''Jody Watley'' is the debut studio album by American singer

Jody Watley Jody Vanessa Watley (born January 30, 1959) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and artist,USA Today (February 16, 1996), Best Bets: Albums Jody Watley Greatest Hits, "Few singers fired up the disco like Jody Watley who set trends ...

, released on February 23, 1987, by

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

. Although Watley already found success as a part of the trio

Shalamar Shalamar () is an American R&B and soul music vocal group active since the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. Shalamar's classic line-up on the SOLAR label consisted of Howard Hewett, Jody Watley, and Jeffrey Daniel, together with dancer ...

, the impact of this album made Watley a cultural style icon in

contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop, and electronic music. The genre features a distinctive record production style, drum machine-backed rhythm ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

and

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

. Its success culminated in Watley winning a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for Best New Artist in 1988 against fellow artists Breakfast Club, Cutting Crew,

Terence Trent D'Arby Sananda Francesco Maitreya (born Terence Trent Howard; March 15, 1962), who started his career with the stage name Terence Trent D'Arby, is an American singer and songwriter who came to fame with his debut studio album, ''Introducing the Hardlin ...

and

Swing Out Sister Swing Out Sister are a British pop group best known worldwide for the 1986 song " Breakout". Other hits include "Surrender", " Twilight World", " Waiting Game", and a remake of the Eugene Record soul composition "Am I the Same Girl?" Histor ...

. The album also produced three top-ten singles on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100: " Looking for a New Love" (#2), "

Don't You Want Me "Don't You Want Me" is a song by British synthpop group the Human League (credited on the cover as The Human League 100). It was released on 27 November 1981 as the fourth single from their third studio album, '' Dare'' (1981). The band's best ...

" (#6) and "

Some Kind of Lover "Some Kind of Lover" is the fourth single from Jody Watley's debut album ''Jody Watley''. History "Some Kind of Lover" was Jody's third top 10 pop single from the album, and third number-one of the US dance chart, though the single found huge su ...

" (#10). The album has sold two million copies in the United States and over four million copies worldwide.

Track listing

CD bonus track – Track 10. "Looking for a New Love" (Extended Club Version)

Personnel

* Jody Watley – lead vocals, backing vocals * André Cymone – all instruments (1-4, 7, 8, 10) * Jeff Bova – keyboards (5, 6, 9) * Patrick Leonard – synthesizers (8), drum programming (8) * Terrence Elliot – guitars (5, 6, 9) * Eddie Martinez – guitars (5, 6, 9) * John "LBJ" Staehely – guitars (5, 6, 9) * Bruce Gaitsch – guitars (8) *

Bernard Edwards Bernard Edwards (October 31, 1952 – April 18, 1996) was an American bass player and record producer, known primarily for his work in disco music with guitarist Nile Rodgers, with whom he co-founded Chic. In 2017, Edwards was selected as the ...

– bass (5, 6, 9) * Tony Thompson – drums (5, 6, 9) * Larry Schneider – saxophone (2, 3) * Roy Galloway – backing vocals (5, 6, 9) *

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 (5, 6, 9) *

Gardner Cole Gardner Cole (born Gardner Kain Christopher Cole) is an American songwriter, keyboard player and music producer. He is best known as songwriter of 1980s and early 1990s songs for Cher, Michael McDonald, Tina Turner, Jody Watley, and Madonna. H ...

– backing vocals (8) * Tampa Lann – backing vocals (8) *

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling musici ...

– lead vocals (9)

Production

* Producers – André Cymone (tracks 1-4, 7, 8, 10); Patrick Leonard (track 8); Bernard Edwards (tracks 5, 6, 9); David Z (tracks 1-4, 7, 8, 10). * Engineers – Josh Abbey, Darren Chadwick, Bridget Daly, Jon Ingoldsby, Glenn Kurtz, Csaba Petocz, Chris Porter and Erik Zobler. * Assistant engineer – Scott Church (tracks 5, 6, 9) * Mixing – André Cymone (track 9); Coke Johnson (tracks 1-4, 7, 8, 10); Michael Verdick (track 8); David Z. (tracks 1-4, 7, 8, 10). * Remixing – Taavi Mote and Louis Silas, Jr. (tracks 1, 10) * Mix assistant – Michael Blum (track 8) * Art direction and design – Lynn Robb * Cover art concept and hair stylist – Jody Watley * Photography – Victoria Pearson * Make-up – Beth Katz

Awards and nominations

*1987 - American Music Award ''Nomination'' for R&B/Soul Single of the Year ooking For A New Love*1988 - Grammy Award for Best New Artist *1988 - Soul Train Award ''Nomination'' for Album of the Year *1988 - Soul Train Award ''Nomination'' for Single of the Year ooking For A New Love*1988 - Soul Train Award ''Nomination'' for Best Music Video ooking For A New Love*1988 - MTV Video Music Award ''Nomination'' for Female Video of the Year ome Kind Of Lover*1988 - MTV Video Music Award ''Nomination'' for Best New Artist Video of the Year ome Kind Of Lover*1988 - Billboard Music Award for Top Dance / Club Play Artist of the Year

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Singles

Certifications

References

External links

*
Jody Watley
' at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

{{Authority control Jody Watley albums 1987 debut albums MCA Records albums Albums produced by André Cymone Albums produced by Bernard Edwards Albums produced by Patrick Leonard Freestyle music albums