''Rockbird'' is the second solo studio album by American singer

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981. Born in ...

. It was released in November 1986 by

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

in the United States and

Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records () is a British record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ellis-Wright Ag ...

in the United Kingdom.

Background

''Rockbird'' was released four years after the split of Blondie in 1982. Harry had largely put her music career on hold during the mid-1980s in order to look after Blondie guitarist and boyfriend

Chris Stein Christopher Stein (born January 5, 1950) is an American musician known as the co-founder and guitarist of the new wave band Blondie. He is also a producer and performer for the classic soundtrack of the hip hop film '' Wild Style'', and write ...

, who had been diagnosed with a serious illness. The album was produced by

Seth Justman Seth Justman (born January 27, 1951) is the keyboard player for the U.S. rock band, The J. Geils Band. Biography Justman was born in Washington, D.C., grew up in Atlantic City, and is Jewish. He co-wrote many of the band's songs with singer Pet ...

, a key member of

the J. Geils Band The J. Geils Band was an American rock band formed in 1967, in Worcester, Massachusetts, under the leadership of guitarist John "J." Geils. The original band members included vocalist Peter Wolf, harmonica and saxophone player Richard "Magic ...

. Released in November 1986, there were four variations of the album artwork with the lettering in either green, orange, pink and yellow (with slight variations due to printing techniques). A stylized version of the album's cover photo appears on the cover of select editions of the book ''

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics ...

''.

Critical reception

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...

'' wrote that the album "paves a pop path Harry can navigate, but the material is weak." The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' wrote that "the songs--which tend to be about ne’er-do-well boyfriends and romantic escapades--are tethered to jacked-up rhythms that don’t go down so well on the dance floor." Chris Heath of ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'' magazine was more positive, giving the album 7 out of 10 and stating "Nothing else is quite as brilliant as the current single "French Kissin' In The USA", but there's plenty of the aggressive sprightly pop songs that Blondie used to do so well, the odd slightly swoonsome ballad, and a couple of throwaway disco songs. How very nice it is to have her back".

Commercial performance

''Rockbird'' peaked at number 31 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

, and remained in the charts for 11 weeks. It was certified gold by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

(BPI) in January 1987 for shipments in excess of 100,000 copies. In the United States, the album peaked at number 97 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Three singles were released from the album, " French Kissin' in the USA", which reached #8 in the UK, and is Harry's only solo top-10 single in that country, as well as "

In Love With Love "In Love with Love" is a 1987 song recorded by the American singer Debbie Harry. It was taken from her second solo album ''Rockbird'' and released as the third single in 1987. Song information Lyrically, the song is the sequel to Blondie's " H ...

" and "

Free to Fall "Free to Fall" is a song by American singer Debbie Harry from her second solo studio album, ''Rockbird'' (1986). It was released as the second single in the United States and the United Kingdom. Suffering from lack of record company promotion, t ...

", which reached #45 and #46, respectively. "French Kissin'" also reached #57 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and #3 in Australia.

Track listing

Side A: # "I Want You" (Deborah Harry, Toni C.) – 4:28 # " French Kissin' in the USA" (

Chuck Lorre Charles Michael Lorre (; born Charles Michael Levine; October 18, 1952) is an American film & television director, writer, producer, composer and actor. Called the "King of Sitcoms", he has created/co-created and produced sitcoms including ''G ...

) – 5:14 # "Buckle Up" (Deborah Harry,

) – 3:46 # "

In Love with Love "In Love with Love" is a 1987 song recorded by the American singer Debbie Harry. It was taken from her second solo album ''Rockbird'' and released as the third single in 1987. Song information Lyrically, the song is the sequel to Blondie's " H ...

" (Deborah Harry,

) – 4:34 Side B: # "You Got Me in Trouble" (Deborah Harry, Seth Justman) – 4:18 # "

" (Deborah Harry, Seth Justman) – 5:31 # "Rockbird" (Deborah Harry, Chris Stein) – 3:09 # "Secret Life" (Deborah Harry, Chris Stein) – 3:46 # "Beyond the Limit" (Deborah Harry,

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 ...

) – 4:37

Personnel

* Deborah Harry –

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 t ...

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 use ...

on all tracks except "French Kissin'" *

Jimmy Rip Jimmy Rippetoe (born 1956), better known by his stage name Jimmy Rip, is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer, who is known for his work with Jerry Lee Lewis, Mick Jagger, Debbie Harry, Paul Collins & The Beat, Michael Monroe ...

