Joe Cocker – Unchain My Heart" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
6. "Norwegiancharts.com – Joe Cocker – Unchain My Heart". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
7. "Swedishcharts.com – Joe Cocker – Unchain My Heart". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
8. "Swisscharts.com – Joe Cocker – Unchain My Heart". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
9. "Joe Cocker Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
10. "Australiancharts.com – Joe Cocker – Unchain My Heart". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
11. "Austriancharts.at – Joe Cocker – Unchain My Heart" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
12. "100 Albums". RPM. 47 (21). 12 March 1988. ISSN   0033-7064. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
13. "InfoDisc: Tous les "Chart Runs" des Albums classés depuis 1985 dans le Top Albums Officiel". InfoDisc (in French). Retrieved 23 February 2013.Locate Joe COCKER on the drop-down menu and click OK.
14. "Charts.nz – Joe Cocker – Unchain My Heart". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
15. "Canadian album certifications – Joe Cocker – Unchain My Heart". Music Canada . Retrieved 19 April 2017.
16. "French album certifications – Cocker J. – Unchain My Heart" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 19 April 2017.Select COCKER J. and click OK. 
17. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Joe Cocker; 'Unchain My Heart')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie . Retrieved 19 April 2017.
18. "Unchained Sales" (PDF). Music & Media. 21 May 1988. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
19. "Spanish certifications for 1979-1990" (PDF). PROMUSICAE. p. 924. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
20. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Unchain My Heart')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 April 2017.