- Chaka (album)
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Chaka 
Studio album by Chaka Khan Released October 12, 1978 Recorded 1977-1978 Genre Funk, soul Length 43:11 Label Warner Bros. Producer Arif Mardin Chaka Khan chronology Chaka
(1978)Naughty
(1980)Rufus & Chaka Khan chronology Street Player
(1978)Masterjam
(1979)Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating Allmusic 
[1]Robert Christgau (B) [2] Chaka is the debut solo album by American R&B/funk singer Chaka Khan, released on the Warner Bros. Records label in 1978.
Contents
Overview
“ Still very much an integral part of Rufus, Chaka Khan set the charts on fire with her debut solo release. The first single was the R&B chart-topper "I'm Every Woman," an Ashford & Simpson track with Khan lighting up the lyric with her tantalizing vocals. Although Khan had much credibility from her association with Rufus, this album demonstrated that the dynamic vocalist could hold her own ground alone. ” —Craig Lytle, Allmusic[3]
Two singles were released from Chaka, the first being her anthemic solo debut "I'm Every Woman", one of Khan's signature tunes alongside "Ain't Nobody" (1983) and "I Feel For You" (1984). The song has over the past three decades been re-released, remixed and covered a number of times, most notably by Whitney Houston in 1992 for the soundtrack album The Bodyguard, then featuring guest vocals by Khan herself and topping Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. A remix of Khan's original recording was also a Top Ten hit in the U.K. in 1989. The remix was included on the compilation Life is a Dance - The Remix Project, the title track of which was the second single release from the Chaka album in early 1979 (US R&B #40). The album also features the ballad "Roll Me Through the Rushes", never commercially released as a single but still receiving considerable airplay in 1979, as well as Khan's cover version of Stevie Wonder's "I Was Made To Love Her", re-titled "I Was Made to Love Him".
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.
The Chaka album was re-released on CD in the United States by the Warner Music Group in 1998.[4]
Track listing
- "I'm Every Woman" (Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson) - 4:05
- "Love Has Fallen on Me" (Lloyd Webber, Charles Stepney) - 4:52
- "Roll Me Through the Rushes" (David Lasley, Lana Marrano) - 4:42
- "Sleep on It" (Andrew Kastner, Larry John McNally) - 4:21
- "Life Is a Dance" (Gavin Christopher) - 4:20
- "We Got the Love" (George Benson) - 3:27
- "Some Love" (Keith Boyd, Chaka Khan, Traude Sapik, Mark Stevens) - 5:50
- "A Woman in a Man's World" (Andrew Kastner, Larry John McNally) - 3:56
- "The Message in the Middle of the Bottom" (Lalomie Washburn) - 4:15
- "I Was Made to Love Him" (Henry Cosby, Lula Mae Hardaway, Sylvia Moy, Stevie Wonder) - 3:23
Personnel
- Chaka Khan - lead vocals, backing vocals
- Gene Orloff - concert master
- Steve Ferrone - drums
- Will Lee - bass guitar & backing vocals trks 1, 5, bass trk 3, backing vocals trks 4, 10
- Hamish Stuart - guitar & backing vocals trks 1, 2, 4, 5, backing vocals trk 3, guitar trks 6, 8, 10, bass trk 9
- Phil Upchurch - guitar trks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, bass trk 6
- Andrew Kastner - Guitar trks 4,8
- Richard Tee - piano trks 1, 2, 7, 8, electric piano trk 4, clavinet trk 5, piano & clavinet trk 10
- Cissy Houston - backing vocals trks 1, 2, 3
- Whitney Houston - backing vocals trks 1, 3, 5
- David Lasley - backing vocals trks 2, 3
- Anthony Jackson - bass trks 2, 4, 10
- George Young - alto saxophone trks 2, 5, 6
- Ronnie Cuber - baritone saxophone trks 2, 5, 6
