''Busy Body'' is the third

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American R&B/

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

singer-songwriter

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive P ...

, released on November 25, 1983. It was certified platinum by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

in January 1985. It hit the number one position in the week of April 13, 1984 on the US

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Album charts.

Track listing

Personnel

* Luther Vandross – lead vocals (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7), backing vocals (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7), all vocals (4), vocal arrangements * Nat Adderley, Jr. – keyboards, string arrangements (2, 7), horn arrangements (4, 7), rhythm and synthesizer arrangements (4, 6, 7) *

Marcus Miller William Henry Marcus Miller Jr. (born June 14, 1959) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work as a bassist. He has worked with trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Herbie Hancock, singer Luther Vandros ...

– synthesizers (1-5, 7), bass guitar, rhythm and synthesizer arrangements (1, 2, 3, 5) * John "Skip" Anderson – synthesizers (4, 6, 7) *

Doc Powell Doc Powell is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He was born and raised in Spring Valley, New York. He attended college at University of Charleston. Career He has worked with Wilson Pickett, who chose him to be his musical director. He ha ...

– guitar *

Georg Wadenius Georg "Jojje" Wadenius (born 4 May 1945) is a Swedish multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer who was particularly active during the 1970s and 1980s as a studio and session guitarist and bassist, as well as for a series of albums of childre ...

– guitar *

Yogi Horton A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions.A. K. Banerjea (2014), ''Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha'', Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. xxiii, 297-299, 331 Th ...

– drums * Paulinho da Costa – percussion * Michael White – percussion (7) * Steve Kroon – congas (1, 3, 5, 6, 7), bongos (2, 4) *

Jimmy Webb Jimmy Layne Webb (born August 15, 1946) is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He has written numerous platinum-selling songs, including " Up, Up and Away", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "MacArthur Park", "Wichita Lineman", "Worst ...

– horn and string arrangements (6) * Alfred Brown – horn and string contractor (2, 4, 6, 7) *

Tawatha Agee Tawatha Agee (born November 14, 1954) is an American backing vocalist and songwriter. Her voice has been described in ''The New York Times'' as an "acrobatic, gospel-charged soprano." She was the lead singer of funk and soul band Mtume; her soulf ...

– backing vocals (1, 2, 3, 5, 7) * Phillip Ballou – backing vocals (1, 2, 5, 6, 7) *

Robin Clark Robin Clark is an American vocalist known for her work as a vocalist on David Bowie's 1975 album ''Young Americans'' and Simple Minds' 1985 album ''Once Upon a Time''. Clark was born in New York. In 1966, when Clark was 16, she and future s ...

– backing vocals (1, 2, 3, 5, 7) *

Fonzi Thornton Alfonso "Fonzi" Thornton is a U.S. songwriter/producer and vocal contractor. In a career spanning 40 years, Thornton has sung backing vocals for top artists across many genres of music. His vocal credits can be found on the recordings of Aret ...

– backing vocals (1, 5) * Brenda White King – backing vocals (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7) * Alfa Anderson – backing vocals (2, 3, 6) *

Cissy Houston Emily "Cissy" Houston ( ''née'' Drinkard; born September 30, 1933) is an American soul and gospel singer. After a successful career singing backup for such artists as Roy Hamilton, Dionne Warwick, Elvis Presley, and Aretha Franklin, Houston embar ...

– backing vocals (2, 6) *

David Lasley David Eldon Lasley (August 20, 1947 – December 9, 2021) was an American recording artist, singer, musician and songwriter. He was best known as a touring background singer for James Taylor, as a session singer on recordings by artists including ...

– backing vocals (3, 5) *

Darlene Love Darlene Wright (born July 26, 1941), known professionally as Darlene Love, is an American singer and actress. She was the lead singer of the girl group the Blossoms and she also recorded as a solo artist. She began singing as a child with her ...

– backing vocals (3, 5) *

Cheryl Lynn Cheryl Lynn (born Lynda Cheryl Smith; March 11, 1957) is an American singer. She is best known for her songs during the late 1970s through the mid-1980s, including the 1978 R&B/disco song "Got to Be Real". Lynn's singing career began with her ...

– backing vocals (3, 5) * Paulette McWilliams – backing vocals (3, 5) * Yvonne Lewis – backing vocals (5, 6) *

Patti Austin Patti Austin (born August 10, 1950) is an American R&B, pop, and jazz singer and songwriter. Music career Austin was born in Harlem, New York, to Gordon Austin, a jazz trombonist. She was raised in Bay Shore, New York on Long Island. Quincy ...

– backing vocals (6) * Michelle Cobbs – backing vocals (6) *

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...

– lead vocals (6)

Production

* Marcus Miller – producer (1, 2, 3, 5) * Luther Vandross – producer * Larkin Arnold – executive producer * Ray Bardani – recording, mixing * Michael Barbiero – additional engineer * Carl Beatty – additional engineer * Michael Christopher – additional engineer, assistant engineer * Paul Brown – assistant engineer * Rudy Hill – assistant engineer * Bruce Robbins – assistant engineer * Harry Spiridakis – assistant engineer * Steve Bates – mix assistant *

Greg Calbi Gregory Calbi (born April 3, 1949) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound, New Jersey. Biography Greg Calbi was born on April 3, 1949, in Yonkers, New York, and raised in Bayside, Queens, New York. He graduated in 1966 from Bisho ...

– mastering at Sterling Sound (New York, NY). * Kate Jansen – album administrator * Dana Lester – album administrator * George Corsillo – art direction, design * Brian Hagiwara – front and back photography * Harry Langdon – photography of Luther Vandross * Shep Gordon – manager * Daniel S. Markus – manager * Alive Enterprises, Inc. – management company

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

1983 albums Luther Vandross albums Albums arranged by Jimmy Webb Albums produced by Luther Vandross Albums produced by Marcus Miller Epic Records albums {{1980s-R&B-album-stub