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City Life (The Blackbyrds album)

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City Life
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 1975
Recorded1975
StudioSound Factory (Hollywood)
GenreJazz-funk[1]
LabelFantasy
ProducerDonald Byrd
The Blackbyrds chronology
Flying Start
(1974)
City Life
(1975)
Unfinished Business
(1976)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [2]

City Life is the third studio album by the American rhythm and blues and jazz-funk fusion group the Blackbyrds. It was produced by Donald Byrd and includes the popular singles "Happy Music" and "Rock Creek Park." "Happy Music" was first given a limited released as a six-minute remix on 12-inch vinyl for club deejays,[3] then in early 1976 was released on standard 7-inch vinyl. "Rock Creek Park" has been sampled repeatedly by hip hop musicians.[4]

Background

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Three members of the band had left sometime after the completion of the previous album: Allan Barnes, Barney Perry, and Perk Jacobs. Guitarist Orville Saunders was brought on in place of Perry, who had left the band to form his own group, Malone & Barnes and Spontaneous Simplicity, while saxophonist Stephen Johnson replaced Barnes.

Track listing

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Song credits and timings taken from original LP.[5]

Side One
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Rock Creek Park"Joe Hall, Keith Killgo, Kevin Toney, Orville Saunders, Stephen Johnson4:35
2."Thankful 'Bout Yourself"Saunders5:11
3."City Life"Toney5:22
4."All I Ask"Toney3:50
Side Two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."Happy Music"Donald Byrd4:32
6."Love So Fine"Hall5:00
7."Flying High"Killgo3:29
8."Hash and Eggs"Fonce Mizell, Larry Mizell5:06

Personnel

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The Blackbyrds
  • Kevin Toney – keyboards
  • Stephen Johnson – saxophone
  • Orville Saunders – guitar
  • Joe Hall – bass
  • Keith Killgo – drums
Additional musicians

The original LP doesn't credit any musicians individually and instead gives a general "very special thanks" to them. Vocals for the album are also uncredited.

Charts

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Album

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Chart (1976) Peak
position
Billboard Top LPs 16
Top Soul LPs 3
Jazz LPs 1

Singles

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Year Single Chart Position
1975 "City Life" Disco Singles 4
"Flying High" Billboard Hot 100 70
Hot Soul Singles 22
1976 "Happy Music" Billboard Hot 100 19
Hot Soul Singles 3
Disco Singles 6
"Rock Creek Park" Billboard Hot 100 93
Hot Soul Singles 37

References

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  1. ^ Gorton, TJ (July 30, 2018). "BeatCaffeine's 100 Best Jazz-Funk Songs". BeatCaffeine. Archived from the original on August 25, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  2. ^ Mason, Stewart. The Blackbyrds: City Life > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  3. ^ Niebur, Louis (2022). Menergy: San Francisco's Gay Disco Sound. Oxford University Press. p. 49. ISBN 9780197511077.
  4. ^ "Donald Byrd, Producer of "Rock Creek Park," Dead at 80". Archived from the original on 2022-07-05. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
  5. ^ City Life (album). The Blackbyrds. Berkeley, California: Fantasy Records. 1975. F-9490.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ^ https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/artists/1151/merry-clayton
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