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''Centipede'' is the debut album by American singer
Rebbie Jackson Maureen Reillette "Rebbie" Jackson-Brown (; born May 29, 1950) is an American singer, actress, and the eldest child of the Jackson family of musicians. She first performed on stage with her siblings during shows in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the MGM ...
. Released by Columbia Records in the fall of 1984, the album spawned two top-forty '' Billboard'' charting hits, the most famous being the
title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title. Title track may a ...
.


Background

Despite having worked with her family on
The Jacksons The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most ...
variety TV show and having been a backing singer for the likes of Betty Wright in the late 70's, Jackson was the last
Jackson family The Jackson family is an American family of musicians and entertainers from Gary, Indiana. Many of the children of Joseph Walter (or Joe) and Katherine Esther Jackson were successful musicians, notably the brothers that formed the Motown boy ...
sibling to release an album at the age of 34, mostly due to wanting to raise her two young daughters, Stacee and Yashi, in a secure family environment, waiting until she felt they were old enough. The recording of the album was a family affair, as her brother
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
wrote, produced and sang backing vocals on the title track. Brothers Marlon, Jackie, Tito and Randy co-wrote "Come Alive It's Saturday Night", with the latter two producing the song as well. Tito also co-wrote "Hey Boy" with his wife, the late Delores "Dee Dee" Martes. The rest of the album was produced by Wayne Henderson. The album includes two covers,
The Miracles The Miracles (also known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group that was the first successful recording act for Berry Gordy's Motown Records, and one of the most important and most influential group ...
' " A Fork in the Road" and
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 ...
's " I Feel for You". Chaka Khan, who earned a #1 hit with her well-known cover of the latter song, released it as a single a mere week before Jackson's album was released. Three singles were released from the album. The title track, "Centipede" was released as the lead single in September 1984 and eventually became Jackson's biggest hit and best known song, peaking at #4 on the Billboard R&B chart and at #24 on the
Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streamin ...
, becoming the artist's highest charting hit on both charts to date. It eventually received a
Gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
certification by the RIAA. The song also featured additional background vocals by
The Weather Girls The Weather Girls are an American female duo whose best-known line-up comprised Martha Wash and Izora Armstead. Formed in 1976 in San Francisco, California, The Weather Girls members began their musical career as Two Tons O' Fun, the female back ...
. The next two singles were released in early 1985, but failed to replicate the single's success, with the ballad " A Fork in the Road" peaking at #40 on the R&B chart, and the third and last single, a remixed version of "Play Me (I'm a Jukebox)" (co-written by country artist
Pam Tillis Pamela Yvonne Tillis (born July 24, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She is the daughter of country music singer Mel Tillis and ex-wife of songwriter Bob DiPiero. Tillis recorded unsuccessful ...
) not charting at all. The album itself had moderate success, peaking at #63 on the
Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of ar ...
, and achieving a respectable #13 peak on the
Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated Jan ...
chart. Again, they became the singer's highest chart positions on both charts to date. ''Centipede'' was not released on the then-new CD format at the time, and remained out of print for several years. It received a limited first CD edition in 1999. On May 25, 2010, the album was reissued on CD, also containing Jackson's follow-up album, ''
Reaction Reaction may refer to a process or to a response to an action, event, or exposure: Physics and chemistry *Chemical reaction *Nuclear reaction * Reaction (physics), as defined by Newton's third law *Chain reaction (disambiguation). Biology and m ...
''. In September 2012, the album was reissued by label Funky Town Grooves, who specializes on reissuing 1980's R&B albums, with the inclusion of 7 bonus tracks, including the b-side "Eternal Love" and a previously unreleased track from those sessions co-written by her brothers Marlon, Jackie, Tito and Randy, titled "I'm Just Gonna Love You", as well as remixes. ''Centipede'' is mentioned in the 2006 RuPaul song " Supermodel (El Lay Toya Jam)" from the album ''ReWorked''.


Track listing


Expanded edition


Personnel

*Rebbie Jackson - vocals * David Williams, Charles Fearing - guitar * Nathan East, Nathaniel Phillips - bass *Frank "Rusty" Hamilton - Moog bass, keyboards, synthesizer * Randy Jackson, Bobby Lyle, John Springer - keyboards *Nick Johnson, John Barnes - synthesizer *Mike Hightower - DMX programmer *
Leon "Ndugu" Chancler Leon "Ndugu" Chancler ( ; July 1, 1952 – February 3, 2018) was an American pop, funk, and jazz drummer. He was also a composer, producer, and university professor. Biography Early life Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, on July 1, 1952, Leon ...
, Alvino Bennett - drums *Jerry Hey - flugelhorn *
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
,
The Weather Girls The Weather Girls are an American female duo whose best-known line-up comprised Martha Wash and Izora Armstead. Formed in 1976 in San Francisco, California, The Weather Girls members began their musical career as Two Tons O' Fun, the female back ...
(
Izora Armstead Izora Margaret Rhodes-Armstead (July 6, 1942 – September 16, 2004) was an American singer-songwriter. Known for her distinctive alto voice, Armstead first achieved fame as one half of the successful act Two Tons O' Fun who sang backup vocals ...
,
Martha Wash Martha Elaine Wash (born December 28, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, and producer. Known for her distinctive and powerful voice, Wash first achieved fame as half of the Two Tons O' Fun, who sang backing vocals for the disco si ...
), Randy Jackson,
Tito Jackson Toriano Adaryll "Tito" Jackson (born October 15, 1953) is an American musician. He is an original member of the Jackson 5 (later known as The Jacksons), who rose to fame in the late 1960s and 1970s with the Motown label, and later had continued ...
, Gwen Matthews, Marlena Jeter, Maxi Anderson, Garry Glenn, Patryce Banks, John Springer - backing vocals


Charts


References

{{Authority control Rebbie Jackson albums 1984 debut albums Columbia Records albums Albums produced by Michael Jackson Albums produced by Wayne Henderson (musician)