''This Is It'' is the fifth album by singer

Melba Moore Beatrice Melba Hill or Beatrice Melba Smith (sources differ) (born October 29, 1945), known by her stage name Melba Moore, is an American singer and actress. Biography Early life and education Moore was born Beatrice Melba Hill or Beatrice Melba ...

, released in 1976.

Background

Melba Moore would give credit to her husband/manager Charles Huggins, whom she married in September 1974, with getting her signed to

Buddah Records Buddah Records (later known as Buddha Records) was an American record label founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's foundin ...

in 1975 - ending a four-year recording studio absence - , and with arranging for veteran

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became po ...

songwriter/producer

Van McCoy Van Allen Clinton McCoy (January 6, 1940 – July 6, 1979) was an American musician, record producer, arranger, songwriter, singer and orchestra conductor. He is known for his 1975 internationally successful song " The Hustle". He has approximat ...

to helm Moore's second Buddah album release, which she began recording in January 1976. The album included Moore's rendition of McCoy's

deep soul Southern soul is a type of soul music that emerged from the Southern United States. The music originated from a combination of styles, including blues (both 12 bar and jump), country, early R&B, and a strong gospel influence that emanated fro ...

ballad "Lean on Me", first recorded in 1970 by Vivian Reed but most well known as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

's 1972 hit "

Spanish Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, Fif ...

". Moore had herself recorded "Lean on Me" in 1972, her rendition being featured on her concert album ''

Melba Moore Live! ''Melba Moore Live'' is the third album by singer Melba Moore, released in 1972. This album was recorded live at the New York Philharmonic Hall on November 7, 1971. Track listing #"New World Coming" (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil) -3:13 #"Blue Skie ...

''. However the recruitment of McCoy to helm Moore's album was essentially due to McCoy's success as a producer of

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

records, it being hoped that a disco hit would consolidate the somewhat nebulous success Moore had to that point experienced as a recording artist: (Melba Moore quote:)"I just couldn't ignore the

mpact Mpact may refer to: * Mpact Girls Clubs * !mpact Comics, a superhero imprint for DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Dis ...

that disco was having on music".

Reception

The album's disco-oriented

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title. Title track may al ...

was released in March 1976 and became a

discothèque A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

favorite: while the "This Is It" single did afford Moore her first major R&B hit, reaching #18 on the ''Billboard'' ranking of R&B singles the track failed to provide her with the desired Pop music breakout, rising no higher than #91 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 ("This Is It" did become a Top Ten hit on the singles chart for the United Kingdom). "Lean on Me" was issued as followup single to afford Moore a second Top 20 R&B hit peaking at #17. The ''This Is It'' album would have a ''Billboard'' 200 peak of #145.Jet - 17 Aug 1998 - Page 46 Vol. 94, No. 12 "As a singer, Moore made a name for herself with such hits as Love's Comin'At Ya, Livin For Your Love, A Little Bit More, Falling and It's Been So Long. She even earned Grammy nominations for the albums, Read My Lips and This Is It." The limited success of the ''This Is It'' album was evidently encouraging enough for Moore to reteam with McCoy for a second 1976 album release '' Melba'' which despite failing to generate a significant hit single fared roughly as well as its predecessor.

Track listing

#" This Is It" (

) #"Free" (

Charles Kipps Van Allen Clinton McCoy (January 6, 1940 – July 6, 1979) was an American musician, record producer, arranger, songwriter, singer and orchestra conductor. He is known for his 1975 internationally successful song " The Hustle". He has approximat ...

) #"One Less Morning" (Charles H. Kipps) #"Make Me Believe in You" (

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

) #"Lean on Me" (Joe Cobb, Van McCoy) #"Stay Awhile" (Joe Cobb, Van McCoy) #"Play Boy Scout" (

Nino Ferrer Nino Agostino Arturo Maria Ferrari (), known as Nino Ferrer (15 August 1934 – 13 August 1998), was an Italian-born French singer-songwriter and author. Biography and career Nino Ferrer was born on 15 August 1934 in Genoa, Italy, but lived the ...

) #"Blood Red Roses" (John Lewin, Michael Valenti) #"Brand New" (Earl Hawley Robinson)

References

{{Authority control 1976 albums Melba Moore albums Buddah Records albums