''Marcella'' is the debut studio album by British-based American musician

Marcy Levy Marcella Levy (born June 21, 1952), known professionally as Marcy Levy and (later in her career) Marcella Detroit, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She co-wrote the 1977 Eric Clapton hit "Lay Down Sally" and released her debut a ...

, who in her later career would perform under the name Marcella Detroit.

Background

Detroit aka Levy began working on her debut solo album with producer

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

in the mid-1970s signed to

RSO Records RSO Records was a record label formed by rock and roll and musical theatre impresario Robert Stigwood and record executive Al Coury in 1973. The letters "RSO" stood for the Robert Stigwood Organisation. RSO managed the careers of several ma ...

, whilst she was touring with

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

. The album was primarily an R&B-oriented record, which Detroit felt was an attempt to "pigeonhole" her by RSO Records.Marcella Detroit - 2013 Huffington Post Interview
/ref> For unknown reasons, the album was not finished. Detroit later stopped touring with Clapton to focus more on her own solo career. Whilst working on singing and songwriting for numerous artists including

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...

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, Chaka Khan,

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, and

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and musician. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and R ...

, she was also working on her own solo album, and ''Marcella'' was finally released in 1982 and failed to appear on any major charts. After the commercial failure of the album, Epic Records refused her tour allowance with

John Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his catchy brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrument ...

, and she was later dropped by the label. The song "Love Side" was covered by

Rita Coolidge Rita Coolidge (born May 1, 1945) is an American recording artist. During the 1970s and 1980s, her songs were on '' Billboard'' magazine's pop, country, adult contemporary, and jazz charts, and she won two Grammy Awards with fellow musician and t ...

on her 1984 album '' Inside the Fire'' with the title "Hit Me on the Loveside".

Track listing

All tracks composed by Marcella Levy and Richard Feldman; except where noted.

References

{{Authority control 1982 debut albums Marcella Detroit albums Albums produced by John Boylan (record producer) Epic Records albums