Word Up! (album)

Last updated

Word Up!
Cameo-Word Up! (album cover).jpg
Studio album by
Cameo
ReleasedSeptember 9, 1986 (1986-09-09)
Recorded1985–1986
Studio
  • Quad Recording
  • Counter Point
  • Power Station
  • Sound Ideas (New York City)
Genre Funk [1]
Length34:46
Label Atlanta Artists
Producer Larry Blackmon
Cameo chronology
Single Life
(1985)		Word Up!
(1986)		 Machismo
(1988)
Singles from Word Up!
  1. "Word Up!"
    Released: July 1986
  2. "Candy"
    Released: October 21, 1986
  3. "Back and Forth"
    Released: February 24, 1987
  4. "She's Mine"
    Released: June 1987
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [1]
The Village Voice B [2]

Word Up! is the 13th studio album by American funk group Cameo, released in 1986. [3] The album reached number 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, number 8 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart, and was certified Platinum by the RIAA for sales of over 1 million copies. It took Cameo to their highest level of popularity, and solidified them as one of the most successful bands of the 1980s. [4] The album includes three of their biggest hit singles, "Word Up!", "Candy", and "Back and Forth".

Contents

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Word Up!"
4:21
2."Candy"
  • Blackmon
  • Jenkins
5:39
3."Back and Forth"
  • Kevin Kendrick
  • Nathan Leftenant
  • Blackmon
  • Jenkins
6:33
4."Don't Be Lonely"
  • Blackmon
  • Jenkins
  • Kendrick
  • Willie Morris
5:19
5."She's Mine"
  • Blackmon
  • Leftenant
  • Antonio Matthews
  • Ray Malloy
4:37
6."Fast, Fierce & Funny"
  • Blackmon
  • Jenkins
  • Leftenant
4:09
7."You Can Have the World"
  • Blackmon
  • Jenkins
  • Leftenant
4:38

Personnel

Cameo
Additional musicians

Critical reception

Accolades

Word Up! was ranked number 5 among the "Albums of the Year" by NME . [5]

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for Word Up!
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [12] Gold100,000^
United States (RIAA) [13] Platinum1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Related Research Articles

<i>Kamakiriad</i> 1993 studio album by Donald Fagen

Kamakiriad is the second solo album by Steely Dan artist Donald Fagen, released in 1993. It was his first collaboration with Steely Dan partner Walter Becker since 1986, on Rosie Vela's album Zazu. Becker played guitar and bass and produced the album. The album is a futuristic, optimistic eight-song cycle about the journey of the narrator in his high-tech car, the Kamakiri. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year 1994.

<i>Raise!</i> 1981 studio album by Earth, Wind & Fire

Raise! is the eleventh studio album by the American band Earth, Wind & Fire, released on November 14, 1981, by ARC/Columbia Records. The album spent 11 weeks atop the Billboard Top R&B albums chart and peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 chart. Raise! has been certified Platinum in the US by the RIAA, Gold in the UK by the BPI and Gold in Canada by Music Canada.

<i>Bustin Out of L Seven</i> 1979 studio album by Rick James

Bustin' Out of L Seven is the second album by the American musician Rick James, released in 1979 through Gordy Records. Included on the album is the top ten R&B hit, "Bustin' Out ". L7 is slang for "square", as in the opening lyrics of "Bustin' Out ", "Well, alright, you squares, it's time you smoked, Fire up this funk and let's have a toke". The letter L and the number 7 form a square.

<i>Boys in the Trees</i> 1978 studio album by Carly Simon

Boys in the Trees is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Elektra Records in April 1978.

<i>Machismo</i> (album) 1988 studio album by Cameo

Machismo is the funk group Cameo's 1988 follow up to their album Word Up!. It includes the hits "You Make Me Work" and "Skin I'm In". The album reached No. 10 on the Billboard R&B chart, No. 56 on the Billboard 200 Pop Albums chart, and No. 86 on the UK albums chart. It was certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of over 500,000 copies.

<i>Secret Omen</i> 1979 studio album by Cameo

Secret Omen is the fourth studio album by American funk band Cameo, released in June 1979. It was their first of nine albums, and the first of five consecutive albums to be certified gold in the US for sales of over 500,000 copies.

<i>Feel Me</i> (album) 1980 studio album by Cameo

Feel Me is the sixth album by the funk band Cameo, released in 1980.

