''How Cruel'' is a 12-inch one-sided
EP by British singer-songwriter
Joan Armatrading
Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading, (, born 9 December 1950) is a Kittitian-English singer-songwriter and guitarist.
A three-time Grammy Award nominee, Armatrading has also been nominated twice for BRIT Awards as Best Female Artist. She received ...
, which was released in November 1979 on
A&M.
The title track had previously appeared on Armatrading's live album ''
Steppin' Out'', which was not released in the US.
The EP was released in the US and elsewhere, but not in the UK. It peaked at #19 on the
Norwegian Albums Chart
VG-lista is a Norwegian record chart. It is presented weekly in the newspaper '' VG''. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continents around the world. The data are collected by Nie ...
. It was nominated for the
Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance at the
23rd Annual Grammy Awards
The 23rd Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 25, 1981, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City and were broadcast live on American television. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1980.
Album of the Year went to ...
in 1981. The single from this EP was "Rosie"/"How Cruel" (1979/1980), which reached #49 in the UK and #52 in Australia. "Rosie" was included on Armatrading's first compilation album, 1983's ''Track Record'', as well as her 2004 live album ''
Live: All the Way from America''. All four tracks from this EP were placed at the start of the second CD of Armatrading's 2003 compilation album ''Love and Affection: Joan Armatrading Classics (1975–1983)''.
Track listing
All tracks composed by Joan Armatrading.
#"Rosie" – 3:10
#"How Cruel" – 3:04
#"He Wants Her" – 3:15
#"I Really Must Be Going" – 4:27
Personnel
*Joan Armatrading – lead vocals, acoustic guitar
*Richard Hirsch, Winston Delandro – guitar
*Ben Adkins, Bill Bodine, Durban Betancourt-Laverde – bass
*
James Lascelles
James Edward Lascelles (born 5 October 1953) is a British musician and the second son of the 7th Earl of Harewood and his first wife, Marion. Lascelles is a second cousin once to King Charles III.
Music
When young, Lascelles had classical pian ...
, Mike Storey,
Red Young
Don Michael "Red" Young is an American Keyboard instrument, keyboard, piano, synthesizer and organ (music), organ player.
Beginnings and early success
He grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. He began playing piano at age 3 and did his ...
– keyboards
*
Gary Mallaber
Gary Mallaber (born October 11, 1946 in Buffalo) is a Los Angeles session drummer, percussionist and singer. He attended Lafayette High School, where he and Bobby Militello, along with other musicians, were mentored by saxophonist Sam Scam ...
, Richard Bailey – drums
*Lon Price – saxophone on "How Cruel"
;Technical
*
, Skip Cottrell,
Chris Tsangarides
Christopher Andrew Tsangarides (17 August 1956 – 6 January 2018) was a British Grammy-nominated record producer, sound engineer, and mixer of Greek Cypriot origin. He was best known for his work with many heavy metal artists, including G ...
– engineers
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Sales and certifications
References
{{Reflist
1979 EPs
Joan Armatrading EPs
A&M Records EPs
Albums recorded at A&M Studios
Albums recorded at Morgan Sound Studios
Albums produced by Henry Lewy