''Some People Can Do What They Like'' is the third solo album by
Robert Palmer, released in 1976. It includes "Man Smart, Woman Smarter" which peaked at number 63 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart and number 46 in the UK in 1977. The album peaked at number 68 in the US. The album was dedicated to
Mongezi Feza
Mongezi Feza (11 May 1945 – 14 December 1975) was a South African jazz trumpeter and flautist.
Biography
Feza was born in Queenstown, Cape Province, Union of South Africa, into a family of musicians, His elder brother, Sandi Feza, who ...
. The model on the front cover, engaging Palmer in a game of
strip poker
file:strip solitaire.jpg, alt= A man sits on a pillow facing away from the viewer, wearing only a belt and a bandanna. He holds a fanned hand of playing cards. An electric guitar and other objects frame the edges of the image., A man plays a strip ...
, is ''
Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.
K ...
'' magazine's April 1976
Playmate of the Month
A Playmate is a female model featured in the centerfold/gatefold of ''Playboy'' magazine as Playmate of the Month (PMOTM). The PMOTM's pictorial includes nude photographs and a centerfold poster, along with a pictorial biography and the "Playm ...
,
Denise Michele.
Track listing
#"One Last Look" (
Bill Payne
William H. Payne (born March 12, 1949) is an American pianist who, with Lowell George, co-founded the American rock band Little Feat. He is considered by many other rock pianists, including Elton John, to be one of the finest American piano roc ...
, Fran Tate) – 4:22
#"Keep in Touch" (Robert Palmer) – 3:25
#"
Man Smart (Woman Smarter) "Man Smart (Woman Smarter)" is a calypso song variously credited as being composed by Norman Span (King Radio), D. L. Miller, F. Kuhn, and Charles Harris. Span's authorship seems most likely since, as a popular calypso musician and songwriter, he ...
" (Norman Span aka
King Radio
Norman Span, known as King Radio, was a top Trinidadian calypsonian active in the 1930s and 1940s.
He was a waterfront worker in Port of Spain when he started performing in public in 1929. Six years later he started his short-lived recording car ...
) – 2:35
#"Spanish Moon" (
Lowell George
Lowell Thomas George (April 13, 1945 – June 29, 1979) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer, who was the primary guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and founder/leader for the rock band Little Feat.
Earl ...
) – 5:58
#"Have Mercy" (
Don Covay
Donald James Randolph (March 24, 1936 – January 31, 2015), better known by the stage name Don Covay, was an American R&B, rock and roll, and soul singer-songwriter most active from the 1950s to the 1970s.
His most successful recordings incl ...
) – 3:50
#"Gotta Get a Grip on You (Part II)" (Robert Palmer,
Alan Powell) – 3:57
#"What Can You Bring Me" (
James Gadson
James Gadson ( James Edward Gadson; born June 17, 1939) is an American drummer and session musician. Beginning his career in the late 1960s, Gadson has since become one of the most-recorded drummers in the history of R&B. He is also a singer and ...
) – 3:43
#"Hard Head" (
Eddie Curtis Eddie "Memphis" Evans Curtis, Jr. (17 July 1927 – 22 August 1983) was an American songwriter, born in Galveston, Texas. He is credited as a co-writer along with Steve Miller (musician), Steve Miller and Ahmet Ertegun for "The Joker (Steve Miller ...
) – 4:30
#"Off the Bone" (
Phill Brown
Phill Brown (born 1950) is an audio engineer who has worked with a number of well-known musicians, including: Traffic, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Cat Stevens, Bob Marley and Talk Talk. He is also the younger brother of Terry Brown. Career
Brown ...
, Robert Palmer, Steve Smith) – 2:18
#"Some People Can Do What They Like" (Robert Palmer) – 4:09
Charts
Personnel
*Robert Palmer – vocals
*Pierre Brock,
Chuck Rainey
Charles Walter Rainey III (born June 17, 1940) is an American bass guitarist who has performed and recorded with many well-known acts, including Aretha Franklin, Steely Dan, and Quincy Jones. Rainey is credited for playing bass on more than 1,00 ...
– bass guitar
*
Richie Hayward
Richard "Richie" Hayward (February 6, 1946 – August 12, 2010) was an American drummer best known as a founding member and drummer in the band Little Feat. He performed with several bands and worked as a session player. Hayward also joined ...
,
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 on ...
,
Spider Webb,
Robert Greenidge
Robert Greenidge (born 28 April 1950 in Success Village, Laventille, Trinidad) is a steelpan player. He is a member of popular music singer Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band and the instrumental group Club Trini. Greenidge has also collaborated ...
– drums
*Chilli Charles –
timbales
Timbales () or pailas are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing. They are shallower than single-headed tom-toms and usually tuned much higher, especially for their size.Orovio, Helio 1981. ''Diccionario de la música cubana: biográfico ...
*
Sam Clayton
Sam Clayton (born March 30, 1952) is an American singer and percussionist, primarily focusing on drums, conga and djembe, throughout his musical career. He is best known as a supporting vocalist and percussionist with the American rock band Lit ...
– percussion,
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). ...
s, background vocals
*
Jody Linscott
Jody Linscott is an American session musician and percussionist who resides in England and maintains an extended discography. She has two daughters Kachina Dechert and Coco Linscott and has written two children's books which were published by D ...
– percussion, congas
*
Paul Barrere
Paul Barrere (July 3, 1948 – October 26, 2019) was an American musician most prominent as a member of the band Little Feat, which he joined in 1972 some three years after the band was created by Lowell George.
Career
Barrere recorded and per ...
– guitar, background vocals
*Freddie Harris,
Carol Kaye
Carol Kaye (née Smith, born March 24, 1935) is an American musician. She is one of the most prolific recorded bass guitarists in rock and pop music, playing on an estimated 10,000 recordings in a career spanning over 50 years.
Kaye began play ...
, Freddy Wall – guitar
*
Bill Payne
William H. Payne (born March 12, 1949) is an American pianist who, with Lowell George, co-founded the American rock band Little Feat. He is considered by many other rock pianists, including Elton John, to be one of the finest American piano roc ...
– keyboards, background vocals
*James Allen Smith,
William "Smitty" Smith
William Daniel "Smitty" Smith (August 30, 1944 – November 28, 1997) was a Canadian keyboardist and session musician. Background
He had been playing together with Steve Kennedy, Eric Mercury, Eric "Mouse" Johnson, Terry Logan and Diane Brooks ...
– keyboards
*Greg Carroll – harmonica
*Arthur Smith –
ocarina
The ocarina is a wind musical instrument; it is a type of vessel flute. Variations exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the body. It is traditionally made from c ...
, whistle
Production
*Producer – Steve Smith
*Engineered & Mixed by
Phill Brown
Phill Brown (born 1950) is an audio engineer who has worked with a number of well-known musicians, including: Traffic, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Cat Stevens, Bob Marley and Talk Talk. He is also the younger brother of Terry Brown. Career
Brown ...
at Clover Studios (Los Angeles, CA).
*Assistant Engineer – Toby Scott
*Additional Engineer on Tracks #2, 8 & 10 – Richard Digby Smith
*Mastered by
George Marino
George Marino (April 15, 1947 – June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s.
Biography
Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He at ...
at Sterling Sound, NYC
*Cover Photography – Moshe Brakha
*Design – Ria Lewerke
*Management – Connie De Nave
See also
*
List of albums released in 1976
References
{{Authority control
Robert Palmer (singer) albums
1976 albums
Island Records albums
Albums produced by Robert Palmer (singer)