''Be Yourself'' is the ninth solo album by American singer-songwriter Patti LaBelle. It was released by

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 w ...

on June 26, 1989 in the United States. Her second album with the company following her 1986 platinum album '' Winner in You'', it features the single, " If You Asked Me To" which was also featured on the soundtrack to the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

movie, ''

Licence to Kill ''Licence to Kill'' is a 1989 spy film, the sixteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the second and final film to star Timothy Dalton as the MI6 agent James Bond. It sees Bond suspended from MI6 as he pursues t ...

'' (1989), and the R&B top ten

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

-written hit " Yo Mister." The album marked LaBelle's foray into new jack swing music with the tracks "I Got It Like That", produced by

Full Force Full Force is an American music group of hip hop and R&B singers and producers from Brooklyn, New York. Members *B-Fine (Brian George) - drums and drum programming, backing vocals *Shy Shy (Hugh Junior Clark) - bass guitar, backing vocal ...

, and "Love 89", another Prince contribution.

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Credits lifted from the album's liner notes. * Track 1 arranged by Aaron Zigman. Produced by

Stewart Levine Stewart Levine (born 1946) is an American record producer. He has worked with such artists as The Crusaders, Minnie Riperton, Lionel Richie, Simply Red, Hugh Masekela, Dr. John, Randy Crawford, B.B. King, Huey Lewis and the News, Patti LaBelle ...

. Recorded and mixed by Darren Klein.

Bunny Hull Jeri Keever "Bunny" Hull is an American songwriter, musician, and author. Her catalog includes music, film and television projects. She is a recipient of 20 Gold and Platinum Certifications, a Grammy Award and two nominations, an Emmy nomination ...

, Paulette Brown, Valerie Pinkston-Mayo: backing vocals; Michael Landau: guitars; Aaron Zigman: keyboards, synthesizers; Lenny Castro: percussion * Track 2 arranged and produced by Raymond Jones and Sami McKinney. Recorded and mixed by Larry Fergusson.

Gerald Albright Gerald Albright is an American jazz saxophonist. He earned Grammys for 24/7 in 2012 and Slam Dunk in 2014 and has been nominated for New Beginnings in 2008 and for Sax for Stax in 2009. Biography Born in Los Angeles, Albright grew up in its ...

: saxophone; Raymond Jones: keyboards; Larry Robinson: drum programming * Tracks 3, 9 & 11 produced by James Ellison. Tracks 3 and 9 arranged by James Ellison; Track 11 arranged by Nathaniel Wilkie. Recorded and mixed by Bob Fintz and Joe Tarsia; Tracks 3 and 11 remixed by Louie Silas. Annette Hardeman, Desiree Coleman, Paula Holloway,

Thelma Houston Thelma Houston ( Jackson; born May 7, 1946) Retrieved . is an American singer. Beginning her recording career in the late 1960s, Houston scored a number-one hit record in 1977 with her recording of " Don't Leave Me This Way", which won the Gramm ...

, Charlene Holloway, Deborah Dukes, Freddie Washington, Gabriel Hardeman Jr., O.J. Smallwood: backing vocals; James Ellison: keyboards, percussion; Nathaniel Wilke: keyboards, synthesizers; George Duke: acoustic piano; James Herbert Smith: guitars; Lenny Castro: percussion; Jim Salamone: drum programming * Tracks 4 and 6 arranged, produced and played by Prince. Recorded, mixed and remixed by Timmy Regisford. * Track 5 arranged, produced, recorded and mixed by Full Force. Full Force: all instruments, backing vocals;

Lisa Lisa Lisa Velez (born January 15, 1967), better known by her stage name Lisa Lisa, is an American singer. She rose to fame in the 1980s as one-third of the band Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam. Early life According to ''Spin'' magazine, Velez was born in ...

Cheryl "Pepsii" Riley Cheryl Bridget "Pepsii" Riley (born October 18, 1961) is an American singer and actress. Riley is best known for her music during the late 1980s through the early 1990s, most notable; 1988's R&B ballad " Thanks for My Child". Riley also starr ...