–

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 ...

on all tracks * Toni C. (Antoinette Colandero) – additional guitar on "I Want You" * Phil Ashley –

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

and bass programming and

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

on "I Want You", "French Kissin'", "In Love with Love", "Rockbird" and "Secret Life", keyboards on "You Got Me in Trouble" and "Free to Fall" *

–

and bass programming and

on "I Want You", "French Kissin'", "In Love with Love", "Rockbird" and "Secret Life", keyboards on "Buckle Up", "You Got Me in Trouble", "Free to Fall" and "Beyond the Limit", backing vocals on all tracks except "French Kissin'" *

Magic Dick Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

–

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

"I Want You" * James White –

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

solo on "I Want You" *

Jocelyn Brown Jocelyn Lorette Brown (born November 25, 1950), sometimes credited as Jocelyn Shaw, is an American R&B and dance singer. Although she has only one ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart entry solely in her name, she has an extensive background in the musi ...

– backing vocals on "I Want You", "French Kissin'", "You Got Me in Trouble" and "Free to Fall" * Connie Harvey – backing vocals on "I Want You", "French Kissin'", "You Got Me in Trouble" and "Free to Fall" * La-Rita Gaskins – backing vocals on "I Want You", "French Kissin'", "You Got Me in Trouble" and "Free to Fall" * Crispin Cioe –

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

, baritone saxophone; solo on "French Kissin'" * Gordon Gottlieb –

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 ...

on "French Kissin'", "Buckle Up", "In Love with Love", "Secret Life" and "Beyond the Limit" *

Neil Jason Neil is a masculine name of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish ''Niall'' which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion".. ...

– bass on "Buckle Up", "You Got Me in Trouble", "Free to Fall", "Secret Life" and "Beyond the Limit" *

Yogi Horton A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions.A. K. Banerjea (2014), ''Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha'', Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. xxiii, 297-299, 331 Th ...

– drums on "Buckle Up", "You Got Me in Trouble", "Free to Fall" and "Beyond the Limit" * The Uptown Horns – on "Buckle Up", "You Got Me in Trouble" and "Beyond the Limit" * Paul Litteral –

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

* Arno Hecht – tenor saxophone * Bob Funk –

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

* Cookie Watkins – backing vocals on "Buckle Up" * Judith Spears – backing vocals on "Buckle Up" * Fonda Rae – backing vocals on "Buckle Up" * Jay Siegel – backing vocals on "In Love with Love" *

– additional guitar on "In Love with Love", "Free to Fall" and "Rockbird", bass and drum programming on "In Love with Love", "Rockbird" and "Secret Life" *

Mickey Curry Michael Timothy Curry (born June 10, 1956) is an American musician. He has collaborated with singer-songwriter Bryan Adams since the early 1980s, but has also worked with Hall & Oates, Cher, Tina Turner, Alice Cooper, David Bowie, Elvis Costello, ...

– drums on "You Got Me in Trouble" * Bill Scheniman – additional percussion and backing vocals

Production

* Seth Justman – producer and

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

– additional arrangement "In Love with Love", "Rockbird" and "Secret Life" * Bill Scheniman –

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

, mixing * Kyle Davis – production coordinator * Jack Kennedy – assistant

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, ...

* Rick Slater – assistant engineer * Ken Collins – assistant engineer * Ken Steiger – assistant engineer * Jon Goldderger – assistant engineer * Kent Wagner – assistant engineer * John Alters – assistant engineer * David Avidor – assistant engineer * Michael O'Haro – assistant engineer *

Greg Calbi Gregory Calbi (born April 3, 1949) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound, New Jersey. Biography Greg Calbi was born on April 3, 1949, in Yonkers, New York, and raised in Bayside, Queens, New York. He graduated in 1966 from Bisho ...

– sound mastering *

Stephen Sprouse Stephen Sprouse (September 12, 1953 – March 4, 2004) was an American fashion designer and artist credited with pioneering the 1980s mix of "uptown sophistication in clothing with a downtown punk and pop sensibility". Career Stephen Sprouse's in ...

– cover design *

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

– background painting * Paula Greif – art direction * Guzman (Constance Hansen & Russell Peacock) – photography * Recorded at Mayfair Recording, Unique Recording, Electric Lady Studios, Sorcerer Sound, Power Station, A & R Recording, AMC Mission Control, Boston Mass. * Mixed at Counterpoint Studios, NYC

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1986 albums Albums produced by Seth Justman Chrysalis Records albums Debbie Harry albums Geffen Records albums