''The Spirit's in It'' is the fifth studio album by American 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 ...

. It was released by

Philadelphia International Records Philadelphia International Records (PIR) was an American record label based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1971 by songwriting and production duo Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff along with their longtime collaborator Thom Bell. I ...

on August 28, 1981 in the United States, her first with the label.

Background

Patti LaBelle embarked on a solo career in 1977, shortly after the split of the girl group Labelle. Her first solo album, a

self-titled An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

affair, was critically acclaimed and also found commercial success. However, her three follow-ups for Epic failed to match that album's momentum, despite some charted singles. When her fourth album, '' Released'', failed to generate a significant R&B or pop hit, she agreed to sign with

, which had been known to provide hits for veteran artists such as

The O'Jays The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor hi ...

Lou Rawls Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American record producer, singer, composer and actor. Rawls released more than 60 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably his s ...

and

Billy Paul Paul Williams (December 1, 1934 – April 24, 2016), known professionally as Billy Paul, was a Grammy Award-winning American soul singer, known for his 1972 No. 1 single " Me and Mrs. Jones", as well as the 1973 album and single ''War of the Go ...

. With the help of

Kenny Gamble Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production team credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as ...

and

Leon Huff Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production team credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as ...

, her frequent collaborator James Ellison and PIR staff producers such as

Dexter Wansel Dexter Gilman Wansel (born August 22, 1950) is an American R&B/jazz fusion singer, arranger, musician, composer, conductor, synthesist and A&R director. Early life Dexter Wansel began as an errand boy backstage at the Uptown Theater in Philade ...

and

Cecil Womack Cecil Dale Womack (September 25, 1947 – January 25, 2013) was an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He was one of the musical Womack brothers, and had success both as a songwriter and recording artist, notably with his wife Linda ...

, LaBelle produced ''The Spirit's in It'', which included her forays into other genres such as

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

. Among the notable singles from the album included her cover of the

boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, developed in African-American communities since 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually extended from pian ...

hit, "Rocking Pneumonia and the Boogie-Woogie Flu", the club hit title track, "Family", "Shoot Him on Sight" (her first collaboration with songwriters Cynthia Biggs and Dexter Wansel) and " Over the Rainbow", the latter track becoming her solo cover of a tune she had previously recorded as member of Patti LaBelle and the Blue Belles in the sixties. LaBelle had been performing the song in concert after embarking on her solo career. The new recording was listed as the b-side of the single "Family" and became a standout in LaBelle's career, quickly becoming a

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

for LaBelle. This album would precede her commercial breakthrough a couple years later with the album, ''

I'm in Love Again ''I'm In Love Again'' is the sixth studio album by American singer Patti LaBelle in 1983. It was released by Philadelphia International Records and Sony Music Entertainment on November 25, 1983, in the United States. LaBelle's commercial breakth ...

''.

Track listing

Personnel

* Patti LaBelle – lead vocals, backing vocals (1, 2, 4-9) * Joel Bryant – keyboards (1) * Lenny Pakula –

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 ...

(1, 3, 4) *

– arrangements (1, 8), synthesizers (8) * James Budd Ellison – keyboards (2, 5, 7, 9), arrangements (2, 5, 7, 9), backing vocals (5, 7) * Philip Woo – keyboards (2, 9) *

Leon A. Huff Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production team credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as ...

– acoustic piano (3, 4, 6),

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...

(3, 4), arrangements (3, 4, 6), backing vocals (6), BGV arrangements (6) * Nathaniel Wilkie – keyboards (5, 7), acoustic piano (5, 7), organ (5, 7), synthesizers (5, 7) *

Cynthia Biggs Cynthia Biggs, lawfully known as Cynthia Biggs El, is an American songwriter, producer, publisher and vocalist who wrote music and lyrics for the Philadelphia International Records label. Her main collaborations were with composers Dexter Wansel ...