: backing vocals * Track 7 arranged by

Jerry Hey Jerry Hey (born 1950) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, horn arranger, string arranger, orchestrator and session musician who has played on hundreds of commercial recordings, including Michael Jackson's ''Thriller'', '' Rock with You'' ...

. Produced by Narada Michael Walden. Recorded and mixed by David Frazer. Claytoven Richardson, Jim Gilstrap, Kitty Beethoven, Melisa Kary: backing vocals; Corrado Rustici: guitars;

David Sancious David Sancious (born November 30, 1953) is an American musician. He was an early member of Bruce Springsteen's backing group, the E Street Band, and contributed to the first three Springsteen albums, and again on ''Human Touch'' (1992), '' Trac ...

Walter Afanasieff Walter Afanasieff (born Vladimir Nikitich Afanasyev; February 10, 1958), formerly nicknamed Baby Love in the 1980s, is an American record producer and songwriter of Russian-Chinese descent. He was a collaborator with Mariah Carey on her first ...

: keyboards; Randy Jackson:

Moog Prodigy The Moog Prodigy was a monophonic analogue synthesizer produced by Moog Music from 1979 to 1984. Of the 11,000 produced, versions released after 1981 included a control voltage/gate input on the back that allowed the VCF to be triggered and cont ...

synth bass;

Kenny G Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (born June 5, 1956), known professionally as Kenny G, is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and producer. His 1986 album ''Duotones'' brought him commercial success. Kenny G is one of the best-selling artis ...

: saxophone; Narada Michael Walden: drums, drum programming; Gigi Gonaway: cymbals and percussion * Track 8 arranged and produced by Alan Roy Scott and Alan Dennis Rich. Lyndie White, Mona Rae Campbell, Ronee Martin: backing vocals; Mark Leggett: guitars; Brad Cole: keyboards; Dominic Genova: bass; Tom Walsh: drums, percussion * Track 10 arranged and produced by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager. Recorded and mixed by Mick Guzauski.

Joe Pizzulo Joe Pizzulo is an American vocalist best known as one of the lead singers on 1980s hit singles credited to Sérgio Mendes, including " Never Gonna Let You Go" (from Mendes' self-titled 1983 album) and "Alibis" (from the 1984 album ''Confetti''). ...

, Julia, Maxine and

Oren Waters Oren Waters is an American vocalist best known for his work with the backup singing group The Waters, his siblings: Luther, Maxine and Julia. As an ensemble, Waters has been a part of 260 gold and over 100 platinum albums with artists ranging from ...

Phil Perry Philip Eugene Perry (born January 12, 1952) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, musician and a former member of the soul group, The Montclairs, from 1971 to 1975. He was also known for performing the opening song to Disney’s sitcom, '' Goof ...

, Stephanie Spruill: backing vocals;

Randy Kerber Randy Kerber (born September 25, 1958) is an American composer, orchestrator and keyboard player, who has had a prolific career in the world of cinema.SeRandy Kerberat the IMDb Kerber was born in Encino, California. He began his first national ...

: acoustic piano;

Michael Boddicker Michael Lehmann Boddicker (born January 19, 1953) is an American film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. He is a three times National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (N.A.R.A.S.) Most Valuable Player "Synthe ...

: synthesizers;

Dann Huff Dann Lee Huff (born November 15, 1960) is an American record producer and songwriter. For his work as a producer in the country music genre, he has won several awards, including the ''Musician of the Year'' award in 2001, 2004, and 2016 at the Co ...

: guitars; Neil Stubenhaus: bass;

Jeff Porcaro Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (; April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work with the rock band Toto but is one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working o ...

: drums; Lenny Castro: percussion

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 1989 albums Patti LaBelle albums Albums produced by Prince (musician) Albums produced by Burt Bacharach Albums produced by Narada Michael Walden Albums produced by Stewart Levine Albums produced by Full Force MCA Records albums New jack swing albums