- Michael Brecker - tenor saxophone trks 2, 5, 6, 7, tenor saxophone solo trks 7, 9
- Barry Rogers - trombone trks 2, 5, 6
- Randy Brecker - trumpet trks 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, trumpet & flugelhorn trk 7
- Rick Marotta - drums trk 3
- Leon Pendarvis - electric piano trk 3
- Brook Tillotson - french horn trks 3, 4, 7, 8, 9
- Jim Buffington - french horn trks 3, 4
- Cornell Dupree - guitar trk 3
- Gene Bianco - harp trk 3
- Alan Gorrie - backing vocals trks 3, 5
- Ken Bichel - synthesizer (S.R.M.) trks 4, 6, 8
- Raphael Cruz - congas trk 6, trk 9
- Arthur Jenkins - electric piano trk 6, clavinet trk 9
- Eddie Daniels - flute trk 6
- Phil Bodner - flute trk 6
- George Marge - alto flute trk 6
- George Benson - vocals trk 6
- Mark Stevens - bass trk 7, backing vocals trk 10
- John Clark - french horn trk 7, 8, 9
- Onnie McIntyre - guitar trks 7, 9
- Airto Moreira - percussion trk 7
- David Sanborn - alto saxophone trks 7, 8
- Sammy Figueroa - percussion trk 8
- Paul Faulise - bass trombone trk 8, 9
- Jesse Levy - cello trk 9
- Kermit Moore - cello trk 9
- Richard Bock - cello trk 9
- Terri Gonzales - backing vocals trk 10
- Tony Maiden - guitar solo trk 10
- Luther Vandross - backing vocals trk 3
- F. Buldrini - strings
- E. Bianco - strings
- G. Marge - strings
- G. Lumia - strings
- H. Kohon - strings
- J. Levy - strings
- J. Malin - strings
- J. Abramowitz - strings
- J. Barber - strings
- K. Moore - strings
- M. Morgenstern - strings
- M. Takayama - strings
- P. Winter - strings
- R. Iandiorio - strings
- R. Bock - strings
- R. Sortomme - strings
- S. Allen - strings
- T. Israel - strings
Production
- Arif Mardin - record producer, musical arranger brass, strings, woodwind
- Chaka Khan - musical arranger trk 5
- James Douglass - sound engineer
- Bill Dooley - assistant sound engineer
- Michael O'Reilly - assistant sound engineer
- Randy Mason - assistant sound engineer
- Sheridan Eldridge - assistant sound engineer
- Anthony D'Amico - assistant sound engineer
- Lew Hahn - additional recording engineer, remix
- Gene Paul - additional recording engineer
- Recorded at Atlantic Recording Studios, New York
- Additional recording at Cherokee Recording Studios, Los Angeles
References
- ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r42218/review
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "Chaka review". Robert Christgau.com. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=7175. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
- ^ Lytle, Craig. "Chaka (Review)". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r42218.
- ^ Discogs.com entry
External links
Chaka Khan With Rufus Rufus (1973) · Rags to Rufus (1974) · Rufusized (1974) · Rufus featuring Chaka Khan (1975) · Ask Rufus (1977) · Street Player (1978) · Masterjam (1979) · Camouflage (1981) · The Very Best of Rufus featuring Chaka Khan (1982) · Stompin' at the Savoy – Live (1983)Studio albums Chaka (1978) · Naughty (1980) · What Cha' Gonna Do for Me (1981) · Echoes of an Era (1982) · Chaka Khan (1982) · I Feel for You (1984) · Destiny (1986) · CK (1988) · The Woman I Am (1992) · Come 2 My House (1998) · ClassiKhan (2004) · Funk This (2007)Compilations Life Is a Dance: The Remix Project (1989) · Epiphany: The Best of Chaka Khan, Vol. 1 (1996) · I'm Every Woman: The Best of Chaka Khan (1999) · Dance Classics of Chaka Khan (1999) · The Platinum Collection (2006)Related articles Discography · Here Come the GirlsCategories:- 1978 albums
- Chaka Khan albums
- Albums produced by Arif Mardin
- Warner Bros. Records albums
- Debut albums
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