''What a Feelin is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter
Irene Cara
Irene Cara Escalera (March 18, 1959 – November 25, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and actress of Black, Puerto Rican and Cuban descent. Cara rose to prominence for her role as Coco Hernandez in the 1980 musical film '' Fame'', and f ...
. Released on November 2, 1983, this album is a continuation of the work that Cara began with producer
Giorgio Moroder
Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance mu ...
on the soundtrack to the 1983 film ''
Flashdance
''Flashdance'' is a 1983 American romantic drama dance film directed by Adrian Lyne and starring Jennifer Beals as a passionate young dancer who aspires to become a professional ballerina (Alex), alongside Michael Nouri playing her boyfriend an ...
''. The
dance-pop
Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...
song she co-wrote with Moroder and
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 ...
for the film, "
Flashdance... What a Feeling", went to number one on ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' magazine's
Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
and foreshadowed the style of this album, which was unlike her
R&B-heavy
debut
Debut or début (the first public appearance of a person or thing) may refer to:
* Debut (society), the formal introduction of young upper-class women to society
* Debut novel, an author's first published novel
Film and television
* ''The Debu ...
. Although Cara was more accustomed to composing music, she relinquished most of those duties to Moroder here and shifted much of her songwriting focus to lyrics.
The title of the album clued in record buyers to the inclusion of the soundtrack hit from the spring of that year, but another four songs would make the Hot 100, the first of which, "
Why Me?", had been released in October. "
The Dream (Hold On to Your Dream)" from the ''
D.C. Cab
''D.C. Cab'' (also known as ''Street Fleet'') is a 1983 American comedy film written and directed by Joel Schumacher, based on a story by Topper Carew and Schumacher, and starring Max Gail, Adam Baldwin, Mr. T, Charlie Barnett, Gary Busey, Mar ...
'' soundtrack became the second new single when that movie was released in December, four months earlier than planned. Since the song was not on the original pressings of ''What a Feelin'', those copies were removed from store shelves so that the album could be re-released to include it. The other two Hot 100 entries were Cara's last top ten hit, "
Breakdance
Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in ...
", and the one track on the album for which she did write the music, "
You Were Made for Me".
The album received mixed-to-positive reviews and was moderately successful, reaching number 77 on ''Billboard''s
album chart
A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often ...
. But while Cara was having hit records and receiving awards for "Flashdance... What a Feeling", she was also feeling ripped off by her record company,
Network Records
Network Records (formed out of Kool Kat Records) was an independent record label founded in Birmingham, England, in 1988 by Neil Rushton and Dave Barker.
It was instrumental in first introducing Detroit techno to a British audience, through it ...
, and planning to sue. The lawsuit she filed resulted in a backlash that destroyed her reputation in the entertainment industry. It would be eight years before the courts would acknowledge the harm she suffered and she would begin receiving royalties for the recordings she had made since signing with the label.
Background
In March 1983,
Casablanca Records
Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label currently f ...
released the first single from the soundtrack to the upcoming
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
film ''
Flashdance
''Flashdance'' is a 1983 American romantic drama dance film directed by Adrian Lyne and starring Jennifer Beals as a passionate young dancer who aspires to become a professional ballerina (Alex), alongside Michael Nouri playing her boyfriend an ...
'', the story of a young woman who works as a welder and nightclub performer and dreams of becoming a ballerina. The music for that song, "
Flashdance... What a Feeling", was written by the composer of the score for the film,
Giorgio Moroder
Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance mu ...
, and
Irene Cara
Irene Cara Escalera (March 18, 1959 – November 25, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and actress of Black, Puerto Rican and Cuban descent. Cara rose to prominence for her role as Coco Hernandez in the 1980 musical film '' Fame'', and f ...
, who performed the song, wrote the lyrics with
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 ...
