Rickie Lee Jones (album)

Infobox Album |
Name = Rickie Lee Jones
Type = Album
Artist = Rickie Lee Jones


Released = March 1979
Recorded = 1978
Warner Bros. Recording Studios and The Burbank Studios
Tracks 2, 11 recorded live December 22, 1978 at TBS
Genre = Rock
Length = 42:11
Label = Warner Bros. Records
Producer = Lenny Waronker and Russ Titelman
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:as87gjerj6ip link]
Last album =

This album = "Rickie Lee Jones"
(1979)
Next album = "Pirates"
(1981)

"Rickie Lee Jones" is the eponymously titled debut album of Chicago-born musician Rickie Lee Jones, released in March 1979. After arriving in California in the mid-1970s, Jones started writing songs more seriously and by 1977 had met a pair of singer-songwriters, Chuck E. Weiss and Tom Waits, who became her lover during this period.

Overview

A demo containing songs for the album including "The Last Chance Texaco", "Easy Money", "Young Blood" and "After Hours" did the rounds in 1978 and earned Jones a record deal with Warner Bros. Records. Recording sessions during 1978 yielded eleven songs for inclusion on an album, with two, "On Saturday Afternoons in 1963" and "After Hours," recorded live on December 22, 1978.

Success

The album was released in the spring of 1979 to favourable reviews, propelled by the substantial jazz-pop hit single "Chuck E.'s in Love," based on a rumoured romance of her friend Weiss. The single became a US #4 hit during the summer, while the album, which went on to become a million seller, hit US #3. A second single, "Young Blood," cracked the US Top 40 in late 1979, when Jones went on an international tour.

Image

The album cover contributed to the image of Jones as a cool beret-wearing beatnik; it was reported at the time that Jones was a heavy drinker and also a drug addict, and she and Tom Waits were, in some quarters, known as rock music's bohemian couple. The music videos for the album's two hit singles also contribute to Jones' "hipster chic" image, and in 1979 she featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, becoming one of the most successful music stars of the year. The album cover photography and design was by Norman Seeff.

Track listing

Songs written by Rickie Lee Jones, except where noted.

# "Chuck E's In Love" 3:28
# "On Saturday Afternoons In 1963" – 2:31
# "Night Train" – 3:14
# "Young Blood" – 4:04
# "Easy Money" – 3:16
# "The Last Chance Texaco" – 4:05
# "Danny's All-Star Joint" – 4:01
# "Coolsville" – 3:49
# "Weasel And The White Boys Cool" (Rickie Lee Jones, Alfred Johnson) – 6:00
# "Company" (Rickie Lee Jones, Alfred Johnson) – 4:40
# "After Hours" – 2:13

Personnel

Rickie Lee Jones - vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion, horn arrangements
*Dr. John - keyboards
*Michael McDonald - vocals
*Randy Newman - synthesizer
*Victor Feldman - percussion, drums, keyboards
*Tom Scott - horns
*Ralph Grierson - keyboards
*Michael Boddicker - synthesizer
*Red Callender - bass
*Nick DeCaro - accordion, orchestral arrangements
*Buzz Feiten - guitar
*Chuck Findley - horns
*Steve Gadd - drums
*Randy Kerber - keyboards
*Neil Larsen - keyboards
*Arno Lucas - background vocals
*Johnny Mandel - orchestral arrangements
*Andy Newmark - drums
*Jeff Porcaro - drums
*Leslie Smith - background vocals
*Mark Stevens - drums, percussion
*Fred Tackett - guitar, mandolin
*Joe Torano - background vocals
*Ernie Watts - horns
*Willie Weeks - bass
*Matthew Weiner - background vocals

Miscellanea

* The "Chuck E." referred to in the first track is musician Chuck E. Weiss.
* The acronym "P.L.P." in the same track is a slang acronym for "Public Leaning Post", referring to people (typically friends) physically leaning against one another.
* "Weasel and the White Boys Cool" was the first song written for the album, copyrighted in 1976.
* The original title for "Danny's All-Star Joint" was "Cecil, Take a Dollar."
* Lowell George covered "Easy Money" in 1978 prior to the album release.
* Emmylou Harris has stated that she received the original demos for the album in 1978 at her home in California.
* "On Saturday Afternoons in 1963" has been covered by various artists including Tori Amos.
* "On Saturday Afternoons in 1963" was also featured in Season 1 Episode 2 ("Paternity") of House, M.D..

Charts

Album

Singles - Billboard

ample

multi-listen item
filename=Rickie Lee Jones-Chuck E.ogg
title="Chuck E's In Love"
description=Rickie Lee Jones, "Chuck E's in Love" (Warner Bros., 1979)
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succession box
before = "The Bob Seger Collection" by Bob Seger
title = Australian Kent Music Report number-one album
years = June 11 - July 22 1979
after = "Discovery" by Electric Light Orchestra