Uptown Festival

Last updated
Uptown Festival
Uptownfestival.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 12, 1977 (1977-04-12)
Studio Wally Heider Studios, The Sound Factory
Genre Disco, R&B
Length38:30
Label Soul Train Records
Producer Dick Griffey, Don Cornelius, Simon Soussan
Shalamar chronology
Uptown Festival
(1977)
Disco Gardens
(1978)
Singles from Uptown Festival
  1. "Uptown Festival (song)"
    Released: March 1977
  2. "Ooo Baby Baby"
    Released: August 1977
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Pitchfork 4.2/10 [2]

Uptown Festival is the first album credited to American R&B group Shalamar, released in 1977 on the Soul Train label. The album was in fact recorded by session singers. It peaked at #22 on the US R&B chart and #48 on the Billboard Albums chart.

Contents

The title track, "Uptown Festival," was recorded at Ike & Tina Turner's Bolic Sound studio. [3] It's a medley of ten Motown classics sung over a 1970s disco beat. The single was a hit in both the US and the UK. [4]

Singles

Two singles were released from the album:

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Inky Dinky Wang Dang Doo"Norma Toney, Andre Williams 4:04
2."Beautiful Night"Jimmy Thomas5:20
3."Uptown Festival" ("Going to a Go-Go" / "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" / "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" / "Stop! In the Name of Love" / "It's the Same Old Song" / "The Tears of a Clown" / "Love Is Like an Itching in My Heart" / "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)" / "Baby Love" / "He Was Really Saying Somethin'") Smokey Robinson, Bobby Rogers, Marvin Tarplin, Pete Moore / Holland–Dozier–Holland / Stevie Wonder, Henry Cosby, Sylvia Moy / Holland–Dozier–Holland / Holland–Dozier–Holland / Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Hank Cosby / Holland–Dozier–Holland / Holland–Dozier–Holland, Sylvia Moy / Holland–Dozier–Holland / Norman Whitfield, William "Mickey" Stevenson, Eddie Holland 8:52
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
4."High on Life" Don Cornelius 3:42
5."Ooh Baby, Baby" Smokey Robinson, Pete Moore 3:48
6."You Know" Don Cornelius 3:59
7."Forever Came Today" Holland–Dozier–Holland 5:55

Charts

Chart (1977)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [6] 27

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References

  1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Shalamar – Uptown Festival". AllMusic . Retrieved December 25, 2014.
  2. "Shalamar: Uptown Festival / Disco Gardens / Big Fun". Pitchfork.
  3. "Ian Dewhirst". Red Bull Music Academy.
  4. 1 2 "Uptown Festival (song by Shalamar) ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts". www.musicvf.com.
  5. "Ooh Baby, Baby (song by Shalamar) ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts". www.musicvf.com.
  6. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 270. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.