''Pressure Cookin is the third album by American singing trio Labelle, released in August 1973. This release was their first and only for

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

, and was critically raved due to the songs that songwriter and member

Nona Hendryx Nona Bernis Hendryx (born October 9, 1944) is an American vocalist, record producer, songwriter, musician, and author. Hendryx is known for her work as a solo artist as well as for being one-third of the trio Labelle, who had a hit with "Lady ...

composed. The album is also notable for being the first album released following lead singer

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...

giving birth to her only child, son Zuri Edwards (she recorded the album while still pregnant with Zuri). Among notable songs were " Something in the Air"/" The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", in which all three bandmates, Patti LaBelle, Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash each shared a rap, the biographical "(Can I Speak to You Before You Go to) Hollywood", which was inspired by the events following former member

Cindy Birdsong Cynthia Ann Birdsong (born December 15, 1939) is an American singer who became famous as a member of The Supremes in 1967, when she replaced co-founding member Florence Ballard. Birdsong had previously been a member of Patti LaBelle & The Blueb ...

ditching the group during its Blue Belles tenure to join

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...

and which featured all three members having notable lead vocal parts, mainly from Dash, while Hendryx sang in the beginning and Patti LaBelle sang the following verses, the soulful ballad "Last Dance" and the

bossa nova Bossa nova () is a style of samba developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a "different beat" that altered the harmonies with the introduction of unconventional chords and an innovativ ...

-inspired "Let Me See You in the Light". Despite RCA releasing the

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

composition, "Open Up Your Heart", the album failed to become a success. In spite of its initial failure, the album has gone on to become a cult classic and is considered a revolutionary album because few female groups talked so openly about social issues and other topics. Wonder was uncredited due to contractual reasons - the production credit was listed as "Vicki Wickham and friend". Musicians on this track included members out of a Philadelphia-based band, Buff, and others from a Latin-black band from

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

called Harlem River Drive. Several of them would morph to become Labelle's road band, including guitarist, Eddie Martinez.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by

, except where noted.

Side A

#"Pressure Cookin'" - 3:00 #"Medley: Something in the Air/ The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" ( Speedy Keen/

Gil-Scott Heron Gilbert Scott-Heron (April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011) was an American jazz poet, singer, musician, and author, known primarily for his work as a spoken-word performer in the 1970s and 1980s. His collaborative efforts with musician Brian Jacks ...

) - 5:50 #"Sunshine (Woke Me Up This Morning)" - 3:18 #"(Can I Speak Before You Go To) Hollywood" - 6:38

Side B

#"Mr. Music Man" - 4:05 #"Goin' On a Holiday" - 3:21 #"Let Me See You in the Light" - 6:13 #"Open Up Your Heart" (

) - 3:25 #"Last Dance" - 4:15

Personnel

;LaBelle *

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

- vocals * Sarah Dash - vocals ;Musicians * Buzz Feiten, Eddie Martinez, Hank Redd -

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 stri ...

s *Leroi Conley - guitars,

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 ...

(

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

) * Andre Lewis -

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...

clavinet The Clavinet is an electrically amplified clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds by a rubber pad striking a point on a tension ...

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 ...

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

, percussion, arrangements *Luther Eaddy - organ * Carmine Rojas - bass guitar *Larry Davis, Emry Thomas - drums *Daniel Ben Zebulon - percussion ;Technical *Mike Moran, Tom Brown - recording engineers *Roger Williams - artwork, design *

Bob Gruen Bob Gruen (born October 23, 1945) is an American author and photographer known for his rock 'n' roll photographs. By the mid 1970s Gruen was already regarded as one of the foremost photographers in music working with major artist such as John Len ...

- photography

References

External links

*
''Pressure Cookin
on

Discogs.com 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 l ...

{{Authority control 1973 albums Labelle albums Albums produced by Vicki Wickham Albums produced by Stevie Wonder RCA Records albums