''Travelin' at the Speed of Thought'' is an album by the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

R&B group

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 ...

, released in 1977 on

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 ...

. Unusual for the time, there had been no advance single release from the album; the only single subsequently issued, "Work on Me", became a #7 R&B hit but failed to reach the pop listings, making this the first O'Jays PIR album without a top 100 pop single. ''Travelin' at the Speed of Thought'' peaked at #6 on the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

and reached #27 on the

pop chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...

. The album achieved a gold certification. In 2004, ''Travelin' at the Speed of Thought'' was reissued by Demon Music in the UK in a double package with the O'Jays' previous album, ''

Message in the Music ''Message in the Music'' is a 1976 album by American R&B group the O'Jays. Released in 1976 on the Philadelphia International Records label. Recorded at the Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia, with six of the eight tracks written and produce ...

''.

Production

The album was recorded at

Sigma Sound Studios Sigma Sound Studios was a recording studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.. It was founded in 1968 by recording engineer Joseph Tarsia. Located at 212 North 12th Street in Philadelphia, it was one of the first studios in the United States to ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, with six of the eight tracks written and produced by

Kenny Gamble 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 ...

. ''Travelin' at the Speed of Thought'' is the first O'Jays album to feature vocals from

Sammy Strain Samuel Strain Jr. (born December 9, 1939) is an American R&B vocalist, known for his time as a member of Little Anthony and the Imperials (1958–1972; 1992–2005) and The O'Jays (1975–1992). He holds the unusual distinction of being twice in ...

, who in 1975 had been brought into the group as the replacement for the then-terminally ill William Powell. Powell's death from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

in May 1977 coincided with the release of the album.

Track listing

All songs written by

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 ...

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 ...

, except where noted. allmusic ((( Travelin' at the Speed of Thought > Overview ))) All Media Guide, LLC. Retrieved on 2008-08-23.

Side one

#"Travelin' at the Speed of Thought" - 4:59 #"We're All in This Thing Together" - 4:52 #"So Glad I Got You, Girl" - 3:32 #"Stand Up" - 4:46

Side two

#"Those Lies (Done Caught Up with You This Time)" ( John Whitehead,

Gene McFadden Gene McFadden (January 28, 1949 – January 27, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as one of the key members of the Philadelphia International record label, and was one-half of the successful team o ...

, Victor Carstarphen) - 3:45 #"

Feelings Feelings are subjective self-contained phenomenal experiences. According to the ''APA Dictionary of Psychology'', a feeling is "a self-contained phenomenal experience"; and feelings are "subjective, evaluative, and independent of the sensations ...

" (

Morris Albert Maurício Alberto Kaisermann (born 7 September 1951), better known by his stage name Morris Albert, is a Brazilian singer and songwriter best known for his 1974 single "Feelings". Biography Albert was born into an Austrian immigrant family. At ...

) - 7:11 #"Work on Me" - 4:26 #"Let's Spend Some Time Together" - 4:33

Personnel

Eddie Levert Edward Willis Levert (born June 16, 1942) is an American singer, best known as the lead vocalist of The O'Jays. He is the father of Gerald Levert (1966–2006) and Sean Levert (1968–2008) Biography Levert was born in Bessemer, Alabama, but ...

, Walter Williams,

- vocals *

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 Horns or The Horns may refer to: * Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells * The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain * ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

*Roland Chambers, Dennis Harris,

T.J. Tindall Thomas Joshua Tindall (1950 – January 26, 2016) was an American guitarist. He was a member of MFSB and played on 38 gold and platinum funk and R&B records and more than 30 hits produced by Gamble and Huff in the 1970s and 1980s. Tindall is consid ...

- guitar *Charles Collins - drums *Michael "Sugar Bear" Foreman - bass guitar *Larry Washington -

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). ...

bongos Bongos ( es, bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. They are struck with both hands, most commonly in an eight-stroke pattern called ''martillo'' (hammer). The ...

*Dennis Williams - piano *Carlton Kent - organ

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Travelin' At The Speed Of Thought The O'Jays albums Philadelphia International Records albums 1977 albums Albums produced by Kenneth Gamble Albums produced by Leon Huff Albums recorded at Sigma Sound Studios