<i>Alligator Woman</i> 1982 studio album by Cameo

Alligator Woman is a 1982 album by the American funk band Cameo, released by Casablanca Records. It is the group's eighth studio album, and the first released after group leader Larry Blackmon reduced the band from 11 members to 5 (himself, Tomi Jenkins, Nathan Leftenant, Charlie Singleton, and Gregory Johnson. Alligator Woman combined Cameo’s traditional funk with elements of rock and new wave, and was the band’s fifth consecutive album to be certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of over 500,000 copies. The cover artwork model is the Canadian singer/model Vanity.

<i>Shes Strange</i> 1984 studio album by Cameo

She's Strange is the tenth album by the funk band Cameo, released in 1984. It reached number 1 on the Billboard R&B Albums chart, number 27 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart, and was certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of over 500,000 copies.

<i>Afternoons in Utopia</i> 1986 studio album by Alphaville

Afternoons in Utopia is the second album by German synth-pop band Alphaville, released in 1986 via Warner Music. The album was recorded between September 1985 and May 1986.

<i>Thighs and Whispers</i> 1979 studio album by Bette Midler

Thighs and Whispers is the fifth studio album by American singer Bette Midler. Released in 1979, the album reached No. 65 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart.

<i>Good Music</i> (Joan Jett and the Blackhearts album) 1986 studio album by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

Good Music is the fifth studio album by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, released in 1986. The album's working title was Contact, after the final song off the album, but it was changed to Good Music in its final stages.

<i>Naughty</i> (Chaka Khan album) 1980 studio album by Chaka Khan

Naughty is the second solo album by American R&B and funk singer Chaka Khan, released on Warner Bros. Records in 1980.

<i>Bottom Line</i> (album) 1979 studio album by John Mayall

Bottom Line is an album by the English musician John Mayall, released in 1979. It was produced by Bob Johnston. It is the only Mayall album that has never been released on CD.

<i>Right on Time</i> (Brothers Johnson album) 1977 studio album by the Brothers Johnson

Right on Time is the second album by the Los Angeles, California-based duo the Brothers Johnson. Released in 1977, the album peaked at number two on the R&B albums chart and number thirteen on the pop albums chart in the U.S. It includes the number-one R&B song, Strawberry Letter 23, and winner of a Grammy Award in 1978 for Best R&B Instrumental Performance, "Q".

<i>Objects of Desire</i> 1982 studio album by Michael Franks

Objects of Desire is a jazz vocal album by Michael Franks, released in 1982 with Warner Bros. Records. It was Franks' seventh studio album.

<i>One-Eyed Jack</i> (album) 1978 studio album by Garland Jeffreys

One-Eyed Jack is an album by Garland Jeffreys, released in 1978 on A&M Records. It was recorded at Atlantic Studios, in New York City, and produced by Jeffreys and David Spinozza. It was dedicated: "in Memory of my childhood idol, Jackie Robinson ... here comes the One-Eyed Jack, Sometimes white and sometimes black".

<i>Warmer Communications</i> 1978 studio album by Average White Band

Warmer Communications is a studio album released by Average White Band. The title is a play on Warner Communications, parent company of AWB's Atlantic Records label at the time of the album's release.

<i>Heavy Metal Be-Bop</i> 1978 live album with a studio track, by Brecker Brothers

Heavy Metal Be-Bop is a live album by the American jazz fusion group, the Brecker Brothers that was released by Arista Records in 1978. The album also includes the studio track "East River", which reached No. 34 in the UK singles chart in November 1978.

<i>The Brecker Bros. Collection, Vol 1</i> 1990 compilation album by Brecker Brothers

The Brecker Bros. Collection, Vol 1 is a compilation album by the American jazz fusion group, the Brecker Brothers. It was released by Novus Records in 1990. A second compilation, The Brecker Bros. Collection, Vol 2, was released in 1991.

References

  1. 1 2 AllMusic review
  2. ↑ Christgau, Robert (December 30, 1986). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice . Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  3. ↑ Henderson, Alex. "Cameo: Word Up! > Review" at AllMusic . Retrieved 28 March 2010.
  4. ↑ O'Donnell, David (December 11, 2008). "One of the most successful bands of the 80s". BBC. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
  5. ↑ "Albums and Tracks of the Year". NME . 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  6. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Charts Book 1970—1992. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  7. ↑ "Discografie Cameo - dutchcharts.nl".
  8. ↑ "charts.nz - Discography Cameo". charts.nz. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Cameo - hitparade.ch". hitparade.ch. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  10. ↑ "CAMEO - full Official Chart History - Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  11. 1 2 "Word Up! - Cameo". Billboard. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
  12. ↑ "British album certifications – Cameo – Word Up". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  13. ↑ "American album certifications – Cameo – Word Up". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved December 26, 2018.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.