''Chemistry'' is the second solo album by singer

Johnny Gill Johnny Gill Jr. (born May 22, 1966) is an American singer and actor. He is the sixth and final member of the R&B/ pop group New Edition and was also a member of the supergroup called LSG, with Gerald Levert and Keith Sweat. Gill has released ...

. It was released on April 22, 1985.

Reception

Richard Harrington of the Washington Post wrote, "Gill is 18. He just sounds older. On his recent hit single "Half Crazy," Gill's husky, powerful baritone would lead to you to think he'd been around the love wars long enough to do some postgraduate work. But the cover photo for his "Chemistry" album and the "Half Crazy" video show a slightly built kid with a soft, innocent stare, looking like he just got out of high school. Which he has...For his new album he was teamed with veteran producer and songwriter Linda Creed, who had worked with Thom Bell on the Delfonics', Stylistics' and Spinners' recordings but dropped out of the business for five years to raise her family...That new combination, he feels, is going to put him that much closer to his dream: 'to sell 40 million copies like Michael and then get into the movies.' Luckily Gill's strengths as a ballad singer coincide with commercial radio's currently receptive attitude toward medium tempo, romantic material...But will the world go along with a ballad singer who's so young? 'That's what we've all got to find out very soon,' Gill says evenly. 'I know this one may not go gold. But I'm going to spray paint it.'" --Excerpted from "The Ballads of Johnny Gill," Washington Post, June 22, 1985 Peter Judge wrote, "This is one of those albums that should have been bigger. Gill is only 18 but as far as singing he can hang with the big boys. Gill's rich tenor makes a song like "Half Crazy" a real gem. In a few years, watch out Luther Vandross." --Excerpted from "Boss Rocked '85," The Rock Hill Herald, January 2, 1986

Track listing

#" Half Crazy" (

Linda Creed Linda Diane Creed (December 6, 1948 – April 10, 1986), also known by her married name Linda Epstein, was an American songwriter and lyricist who teamed up with Thom Bell to produce some of the most successful Philadelphia soul groups of the 19 ...

Lonnie Jordan Leroy Jordan (born November 21, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter. He is a founding member of the American funk band War. Jordan had a number of roles over the years, acting as vocalist and playing guitar, piano, synthesizer, and percussion ...

) – 4:14 #" Can't Wait Til Tomorrow" (Barry Alfanzo, Dennis Matkosky, Bill Neale) – 4:45 #"Don't Take Away My Pride" (Creed, Jordan, Freeman King, Kent Perkins) – 4:30 #"One Small Light" (Dennis Matkosky,

Dan Sembello Daniel Sembello (January 15, 1963 – August 15, 2015) was an American songwriter, record producer and multi-instrumentalist. He produced recordings by artists including George Benson and Pebbles, and he had his compositions recorded by Chaka ...

Kathy Wakefield Kathleen Wakefield (also Kathy Wakefield) is an American songwriter, singer and fiction author known for co-writing The Supremes' hit single " Nathan Jones" that was released by Motown and used as a soundtrack for the film ''Rain Man'' and for c ...

) – 4:13 #"The Way That You Love Me" (Bobby Caldwell, Jason Schees, Aaron Zigman) – 4:20 #"Because of You" (Creed, Leslie Hall, John Lind, Matkosky) – 5:42 #"Chemistry" (Matkosky,

Richard Wolf Richard "Wolfie" Wolf is an American Emmy Award-winning film and television composer, multi-platinum-selling music producer, songwriter, remixer, and author. Wolf got his start writing songs for his band and various artists before working for ...

) – 4:44 #"I Found Love" (Monty Seward,

Deniece Williams Deniece Williams (born June Deniece Chandler; June 3, 1951) is an American singer. She has been described as "one of the great soul voices" by the BBC. She is best known for the songs " Free", " Silly", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" and two ''Bill ...

) – 3:26

Personnel

*Johnny Gill - lead vocals *Darryl Phinnessee, Edie Lehmann, Jim Gilstrap, Lynn Davis, Lonnie Jordan, Monte Seward, Linda Creed - backing Vocals *

Jeff Baxter Jeffrey Allen "Skunk" Baxter (born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, known for his stints in the rock bands Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers during the 1970s and Spirit in the 1980s. More recently, he has worked as a defense consu ...

(solo and guitar synth on track 5), Paul Jackson Jr., Bill Neale (twelve-string on track 6) - guitars *

Russell Ferrante Yellowjackets is an American jazz fusion band founded in 1977 in Los Angeles, California. History In 1977, guitarist Robben Ford, for his first solo album, recruited keyboardist Russell Ferrante, electric bassist Jimmy Haslip and drummer Rick ...

