''King of the World'' is the final album by French disco act

Sheila and B. Devotion Sheila and B. Devotion (also credited as "Sheila B. Devotion", "Sheila and the Black Devotion" or "S.B. Devotion") was a disco group fronted by French singer Sheila between 1977 and 1980. This formation briefly reached popularity in Europe and to ...

, released on June 27, 1980. The album which was both written and produced by

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 ...

and

Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, record producer and composer. The co-founder of Chic, Rodgers has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million ...

of American R&B band Chic includes the hit "Spacer" which reached No. 18 on the UK charts in early 1980 and was a Top 10 hit in most of Europe, selling more than 5 million copies worldwide. The album displays some elements unusual in Chic productions, such as prominent guitar solos in place of the breakdowns that were normally a staple part of the Chic sound, and some unusual lyrical subject matter, such as the sci-fi themed "Spacer" and a humorous song about

credit cards A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder's accrued debt (i.e., promise to the card issuer to pay them for the amounts plus the o ...

Background

''King of the World'' was one of four albums to be written and produced by Edwards and Rodgers in 1980, the other three being

Sister Sledge Sister Sledge is an American musical vocal group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formed in 1971, the group consisted of sisters Debbie, Joni, Kim, and Kathy Sledge. The siblings achieved international success at the height of the disco era. ...

's ''

Love Somebody Today ''Love Somebody Today'' is the fourth studio album by the American R&B vocal group Sister Sledge, released on March 16, 1980 by Cotillion Records. The album includes three singles: "Got to Love Somebody", "Reach Your Peak", and "Let's Go on Vaca ...

'', Chic's fourth studio album '' Real People'' and

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

' multiplatinum selling ''

Diana Diana most commonly refers to: * Diana (name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Diana (mythology), ancient Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals; later associated with the Moon * Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997) ...

''. ''King of the World'' was first released on compact disc in 1996 by both East-West Music and

Rhino Records A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

. A remastered edition was issued by

Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and th ...

France in 2006 including bonus tracks which are remixes dating from 1992 and the unreleased US promo version of "Your Love Is Good," whose instrumental can also be found on an outtake from Chic's 2010 box set "The Chic Organization" (there was also an alternate version that featured a piano break in place of the Chic guitar riffs). The latter also had been rerecorded by Sheila on numerous occasions. An 18 CD box-set of all Sheila's recordings was released in 2006 and a new remix of "Spacer" was included. The "Freak Out - Respect to CHIC" remix using the original instrumental and vocal tracks. Sheila re-recorded "Spacer" only once in 1998 and six remixes were released. The original American tapes have been digitally remastered for the first time and released on a deluxe edition in October 2008 by

France. It includes a 32-page booklet with exclusive interviews of Sheila and

and unknown out-takes from the recording sessions. In 2013, the two reunited for the first time since the album was released to do a brief acoustic version of "Spacer."

Track listing

All tracks written by

and

;Side A # "Spacer" - 6:15 # "Mayday" - 3:44 # "Charge Plates and Credit Cards" - 4:26 # "Misery" - 3:02 ;Side B # "King of the World" - 4:37 # "Cover Girls" - 3:17 # "Your Love Is Good" - 4:38 # "Don't Go" - 4:32 ;Bonus tracks 2006 French deluxe edition # "Your Love Is Good" (Original US 12" Promo) - 4:50 # "Spacer" (Lost in Space Mix) - 6:45 # "Spacer" (Lost in Space Dub Mix) - 6:09 # "Spacer" (Down to Earth Mix) - 7:29 # "Spacer" (Remix Radio Edit) - 0:02 # "Spacer" (DMC Remix) - 1:24 # "Spacer" (Trevor Is King) - 5:49

Personnel

* Sheila -

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of th ...

* Alfa Anderson -

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

* Fonzi Thornton - backing vocals * Luci Martin - backing vocals * Michelle Cobbs - backing vocals *

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

* Tony Thompson -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

* Andy Schwartz - keyboards,

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 ...

* Raymond Jones - keyboards, Fender Rhodes * Sammy Figueroa -

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

* Cheryl Hong (The Chic Strings) - strings * Karen Milne (The Chic Strings) - strings * Marianne Carroll (The Chic Strings) - strings * Gene Orloff - concert master * Kris Bryant - lights producer- intern

Production

* All songs

produced Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

and

for the CHIC Organization Ltd. *

Bob Clearmountain Bob Clearmountain (born January 15, 1953) is an American recording engineer, mixer and record producer. He has worked with many major acts, including Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Toto, Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams, with whom he has a very l ...

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

* Bill Scheniman - engineer * Larry Alexander - engineer *

Joe Gastwirt Joe Gastwirt is an American audio engineer, known for digitally remastering hundreds of CDs and LPs for famous artists, including the Grateful Dead, Tom Petty, Helen Reddy, Electric Light Orchestra, Jimi Hendrix, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, The Bl ...

- mastering * John Shaw - photography * Recorded & mixed at Power Station Studio, New York

"Spacer"

The single "Spacer" was ranked at number eight among the top "Tracks of the Year" for 1979 by '' NME'' and was sampled more than twenty years later by the team behind Europop act Army of Lovers (including

Alexander Bard Alexander Bengt Magnus Bard (born 17 March 1961) is a Swedish musician, author, lecturer, artist, songwriter, music producer, TV personality, religious and political activist, and one of the founders of the Syntheist religious movement alongside ...

) for the Swedish group Alcazar. This record by Alcazar was "

Crying at the Discotheque "Crying at the Discoteque" is a song by Swedish band Alcazar from their debut studio album, '' Casino'' (2000). The track samples Sheila and B. Devotion's 1979 hit "Spacer". Alexander Bard produced the song and can be heard in the middle of th ...

" which reached Number 13 in the UK Singles Chart and which was one of three hits by Alcazar in the UK chart to have sampled a production by The Chic Organization. In 2020,

Sophie Ellis-Bextor Sophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor (born 10 April 1979) is an English singer and songwriter. She first came to prominence in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the indie rock band Theaudience. After the group disbanded Ellis-Bextor went solo and ach ...

released a cover of "

" as the lead single from her UK Top 10 album ''

Songs from the Kitchen Disco ''Songs from the Kitchen Disco'' is the first greatest hits album by English singer-songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor, released on 13 November 2020 by EGBG's, although it was previously announced for 23 October. It features singles from all her st ...

'', while Crew 7 & Jaques Raupé released a dance version of "Spacer" on the Kontor Records label.

References

{{Authority control 1980 albums Sheila (singer) albums Albums produced by Nile Rodgers Albums produced by Bernard Edwards Carrere Records albums Warner Music France albums