Special Things
Encyclopedia
Special Things is the seventh studio album by the Pointer Sisters
, released in 1980 on the Planet label.
and featured a more stylized R&B/pop production, launching the group into its most successful period. The album eventually went gold on the strength of the top three gold-certified single, "He's So Shy."
"The Love Too Good To Last" was later included on movie soundtrack "Night Shift" (1982). The album was remastered and issued on CD with a bonus track, "Movin' On", in 2010 by Big Break Records.
Pointer Sisters
The Pointer Sisters are an American pop/R&B recording act from Oakland, California that achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. Spanning over three decades, their repertoire has included such diverse genres as pop, disco, jazz, bebop, blues, soul, funk, dance, country and rock.The...
, released in 1980 on the Planet label.
History
The album marked their third venture with producer Richard PerryRichard Perry
Richard Perry is an American music producer. Perry began as a performer in his adolescence, but shifted gears after graduating college and rose through the late 1960s and early 1970s to become a highly successful and popular record producer with over a dozen gold records to his credit by 1982...
and featured a more stylized R&B/pop production, launching the group into its most successful period. The album eventually went gold on the strength of the top three gold-certified single, "He's So Shy."
"The Love Too Good To Last" was later included on movie soundtrack "Night Shift" (1982). The album was remastered and issued on CD with a bonus track, "Movin' On", in 2010 by Big Break Records.
Track listing
Personnel
- Anita PointerAnita PointerAnita Pointer is an American R&B/soul singer-songwriter and a member of The Pointer Sisters.-Biography:...
, Ruth PointerRuth PointerRuth Pointer is an American R&B singer, best known for being the eldest member of The Pointer Sisters.-Early life:Pointer was born in Oakland, California. She began her vocal training as a director of a junior choir in her father's church.-The Pointer Sisters:Joining her sisters in 1972, the...
, June PointerJune PointerJune Antoinette Pointer Whitmore was an American Pop/R&B singer and was a founding member/and lead vocalist of the vocal group The Pointer Sisters.-Early life and career:...
– vocals - Ollie E. BrownOllie E. BrownOllie E. Brown is an American drummer, percussionist and record producer. A prolific session musician, Brown has performed on over a hundred albums in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. Brown was also half of the American dance-pop duo Ollie & Jerry, which had a Top 10 hit with "Breakin'.....
, James GadsonJames GadsonJames Gadson is an American drummer and session musician. Beginning his career in the late 1960s, Gadson has since become one of the most-recorded drummers in the history of R&B music....
– drums - Nathan WattsNathan WattsNathan Lamar Watts, born 1954 in Detroit, Michigan is an American session bass guitar player, best known for his work with Stevie Wonder from the 1970s to the present...
– bass - Paul Jackson, Jr.Paul Jackson, Jr.Paul Jackson, Jr. is a fusion/urban jazz composer, arranger, producer and guitarist. He was born and raised in Los Angeles. Jackson knew by the age of fifteen that he wanted to become a professional musician...
, Tim May, Marlo Henderson – guitar - Greg PhillinganesGreg PhillinganesGreg Phillinganes is an active session keyboardist in Los Angeles, California. He is a graduate of Cass Technical High School, Detroit Michigan....
– keyboards, synthesizer, clavinet - Paulinho da CostaPaulinho Da CostaPaulinho da Costa is a Brazilian percussionist born in Rio de Janeiro, considered one of the most recorded musicians of modern times. Playing over two hundred percussion instruments, he has participated in thousands of recording sessions, Grammy Award-winning albums, hit songs, soundtracks, radio...
– percussion - Raymond Pounds – drums on track 4
- Ricky Lawson – drums on track 7, 9
- John Pierce – bass on track 6
- James JamersonJames JamersonJames Lee Jamerson was an American bass player. He was the uncredited bassist on most of Motown Records' hits in the 1960s and early 1970s , and he is now regarded as one of the most influential bass players in modern music history...
– bass on track 7 - Ben Bridges – guitar on track 4
- Mark Goldenberg – guitar on tracks 6, 8
- David WilliamsDavid Williams (guitarist)David Williams was an American rhythm guitarist who performed and recorded with Michael Jackson, Madonna, Herbie Hancock and the Temptations, among others.-Career:...
– guitar on tracks 7, 9 - Tom Snow – keyboards, synthesizer on track 2
- Lance Ong – synthesizer on tracks 3, 4
- Clarence McDonaldClarence McDonaldClarence "Mac" McDonald is a Los Angeles based pianist, composer, arranger, and producer. He is a co-writer/co-publisher of the #1 Billboard and Grammy nominated song "Everything To Me" performed by Monica. Most recently McDonald performed on the all-star benefit album entitled Jazz For Japan...
– piano - John Barnes – electric piano on track 6, keyboards on track 8
- Burt BacharachBurt BacharachBurt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
– keyboards on track 7 - Michael BoddickerMichael BoddickerMichael J. Boddicker , is an American film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. Three times N.A.R.A.S. Most Valuable Player "Synthesizer" and MVP Emeritus, he was awarded a Grammy as a songwriter for Imagination from Flashdance in 1984...
– synthesizer on track 8 - Nathan Watts – percussion on track 5
- Don Myrick, Jay Hutson – alto flute, saxophone
- Henry Sigismonti – french horn
- Chuck FindleyChuck FindleyChuck Findley is an American session musician. Most widely-known as a trumpet player, he also plays other brass instruments such as flugelhorn and trombone...
, Steve Madaio, Warren Looney, Larry Gittens, Bill Reichenbach, Jr., Slyde Hyde, Gary Grant – horns
Production
- Richard PerryRichard PerryRichard Perry is an American music producer. Perry began as a performer in his adolescence, but shifted gears after graduating college and rose through the late 1960s and early 1970s to become a highly successful and popular record producer with over a dozen gold records to his credit by 1982...
– producer - Trevor Lawrence – producer, strings arrangements, horns arrangements, conductor
- Gabe Veltri – recording engineer
- Jim Küenzi, Raven Royce-Jordan, Stephen Marcussen, Tim Dennen – assistant engineers
- James Guthrie – remix engineer
- Doug Sax, Mike Reese – mastering engineer
- Daniel Kushnick, Michael Solomon – technicians
- Burt BacharachBurt BacharachBurt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
– strings arrangements, horns arrangements - Sid Sharp – concertmaster
- Aaron Rapoport – photography
Chart positions
| Chart (1980) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
34 |
| U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
19 |
External links
- Special Things at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...