''Numbers'' is the seventh studio album by funk band

Rufus Rufus is a masculine given name, a surname, an Ancient Roman cognomen and a nickname (from Latin '' rufus'', "red"). Notable people with the name include: Given name Politicians * Rufus Ada George (born 1940), Nigerian politician * Rufus ...

, released on the ABC Records label in 1979. It was the band's first album without Chaka Khan on lead vocals. Instead, band members Tony Maiden and David "Hawk" Wolinski shared lead vocal duties, with additional female leads by Helen Lowe and Maxayne. The album reached #15 on '' Billboards R&B Albums chart, #81 on Pop and included the single release "Keep It Together (Declaration of Love)" (US R&B #16). Khan returned to the band for the recording of the following album ''Masterjam'', produced by

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

. ''Numbers'' would be Rufus' final album on ABC Records. The label would be purchased and subsequently dissolved 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 w ...

, and the band transferred to its roster. ''Numbers'' also marked the debut of drummer John "J.R." Robinson to the lineup. He would remain Rufus's drummer for the rest of their run.

Track listing

Personnel

*Tony Maiden – guitar, lead vocals on "Ain't Nobody Like You", "Keep It Together (Declaration of Love)", "Bet My Dreams", "Pleasure Dome", and "Life in the City", background vocals, clavinet * Kevin Murphy – keyboards *Bobby Watson – bass, guitar, clavinet * John Robinson – drums, percussion * David "Hawk" Wolinski – keyboards, lead vocals on "You're to Blame", "Don't You Sit Alone" and "Are We?", background vocals, guitar *Rufus – lead vocals on "Dancin' Mood" *Everett Bryson – percussion *Richard Mikuls – guitar *Truman Thomas – piano on "Keep It Together (Declaration of Love)" *Chuck "The German" Brooke – tenor saxophone, flute *John "Iron Lips" Erwin – trombone *Bob "The Professor" Greve – baritone saxophone, flute *Dave Grover – trumpet, slide trumpet, trombone *Bill Lamb – trumpet, slide trumpet, trombone, bass trombone *Helen Lowe – lead vocals on "Ain't Nobody Like You", background vocals *

Lalomie Washburn Lalomie (Lomie) Washburn (25 August 1941 – 18 December 2004) was a R&B singer and song writer. She was born on August 25, 1941 in Memphis, Tennessee and went on to sing backup with such legends as Ray Charles, Ike & Tina Turner and Chaka Khan. ...

– background vocals * Maxayne – lead vocals on "Are We?", background vocals * Freddie Hubbard – trumpet on "Bet My Dreams" * Harvey Mason – drums on "Pleasure Dome"

Production

*Rufus – producer, mixing *

Roy Halee Roy Decker Halee (born 1934) is an American record producer and engineer, best known for working with Simon & Garfunkel, both as a group and for their solo projects. Early life He grew up on Long Island, New York. His father, also named Roy ...

– producer, engineer, mixing *

Thom Wilson Thom Wilson (died February 8, 2015) was an American punk rock record producer and engineer. Career Wilson began his musical career in the mid-1970s, engineering recordings by soft rock artists Burton Cummings and Seals & Crofts. He began working ...

– engineer *Allen Zentz – audio mastering *

Ernie Freeman Ernest Aaron Freeman (August 16, 1922 – May 16, 1981) was an American pianist, organist, bandleader, and arranger. He was responsible for arranging many successful rhythm and blues and pop records from the 1950s to the 1970s. Birth and fam ...

– string arrangements and conductor

Charts

Album Singles

References

External links

*
Numbers
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 ...

{{Authority control 1979 albums Rufus (band) albums Albums arranged by Ernie Freeman Albums produced by Roy Halee ABC Records albums