''Simplicity'' is the third album recorded by the English actor/singer

Tim Curry Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor and singer. He rose to prominence for his portrayal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London ...

, released in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

. Whereas his previous album ''

Fearless Fearless or The Fearless may refer to: Psychology * Lack of fear * Courage or bravery Film, television and audio Film * ''Fearless'' (1978 film), an Italian film directed by Stelvio Massi * ''Fearless'' (1993 film), an American drama directed ...

'' had been almost entirely original songs, ''Simplicity'' is a half-originals, half-covers mix and contains a wider variety of source material than the covers on his first album ''

Read My Lips Read My Lips may refer to: Film and television * "Read My Lips" (''Batman: The Animated Series''), a television episode, 1993 * ''Read My Lips'' (film) or ''Sur mes lèvres'', a 2001 French film by Jacques Audiard Music Albums * ''Read My Lips'' ...

'' (1978). Covers include a version of

The Zombies The Zombies are an English rock band formed in the early 1960s in St Albans and led by keyboardist and vocalist Rod Argent and vocalist Colin Blunstone. The group had a British and American hit in 1964 with "She's Not There". In the US, two fu ...

' "

She's Not There "She's Not There" is the debut single by British rock band the Zombies, written by keyboardist Rod Argent. It reached 12 in the UK Singles Chart in September 1964, and 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United States at the beginning of D ...

" and

Martha and the Vandellas Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1972 as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas) were an American vocal girl group formed in Detroit in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown. An act founded by friends Annette Beard, Rosalind ...

' "

Dancing in the Street "Dancing in the Street" is a song written by Marvin Gaye, William "Mickey" Stevenson and Ivy Jo Hunter. It first became popular in 1964 when recorded by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas whose version reached No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 ...

s", both of which were hits in 1964. Curry also performs a version of " Take Me, I'm Yours", originally a 1978 hit by Squeeze. "Out Of Pawn" was originally by Davis Lasley's band " Rosie", produced by Michael Kamen. The track "Working on My Tan" was released as a single in certain countries (backed with "On a Roll") but was not commercially successful. Curry did not make any promo videos for the album.

Track listing

# "Working on My Tan" (Tim Curry,

Michael Kamen Michael Arnold Kamen (April 15, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, songwriter, and session musician. Biography Early life Michael Arnold Kamen was born in ...

Bob Babbitt __NOTOC__ Robert Andrew Kreinar (November 26, 1937 – July 16, 2012), known as Bob Babbitt, was a Hungarian-American bassist, most famous for his work as a member of Motown Records' studio band, the Funk Brothers, from 1966 to 1972, as well a ...

, Charles Collins,

Bob Kulick Robert Joel Kulick (January 16, 1950 – May 28, 2020) was an American guitarist and record producer, who worked with numerous acts such as Kiss, W.A.S.P., Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, Meat Loaf and Michael Bolton. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, ...

, Michael Tschudin) - 4:05 # "

" (

Rod Argent Rodney Terence Argent (born 14 June 1945) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Argent came to prominence in the mid 1960s as the keyboardist, founder and leader of the ...

) - 2:22 # "Simplicity" (Tim Curry, Bob Babbitt, Charles Collins)- 4:13 # "On a Roll" (Tim Curry, Michael Kamen, Joel Newman) - 2:49 # " Take Me, I'm Yours" (

Chris Difford Christopher Henry Difford (born 4 November 1954) is an English singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. He is a founding member and songwriter of the rock group Squeeze. Musical career Born in Greenwich, London, Difford has written ly ...

Glenn Tilbrook Glenn Martin Tilbrook (born 31 August 1957) is the lead singer and guitarist of the English band Squeeze, a band formed in the mid-1970s who broke through in the new wave era at the decade's end. He generally wrote the music for Squeeze's son ...

) - 3:50 # "

s" (

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

Ivy Hunter George Ivy Hunter (August 28, 1940 – October 6, 2022), known as Ivy Jo Hunter, was an American R&B songwriter, record producer and singer, most associated with his work for Motown in the 1960s. Life and career Raised in Detroit, Michigan ...

William "Mickey" Stevenson William "Mickey" Stevenson (born January 4, 1937) is an American former songwriter and record producer for the Motown group of labels from the early days of Berry Gordy's company until 1967. Life and career He was born William Stevenson and, a ...

) 3:59 # "Betty Jean" (Tim Curry, Michael Kamen) - 3:20 # "Out of Pawn" (

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 ...

, Lana Marrano) - 3:43 # " Summer in the City" (

John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonicist who founded the rock band The Lovin' Spoonful. He made an impromptu appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969I Put a Spell on You "I Put a Spell on You" is a 1956 song written and composed by Jalacy "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins, whose own recording of it was selected as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. It was also included in Rober ...

" (

Screamin' Jay Hawkins Jalacy J. "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins (July 18, 1929 – February 12, 2000) was an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, film producer, and boxer. Famed chiefly for his powerful, operatic vocal delivery and wildly theatrical performances of s ...

) - 3:32

Personnel

* Tim Curry – vocals *

Earl Slick Earl Slick (born Frank Madeloni in Brooklyn, New York, October 1, 1952) is a guitarist best known for his collaborations with David Bowie, John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Robert Smith. He has also worked with other artists including John Waite, Tim ...

– guitar *

Hank Crawford Bennie Ross "Hank" Crawford, Jr. (December 21, 1934 – January 29, 2009) was an American Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist, arranger and songwriter whose genres ranged from Rhythm and blues, R&B, hard bop, jazz-funk, and soul jazz. Crawford was ...

– saxophone * Howard Johnson – saxophone *

David "Fathead" Newman David "Fathead" Newman (February 24, 1933 – January 20, 2009) was an American jazz and rhythm-and-blues saxophonist, who made numerous recordings as a session musician and leader, but is best known for his work as a sideman on seminal 1950s and ...

– saxophone *

David Sanborn David William Sanborn (born July 30, 1945) is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album ''Taking Off'' in 1 ...

– saxophone * Charlie Miller – trumpet *

Art Baron Arthur John Baron (born January 5, 1950) is an American jazz trombonist. He also plays didgeridoo, conch shell, penny-whistle, alto and bass recorder, and tuba. Career overview Baron is an alumnus of the Berklee College of Music. He joined ...

– trombone *

– keyboards * Joel Newman – guitar * Bryant Montiro – guitar * John Siegler – bass * Noel Alphonso – drums *

Jimmy Maelen Jimmy may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Jimmy'' (2008 film), a 2008 Hindi thriller directed by Raj N. Sippy * ''Jimmy'' (1979 film), a 1979 Indian Malayalam film directed by Melattoor Ravi Varma * ''Jimmy'' (2013 f ...

– percussion *

Laurel Massé Laurel Massé (born December 29, 1951) is an American jazz singer and former member of The Manhattan Transfer. Career Massé was born in Holland, Michigan, grew up in Westchester County, New York, and lived in Europe during her teens. Early in s ...

, Gui Andresano, Ula Andrisano, Ula Hedwig, Seth, Dian Sorel, Sasha – background vocals

Chart positions

; Album

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

(USA)

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

(Canada)

References

{{Authority control

Simplicity (Tim Curry album) ''Simplicity'' is the third album recorded by the English actor/singer Tim Curry, released in 1981 in music, 1981. Whereas his previous album ''Fearless (Tim Curry album), Fearless'' had been almost entirely original songs, ''Simplicity'' is a h ...

A&M Records albums Albums produced by Michael Kamen