- keyboards, acoustic and

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...

electric piano *Kevin Grady,

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 ...

, Monte Seward - synthesizers *Dennis Matkosky - synthesizers,

Linn Linn may refer to: People * Linn (surname) * Linn (given name) * Linn da Quebrada, stage name of Brazilian singer, actress, screenwriter and television personality Lina Pereira dos Santos (born 1990) Places Germany * Linn (Gangkofen), a part ...

and Simmons drum programming *Ray Nealpolitan, Reggie McBride, Louis Johnson,

Neil Stubenhaus Neil Stubenhaus is an American bass guitarist. Career He started his musical training playing drums and switched to bass guitar at the age of 12. He studied at the Berklee College of Music where he graduated in 1975. After graduation, he was rec ...

Abraham Laboriel Abraham Laboriel López Sr. (born July 17, 1947) is a Mexican-American bassist who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. ''Guitar Player'' magazine called him "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the f ...

- bass *

Ricky Lawson William Riser III (November 8, 1954 – December 23, 2013), better known as Ricky Lawson, was an American drummer and composer. A native of Detroit, Michigan, he worked extensively as a session musician, collaborating with Stevie Wonder, Mich ...

- drums * Paulinho da Costa - percussion

Charts

Album - ''Billboard'' (United States) Singles - ''Billboard'' (United States)

Personnel

– Vocals *

– Background Vocals, Producer *Scott MacMinn – Assistant Engineer *Michael Mason – Overdubs, Drum Programming, Assistant Engineer *Dennis Matkosky – Synthesizer, Rhythm Arrangements, Producer *Reggie McBride – Bass *Sy Mitchell – Engineer *Bill Neale – 12-String Guitar, Conductor, Producer, Rhythm Arrangements *Ray Neapolitan – Bass *Darryl Phinnessee – Background Vocals *Marc Russo – Saxophone *

Danny Sembello Daniel Sembello (January 15, 1963 – August 15, 2015) was an American songwriter, record producer and multi-instrumentalist. He produced recordings by artists including George Benson and Pebbles, and he had his compositions recorded by Chaka K ...

– Synthesizer *Monty Seward – Synthesizer, Background Vocals *

– Bass *Joe Tarsia – Engineer *Howard Lee Wolen – Mixing *

– Songwriter *Casey Young – Synthesizer *Jay Willis – Assistant Engineer *

Thom Wilson Thom Wilson (died February 8, 2015) was an American punk rock record producer and engineer. Career Wilson began his musical career in the mid-1970s, engineering recordings by soft rock artists Burton Cummings and Seals & Crofts. He began working ...

– Engineer, Mixing *David Koenig – Assistant Engineer *Clyde Kaplan – Assistant Engineer *Joe Borja – Assistant Engineer *Frank Moscati – Photography *Zal Schreiber – Mastering *Robert Lagarza – Assistant Engineer *Glen McKee – Assistant Engineer *Audrey Satterwhite – Art Direction *Rob Weaver – Assistant Engineer *Barry Craig – Assistant Engineer *

– Background Vocals *Gene Page – Conductor, String Arrangements *

– Guitar, Guitar (Synthesizer) *Les Brockman – Engineer * Paulinho Da Costa – Percussion * Lynn Davis – Background Vocals *Don Renaldo – Concert Master *Russell Ferrante – Piano, Keyboards, Fender Rhodes *

Jim Gilstrap James Earl Gilstrap (born November 10, 1946)''U.S. Public Records Index'' Vol 1 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010. is an American singer, considered one of the most prolific session musicians in the industry. He is best known for ...

– Background Vocals *Kevin Grady – Synthesizer *Gary Grant – Trumpet *

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'', ...

– Trumpet, Horn Arrangements *Alan Hirshberg – Engineer *

Paul Jackson, Jr. Paul Milton Jackson Jr. (born December 30, 1959) is an American 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 musi ...

– Guitar * Louis Johnson – Bass *

– Bass *Ricky Lawson – Drums *Edie Lehmann – Background Vocals *Gene Leone – Engineer *

– Synthesizer *

Bill Reichenbach Jr. William Frank Reichenbach Jr. (born November 30, 1949) is an American jazz trombonist and composer. He is the son of Bill Reichenbach, who was the drummer for Charlie Byrd from 1962 to 1973. He is best known as a session musician for television, ...

– Trombone

References

{{Authority control 1985 albums Atlantic Records albums Johnny Gill albums