''Norma Jean'' is the debut, and only, solo studio album by American R&B singer

Norma Jean Wright Norma Jean Wright (born July 15, 1956) is an American singer and was the lead vocalist of the American group Chic, a soul, R&B and disco band, from 1977 to 1978.Hogan, EdNorma Jean Wright Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 2011-08-08 Early life Nor ...

, released on Bearsville Records in 1978. The album was produced by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers of the band

Chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Pronounced Chick. Etymology '' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English diction ...

, and was the project directly following the band's successful self-titled debut album ''

'', which featured Wright on vocals. ''Norma Jean'' includes the singles "Saturday", a US R&B Top 20 hit (#15) in July 1978, " Having a Party" and "Sorcerer", and was followed by non-album single "High Society" (R&B #19, January 1980), also produced by the Chic team. Another track from the album, "I Like Love", was later sampled in Solitaire's 2004 single "I Like Love (I Love Love)". The album was reissued on CD with five bonus tracks by Sequel Records in 2000. The CD was soon out of print and commanded high prices on the collectors' market until reissued again in 2011 with the 7" versions of "Sorcerer" and "Having a Party" added. The album's best-known original song is "Saturday", which besides being a club hit in its own right, has produced charting cover versions by East 57th St featuring Donna Allen (1997, UK #29),

Joey Negro David Russell Lee (born 18 June 1964) is an English DJ and house music producer, formerly known by the stage name Joey Negro, which he retired in July 2020 following the George Floyd protests. He has released music under a variety of pseud ...

featuring

Taka Boom Taka Boom (born Yvonne Stevens; October 8, 1954 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American R&B and dance music singer, and is the younger sister of singer Chaka Khan and Mark Stevens of Aurra. She sang background vocals for several Parliament albums ...

(2000, UK #41) and 100% featuring Jennifer John (2004, UK #28). A remixed version of the song also serves as the theme music for British entertainment show Saturday Night Takeaway

Track listing

''All tracks written by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers unless otherwise noted.''
Side A: #"Saturday" (Bobby Carter, Edwards, Rodgers) – 6:06 #" Having a Party" ( Sam Cooke) – 4:31 #"I Believe in You" (Chris Dawkins, Norman Whitehead) – 5:13 Side B: #"Sorcerer" – 5:01 #"So I Get Hurt" – 4:50 #"This Is the Love" (Denzil Miller, Norma Jean Wright) – 3:09 #"I Like Love" – 5:48 Bonus tracks 2000 CD reissue: #"Hold Me Lonely Boy" – 3:40 #"High Society" (12" Mix) – 6:09 #"Saturday Nite" (Single Mix) – 3:28 #"Sorcerer" (12" Mix) – 7:15 #"Having a Party" (12" Mix) (Sam Cooke) – 5:45

Personnel

* Norma Jean Wright – lead vocals, background vocals * Luther Vandross – background vocals *

David Lasley David Eldon Lasley (August 20, 1947 – December 9, 2021) was an American recording artist, singer, musician and songwriter. He was best known as a touring background singer for James Taylor, as a session singer on recordings by artists including ...

– background vocals * Alfa Anderson – background vocals *

Robin Clark Robin Clark is an American vocalist known for her work as a vocalist on David Bowie's 1975 album ''Young Americans'' and Simple Minds' 1985 album ''Once Upon a Time''. Clark was born in New York. In 1966, when Clark was 16, she and future s ...

– background vocals * Diva Gray – background vocals * Bernard Edwards – bass guitar, background vocals * Nile Rodgers – guitars, background vocals * Kenny Lehman –

woodwinds Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and reed ...

* Tony Thompson – drums * David Friedman –

tubular bell Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the percussion family. Their sound resembles that of church bells, carillon, or a bell tower; the original tubular bells were made to duplicate the sound of church bells within a ...

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist ...

Robert Sabino Robert Sabino is an American rock keyboardist.(14 July 1996)Star Turns From a Home in the Firehouse ''The New York Times'' ("Mr. Sabino, a well-known keyboardist, attracted a record producer, Nile Rodgers, who lived in Fairfield County, to some o ...

– keyboards * Andy Schwartz – keyboards * Tom Coppola – keyboards * George Young – flute,

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

* Vito Rendace – flute, tenor saxophone * Jon Faddis – trumpet * Barry Rogers –

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

* Sammy Figueroa – percussion * Alfred Brown –

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

contractor * Gloria Agostini – harp *

Gene Orloff Gene Orloff (June 14, 1921 – March 23, 2009) was an American violinist, concertmaster, arranger, contractor and session musician. Background The son of a Russian immigrant violin maker, Orloff would try and get his father's violin down from the ...

– string conductor

Production

* Bernard Edwards –

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

* Nile Rodgers – producer *

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 (band), Toto, Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams, with whom he ...

– engineer * Marc Kreiner, Tom Cossie – executive production *

Norman Seeff Norman Seeff (born March 5, 1939, in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a photographer and filmmaker. Since moving to the United States in 1969, his work has been focused on the exploration of human creativity and the inner dynamics of the creative ...

– photography

References

{{Authority control Chic (band) albums 1978 debut albums Albums produced by Nile Rodgers Albums produced by Bernard Edwards Bearsville Records albums