''Eat It'' is the sixth album by English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Humble Pie, released in April 1973 through

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

. Released as a double album, it peaked at number 13 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, number 34 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

, and number 9 in Australia.

Background

Steve Marriott had been talking to the group about having backing singers from early on. During the recording of ''Eat It'', he had been in touch with

Venetta Fields Venetta Lee Fields (born 1941) is an American-born singer, musical theater actress and vocal coach. She was a backing vocalist for American and British rock and pop acts of the 1960s and 1970s, including Ike & Tina Turner, Pink Floyd, Humble Pi ...

and asked her to find two other women to help her out. Fields chose

Clydie King Clydie Mae King (August 21, 1943 – January 7, 2019) was an American singer, best known for her session work as a backing vocalist. King also recorded solo under her name. In the 1970s, she recorded as Brown Sugar, and her single "Loneliness ( ...

and Sherlie Matthews (both previously with

Raeletts The Raelettes (or occasionally The Raelets or The Raeletts) were an American girl group formed in 1958 to provide backing vocals for Ray Charles. They were reformed from the group The Cookies. Between 1966 and 1973, the Raelettes recorded on T ...

) to become

the Blackberries The Blackberries were a female vocal trio composed of experienced backing vocalists. They backed various artists, including Pacific Gas & Electric (band), Pacific Gas & Electric, Humble Pie, Ringo Starr, and Pink Floyd. The Blackberries recorded ...

and flew to London. When Marriott asked them to perform on tour with Humble Pie, Sherlie Matthews declined due to other commitments, including her two children and her husband. Matthews chose Billie Barnum to be missing member of the Blackberries. Each side of this double album is different: side 1 features

Steve Marriott Stephen Peter Marriott (30 January 1947 – 20 April 1991) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He co-founded and played in the rock bands Small Faces and Humble Pie, in a career spanning over two decades. Marriott was inducted pos ...

penned

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

; side 2 has classic R&B covers; side 3 is a collection of acoustic Steve Marriott songs; side 4 features Humble Pie live in concert at Green's Playhouse in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. ''Eat It'' was the band's seventh official album release and their fifth for

. Performance_Rockin'_The_Fillmore''_and_the_late_1972_A&M_compilation_-_''Lost_&_Found_(Humble_Pie_album).html" ;"title="Performance Rockin' the Fillmore">Performance Rockin' The Fillmore'' and the late 1972 A&M compilation - '' Lost_&_Found''..html" ;"title="Lost & Found (Humble Pie album)">Lost & Found''.">Lost & Found (Humble Pie album)">Lost & Found''. Marriott produced the album and it was the first album recorded in Marriott's newly built home recording studio Clear Sounds, in a converted barn at Beehive Cottage,

Moreton, Essex Moreton is a village in the Epping Forest district of the County of Essex, England. It is located 7.2 miles (11.6 km) east of Harlow and 3.2 miles (5.14 km) north-west of Chipping Ongar. Two thousand years ago, it was the point at whi ...

Track listing

Side one

#"Get Down to It" (Marriott) – 3:25 #"Good Booze and Bad Women" (Marriott) – 3:11 #"Is It for Love?" (Marriott) – 4:39 #"Drugstore Cowboy" (Marriott) – 5:35

Side two

#" Black Coffee" (

Ike Turner Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and ...

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...

) – 3:09 #"I Believe to My Soul" (

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

) – 4:03 #"Shut up and Don't Interrupt Me" ( Johnny Bristol,

Edwin Starr Charles Edwin Hatcher (January 21, 1942 – April 2, 2003), known by his stage name Edwin Starr, was an American singer and songwriter. Starr was famous for his Norman Whitfield-produced Motown singles of the 1970s, most notably the number-one ...

) – 2:58 #"

That's How Strong My Love Is "That's How Strong My Love Is" is a song written by Roosevelt Jamison and first recorded in 1964 by deep soul singer O. V. Wright. The song is a soulful love ballad and has been covered many times, most notably in 1965 by Otis Redding, with Re ...

" (

Roosevelt Jamison Roosevelt Jamison (July 15, 1936 – March 27, 2013) was an American music manager, publicist and songwriter who worked in Memphis, Tennessee, during the 1960s. His most notable composition was "That's How Strong My Love Is", first recorded b ...

) – 3:44

Side three

#"Say No More" (Marriott) – 1:58 #"Oh, Bella (All That's Hers)" (Marriott) – 3:25 #"Summer Song" (Marriott) – 2:42 #"Beckton Dumps" (Marriott) – 3:13

Side four

# "Up Our Sleeve" (Humble Pie, lyrics by Steve Marriott) – 4:57 #"

Honky Tonk Women "Honky Tonk Women" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. It was released as a non-album single on 4 July 1969 in the United Kingdom, and a week later in the United States (although a country version called "Country Honk" was ...

" (

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

) – 4:03 #"Road Runner" (

Eddie Holland Edward Holland Jr. (born October 30, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Holland was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Although he was an early Motown artist who recorded minor hit singles such as "Jamie", he ...

Lamont Dozier Lamont Herbert Dozier (; June 16, 1941 – August 8, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Detroit, Michigan. He co-wrote and produced 14 US ''Billboard'' number-one hits and four number ones in the UK. Career Doz ...

Brian Holland Brian Holland (born February 15, 1941) is an American songwriter and record producer, best known as a member of Holland–Dozier–Holland, the songwriting and production team that was responsible for much of the Motown sound, and numerous h ...

) – 13:28

Personnel

;Humble Pie *

- guitars, harmonica, keyboards, remixing, vocals * Dave "Clem" Clempson - guitars, backing vocals *

Greg Ridley Alfred Gregory Ridley (23 October 1941 – 19 November 2003) was an English bassist who was the bassist and a founding member of the rock band Humble Pie and Spooky Tooth. Career Ridley was born in Carlisle, Cumberland, England. Early in h ...

- bass, backing vocals * Jerry Shirley - drums

The Blackberries The Blackberries were a female vocal trio composed of experienced backing vocalists. They backed various artists, including Pacific Gas & Electric (band), Pacific Gas & Electric, Humble Pie, Ringo Starr, and Pink Floyd. The Blackberries recorded ...

: *Billie Barnum - vocals *

- vocals *

- vocals Guests: *

B.J. Cole Brian John Cole is an English pedal steel guitarist, who has long been active as a session and solo musician. Coming to prominence in the early 1970s with the band Cochise, Cole has played in many styles, ranging from mainstream pop and rock t ...

- pedal steel guitar *Sidney George - saxophone Album production: *Chris & Irish - Engineer *Fin Costello - Inside photo, photography *Michael Doud - Art direction *John Kosh - Cover design, preparation *Jim McCrary - Photography

Releases

*1973 LP A&M Cat.#3701 *1973 LP A&M Cat.#3701 (2) *1999 CD Import Cat.#10593 *1973 A&M Cat.#1889 *2006 CD Universal Cat.#6231 Japan *2007 CD Universal Cat.#93223 *2007 CD Universal Cat.#93223 Japan *2017 LP Box Disc 5 A&M ('The A&M Vinyl Boxset 1970-1975', released on 16 June 2017)

References

External links

''Eat It''
on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

{{Authority control 1973 albums Humble Pie (band) albums Albums produced by Steve Marriott A&M Records albums Albums recorded in a home studio