''Rickie Lee Jones'' is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter

Rickie Lee Jones Rickie Lee Jones (born November 8, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and author. Over the course of a career that spans five decades, she has recorded in various musical styles including rock, R&B, pop, soul, and jazz. A two ...

, released on February 28, 1979 by Warner Bros. Records.

Background

Jones had begun playing live in the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

area at the age of 21, and after meeting singer-songwriter Alfred Johnson, the pair began writing and performing live together (most notably at the Ala Carte club.) Two of their collaborations, "Weasel and the White Boys Cool" and "Company," would later be recorded for Jones' debut album. She also sang jazz standards, as well as a song penned by her father ("The Moon Is Made of Gold") in her live sets. Jones' performances around Los Angeles aroused interest from other local songwriters, as well as local record company executives. At a label showcase, Jones performed originals, including "

Chuck E.'s in Love "Chuck E.'s in Love" is a song by American singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones. Released in 1979 on her eponymous debut album ''Rickie Lee Jones'', the song became her biggest hit, reaching number 4 on the ''Billboard'' U.S. Hot 100 list. "Chuck ...

", "The Real Thing Is Back in Town" and "The Moon Is Made of Gold." This showcase performance, plus a demo containing "The Last Chance Texaco", "Easy Money", "Young Blood" and "After Hours" led to a record deal with Warner Bros. For her major label debut, Jones scrapped "The Real Thing Is Back in Town," but used the titular line in one of the album's tracks – "Coolsville." Recording sessions (which began in September 1978) yielded eleven songs for inclusion on an album. Two of the songs – "On Saturday Afternoons in 1963" and "After Hours" – were recorded live on December 22, 1978.

Cover image

The album cover photo was taken by Norman Seeff, and the art direction and design was by Mike Salisbury.

Reception

A retrospective review from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

stated; "With her expressive soprano voice employing sudden alterations of volume and force, and her lyrical focus on

street life, Rickie Lee Jones comes on like the love child of

Laura Nyro Laura Nyro ( ; born Laura Nigro; October 18, 1947 – April 8, 1997) was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist. She achieved critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums ''Eli and the Thirteenth Confession'' (1968 ...

and

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

on her astounding self-titled debut album that simultaneously sounds like a synthesis of many familiar styles and like nothing that anybody's ever done before." The lead single "

" peaked at No. 4 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100, while the album peaked at No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The album was further promoted by a performance on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...

'' in April 1979, where she performed "Chuck E.'s in Love" and "Coolsville". A second single, "Young Blood", peaked at No. 40 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in late 1979. The album was certified

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

on August 7, 1979, for sales of one million copies. The album was also certified

Silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

in the UK and 2x

in Australia.

Awards

Track listing

Credits adapted from the album's

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are des ...

. # "

" 3:28 # "On Saturday Afternoons in 1963" – 2:31 # "Night Train" – 3:14 # "Young Blood" – 4:04 # "Easy Money" – 3:16 # "The Last Chance Texaco" – 4:05 # "Danny's All-Star Joint" – 4:01 # "Coolsville" – 3:49 # "Weasel and the White Boys Cool" (Jones, Alfred Johnson) – 6:00 # "Company" (Jones, Alfred Johnson) – 4:40 # "After Hours (Twelve Bars Past Goodnight)" – 2:13

Personnel

*Rickie Lee Jones – vocals, keyboards, percussion, guitar, backing vocals, horn arrangements *

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from ...

– keyboards * Michael McDonald – backing vocals *

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist known for his Southern-accented singing style, early Americana-influenced songs (often with mordant or satirical lyrics), and vari ...

– synthesizer *

Victor Feldman Victor Stanley Feldman (7 April 1934 – 12 May 1987) was an English jazz musician who played mainly piano, vibraphone, and percussion. He began performing professionally during childhood, eventually earning acclaim in the UK jazz scene as ...

– percussion, drums, keyboards * Tom Scott – horns *Ralph Grierson – keyboards * Michael "Bobby" Boddicker – synthesizer * Red Callender – bass *Nick DeCaro – accordion; orchestral arrangements on "On Saturday Afternoons in 1963", "Night Train" and "After Hours" *

Buzz Feiten Howard "Buzz" Feiten (born November 4, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, session musician, and luthier. He is best known as a lead and rhythm guitarist and for having patented a tuning system for guitars and similar instrument ...

– guitar *

Chuck Findley Charles B. Findley (born December 13, 1947 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania) is an American trumpet player known for his diverse work as a session musician. He also plays other brass instruments such as flugelhorn and trombone. His technical abilities ...

– horns *

Steve Gadd Stephen Kendall Gadd (born April 9, 1945) is an American drummer, percussionist, and session musician. Gadd is one of the best-known and highly regarded session and studio drummers in the industry, recognized by his induction into the '' Modern ...

– drums * Randy Kerber – keyboards * Neil Larsen – keyboards *

Arno Lucas Lester Abrams (born 1945) is a singer, songwriter, musician and producer who has played with such artists as B.B. King, Stevie Wonder, Peabo Bryson, Quincy Jones, Manfred Mann, Brian Auger, The Average White Band, The Doobie Brothers, Rufus ...

– backing vocals *

Johnny Mandel John Alfred Mandel (November 23, 1925June 29, 2020) was an American composer and arranger of popular songs, film music and jazz. The musicians he worked with include Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Anita O'Day, Barbra Streisand, Tony Benn ...

– orchestral arrangements on "Coolsville" and "Company" *

Andy Newmark Andrew Newmark (born July 14, 1950)

– drums *

Jeff Porcaro Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (; April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work with the rock band Toto but is one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working o ...

– drums *Leslie Smith – backing vocals *Mark Stevens – drums, percussion *

Fred Tackett Fred Tackett (born August 30, 1945) is an American songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Originally a session player on guitar, mandolin, and trumpet, he is best known as a member of the band Little Feat. In addition to his work with Little ...

– guitar, mandolin *Joe Turano – backing vocals *

Ernie Watts Ernest James Watts (born October 23, 1945) is an American jazz and rhythm and blues saxophonist who plays soprano, alto, and tenor saxophone. He has worked with Charlie Haden's Quartet West and toured with the Rolling Stones. On Frank Zappa ...

– horns *

Willie Weeks Willie Weeks (born August 5, 1947) is an American bass guitarist. He has gained fame performing with famous musicians in a wide variety of genres. He has been one of the most in-demand session musicians throughout his career. Weeks has also ...

– Fender bass *

Matthew Weiner Matthew Hoffman Weiner () (born June 29, 1965) is an American television writer, producer, and director best known as the creator and showrunner of the television series ''Mad Men'', and as a writer and executive producer on ''The Sopranos''. ...

– backing vocals ;Technical *Penny Ringwood – production assistant *Lee Herschberg, Loyd Clifft – engineer *Roger Nichols, Tom Knox – additional engineering *Mike Salisbury – art direction, cover design * Norman Seeff – cover photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

Rickie Lee Jones's Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rickie Lee Jones (Album) Rickie Lee Jones albums 1979 debut albums Albums arranged by Johnny Mandel Albums produced by Lenny Waronker Albums produced by Russ Titelman Warner Records albums