''Take the Heat off Me'' is the debut album by Euro-Caribbean group

Boney M. Boney M. was a German-Caribbean vocal group that specialized in disco and funk created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary songwriter. Originally based in West Germany, the four original members of the group's o ...

The album became a major seller in Europe, specifically in the Nordic countries (number 1 in Sweden and Finland, number 2 in Norway), but in the US the album just missed the album chart. Tracks include the hits " Daddy Cool" (number 1 in eight European countries, number 65 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100), " Sunny" (top 5 in many European countries) and the debut single "

Baby Do You Wanna Bump "Baby Do You Wanna Bump" is a song recorded by German record producer Frank Farian under the name Boney M., and included on the group's 1976 debut album ''Take the Heat off Me''. Released as the first Boney M. single, it became a minor hit in th ...

Additional information

Producer

Frank Farian Frank Farian (born Franz Reuther; 18 July 1941) is a German record producer, musician, singer and songwriter, who founded the 1970s disco-pop group Boney M., the Latin pop band No Mercy and the pop band Milli Vanilli. He frequently created voc ...

was in a hurry to capitalize on the sudden success of "Daddy Cool" and put together the first Boney M. album quickly, made possible by the use of cover versions and by reusing already existing recordings. While "

" was reworked from Prince Buster's " Al Capone" (although credited to Farian's alias 'Zambi'), "Sunny", "No Woman No Cry" and "Fever" are cover versions of well-known tracks, albeit rearranged. The title track "Take the Heat off Me" is also a cover, of the 1974 Italian hit "Nessuno mai" ("No one ever") by Italian artist

Marcella Bella Giuseppa Marcella Bella (born 18 June 1952 in Catania) is an Italian pop singer. Her brothers Antonio and Salvatore Bella are famous musicians, and her brother Gianni Bella Giovanni Bella, best known as Gianni Bella (born 14 March 1946), is a ...

. Versions of three tracks had previously been released by another Farian produced artist Gilla in German, "Take the Heat off Me" ("Mir ist kein weg zu weit"), "Lovin' or Leavin'" ("Lieben und frei sein") and the UK/US exclusive "Help, Help" ("Ich brenne"), the last of which Gilla also recorded in English. Gilla would furthermore record German versions of "Sunny" and "No Woman No Cry", using the same backing tracks. The B-side of the single "Sunny", the non-album track "New York City", also recycles Gilla, in fact two of her tracks: "Tu Es" (English version "Why Don't You Do It") and "Ich brenne" ("Help, Help!"). "Got a Man on My Mind" was rewritten from Farian's "Am Samstagabend", the B-side of his 1976 hit single "Rocky". "Daddy Cool" is in fact the only truly original track on the album.

Track listing

Side A #" Daddy Cool" (Frank Farian, George Reyam ( Hans-Jörg Mayer)) – 3:29 #"Take the Heat off Me" (Bigazzi, Gianni Bella) – 4:47 #" Sunny" (

Bobby Hebb Robert Von Hebb (July 26, 1938 – August 3, 2010) was an American R&B and soul singer, musician, songwriter, recording artist, and performer known for his 1966 hit entitled " Sunny". Biography Hebb was born in Nashville, Tennessee. His par ...

) – 4:03 #"

" (Zambi (Frank Farian)) – 6:53 Side B #"

No Woman No Cry "No Woman, No Cry" is a reggae song by Bob Marley and the Wailers. The song was recorded in 1974 and released on the studio album ''Natty Dread''. The live recording of this song from the 1975 album '' Live!'' was released as a single and i ...

" (

Vincent Ford Vincent Ford (c. 1940 – 28 December 2008), known as "Tata" or "Tartar", was a Jamaican songwriter best known for receiving writing credit for "No Woman, No Cry", the reggae song made famous by Bob Marley & The Wailers, as well as three othe ...

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

) – 4:59 #"

Fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a temperature above the normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature set point. There is not a single agreed-upon upper limit for normal temperature with sources using val ...

" (

Eddie Cooley Edward James Cooley (April 15, 1933 – April 15, 2020) was an American R&B singer and songwriter, who co-wrote the much-recorded song "Fever." He also had a US pop hit in 1956 with "Priscilla," credited to Eddie Cooley and the Dimples. ...

, John Davenport) – 4:00 #"Got a Man on My Mind" (Frank Farian, Fred Jay) – 3:25 #"Lovin' or Leavin'" (Frank Farian, Fred Jay) – 4:29

Personnel

Musicians *

Liz Mitchell Liz is a female name of Hebrew origin, meaning "God's Promise". It is also a short form of Elizabeth, Elisabeth, Lisbeth, Lizanne, Liszbeth, Lizbeth, Lizabeth, Lyzbeth, Lisa, Lizette, Alyssa, and Eliza. People * Liz Balmaseda (born 1959), P ...

– lead vocals (tracks A3, B1, B2 & B3), backing vocals *

Marcia Barrett Marcia Barrett (born 14 October 1948) is a Jamaican-British singer and one of the original singers with the vocal group Boney M. Early years Barrett was born in Saint Catherine Parish, British Jamaica; her parents brought her to Croydon, Eng ...

– lead vocals (tracks A2 & B4), backing vocals *

– lead vocals (tracks A1 & A4), backing vocals * The Rhythm Machine – musicians * Gary Unwin – bass guitar *

Keith Forsey Keith Forsey (born 2 January 1948) is an English pop musician and record producer. Early life Forsey began his career as a percussionist in the mid-late 1960s as the drummer for The SpectrumCaptain Scarlet and the Mysterons - The Vault - Chris ...

– drums * Nick Woodland – guitar * Thor Baldursson – keyboards Production * Frank Farian – producer * Steven Hammer (Stefan Klinkhammer) – arranger, conductor * Recorded at Union Studios,

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

and Europasound Studios,

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Reissued

* 1994: CD, BMG, 74321 21271 2 * 2007: CD, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, 88697082602 * 2011: ''Boney M. Original Album Classics'', 5 CD, Sony Music, 88697928702 * 2017: ''Boney M. Complete'', 9 LP, Sony Music, 88985406971

References

External links

Rate Your Music, detailed discography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Take The Heat Off Me 1976 debut albums Boney M. albums Albums produced by Frank Farian Atlantic Records albums Hansa Records albums