– acoustic piano (8) * Dennis Harris – guitar (1) *

– guitar (1, 3, 4, 6), backing vocals (6) * Edward Levon Batts – guitar (2, 9), backing vocals (2, 7) * Herb Smith – guitar (2, 5, 7-9), backing vocals (5, 7, 9) * Bobby Bennett – acoustic guitar (6) * Marc Rubin – guitar (8) * Roy Smith – guitar (8) * Jimmy Williams – bass (1-5, 9) * Derrick Graves – bass (6) * Idress "Skeets" Young – bass (8) * Quinton Joseph – drums (1, 3, 4, 6) * John Ingram – drums (5, 7, 9), backing vocals (5, 7, 9) * Clifford "Pete" Rudd – drums (8) *

Vincent Montana Jr. Vincent Montana Jr. (February 12, 1928 – April 13, 2013), known as Vince Montana, was an American composer, arranger, vibraphonist, and percussionist. He is best known as a member of MFSB and as the founder of the Salsoul Orchestra. He has b ...

–

orchestral bells The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The glo ...

(3),

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

(3) * Miguel Fuentes – percussion (5, 7, 8) * Michael Mee – alto saxophone (1) * Ralph Olson – alto saxophone (1) *

Bob Malach Bob Malach (born August 23, 1954) is an American jazz saxophonist. Malach learned several reed instruments in his youth, and played with Philadelphia soul bands such as The Stylistics and The O'Jays while still a teenager. He played in the big b ...

– tenor saxophone (1) * Michael Pedicin Jr. – tenor saxophone (1) * Willie Williams – soprano saxophone (5), tenor saxophone (5) * Sam Peake – saxophone (9) * Larry Gittins – trumpet (1) *

Bobby Rush Bobby Lee Rush (born November 23, 1946) is an American politician, activist and pastor who served as the U.S. representative for for three decades. A civil rights activist during the 1960s, Rush co-founded the Illinois chapter of the Black Pan ...

–

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 ...

(6) *

MFSB MFSB, officially standing for "Mother Father Sister Brother", was a pool of more than 30 studio musicians based at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios. They worked closely with the production team of Gamble and Huff and producer/arranger Thom Bel ...

– horns (2, 8, 9), strings (2, 3, 8, 9) * Jack Faith – arrangements (3) * Carl Helm – backing vocals (2, 7, 9) *

Reggie Workman Reginald "Reggie" Workman (born June 26, 1937 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American avant-garde jazz and hard bop double bassist, recognized for his work with both John Coltrane and Art Blakey. Career Early in his career, Workman worke ...

– backing vocals (2, 9) *

Kenneth Gamble Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production team credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as ...

– backing vocals (5, 7) Handclaps on "Family" * Miguel Fuentes * Stacey Todd Holt * Norman Maxon * Fred Murphy * Vivian Reed * Idress "Skeets" Young

Production

* Kenneth Gamble – executive producer * Leon A. Huff – executive producer * Dirk Devlin – engineer * Arthur Stoppe – engineer *

Joseph Tarsia Joseph Dominick Tarsia (September 23, 1934 – November 1, 2022) was an American recording studio owner and engineer from Philadelphia who was credited on many classic pop music tracks, earning him over 150 gold and platinum record awards. He was ...

– engineer * Michael Tarsia – assistant engineer * Vince Warsavage – assistant engineer * Jean Scott – A&R coordinator *

Paula Scher Paula Scher (born October 6, 1948, Washington, D.C.) is an American graphic designer, painter and art educator in design. She also served as the first female principal at Pentagram, which she joined in 1991.Scher, Paula." (n.d.): Oxford University ...

– art direction, design * Rebecca Blake – photography * Mastered at Frankford/Wayne Mastering Labs (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).

Charts

Album chart usages for Billboard200 Album chart usages for BillboardRandBHipHop

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spirits in It 1981 albums Patti LaBelle albums Philadelphia International Records albums Albums produced by Kenneth Gamble Albums produced by Leon Huff Albums recorded at Sigma Sound Studios