. Their collaboration spent six weeks at number one on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100,
[.] and Moroder and Cara together completed two more projects in 1983 that were initially separate: Cara's next album, ''What a Feelin'', and a song for the soundtrack of the film ''
D.C. Cab
''D.C. Cab'' (also known as ''Street Fleet'') is a 1983 American comedy film written and directed by Joel Schumacher, based on a story by Topper Carew and Schumacher, and starring Max Gail, Adam Baldwin, Mr. T, Charlie Barnett, Gary Busey, Mar ...
'' titled "
The Dream (Hold On to Your Dream)". Moroder also composed the score for that film and produced the soundtrack album. He wrote the music for the song, and Cara again sang and co-wrote the lyrics.
In a discussion of ''What a Feelin'' with ''Billboard'' just after its release, Cara said, "I usually write music; it's only working with Giorgio that I've become a lyricist. I had no choice since he's a composer."
Of the nine new tracks on the original album, Moroder wrote the music for six, but one of her compositions, "
You Were Made for Me",
[ made the final cut as the sole ballad and album closer. She insisted, "It's still very much Giorgio's album."][ Many of the same people who Moroder selected to work on "Flashdance... What a Feeling" joined her on this new project. Forsey assisted her with lyrics on four of the tracks, and the guitarist on her number-one hit, Richie Zito, arranged all of the new material, played instruments on most of the songs, and even co-wrote (with Arthur Barrow) the music on one of the other songs not composed by Moroder, "Keep On". The album also reunited Cara with two of her "Flashdance..." background vocalists, Joe Esposito and Stephanie Spruill, on the first new single from the album, " Why Me?".
]
Release
''What a Feelin'' was released by Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint.
Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...
on November 2, 1983, without "The Dream", which was to be on the ''D.C. Cab'' soundtrack album by MCA Records
MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group.
Pre-history
MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...
. Since the film was originally scheduled to be released in April 1984, the soundtrack was going to hit store shelves in February. ''D.C. Cab
''D.C. Cab'' (also known as ''Street Fleet'') is a 1983 American comedy film written and directed by Joel Schumacher, based on a story by Topper Carew and Schumacher, and starring Max Gail, Adam Baldwin, Mr. T, Charlie Barnett, Gary Busey, Mar ...
'' told the story of a taxi service in the nation's capital, and one of the cabbies was played by Mr. T., whose new television show ''The A-Team
''The A-Team'' is an American action-adventure television series that ran on NBC from January 1983 to March 1987 about former members of a fictitious United States Army Special Forces unit. The four members of the team were tried by court marti ...
'' was a top ten hit in the Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
. The film's distributor, Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
, wanted to take advantage of his popularity by moving the film's release up from the April 1984 slot to December 16, 1983.[ The release of the soundtrack album was also now moved up to December, but the loss of those four months that had been available for publicizing the film disrupted the plans that the studio had to market it using members of the cast.][ One of the film's executive producers, ]Jon Peters
John Peters (born June 2, 1945) is an American film producer and former hairdresser.
Early life
Peters was born on June 2, 1945 in Van Nuys, California. Peters is of Cherokee (father) and Italian (mother) descent. While growing up in a rough ne ...
, then arranged to have ''What a Feelin'' pulled from store shelves and reissued to include "The Dream".[
''What a Feelin'' debuted on ''Billboard'' magazine's Top LPs & Tapes chart in the issue dated December 10, 1983, to start a 37-week run there and peaked at number 77 in the February 25, 1984, issue.] AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
critic William Ruhlmann noted that the album struggled to stay in the top 100 of the 200 albums listed there and speculated that it was because people already had a copy of "Flashdance... What a Feeling" and "Cara never established a base beyond her individual hits." The album also spent 30 weeks on the magazine's Black LPs chart, where it made its highest showing at number 45 in the January 7 issue.
Singles
" Why Me?", the first official single from the album, debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the issue of the magazine dated October 22, 1983, to begin a fifteen-week run and peaked at number 13 for two weeks, which began in the December 3 issue. Upon the release of her next single, " The Dream (Hold On to Your Dream)", the review in ''Cash Box'' magazine pointed out that "Why Me?" was "still making its way up the charts." The December 10 issues of that magazine and ''Billboard''[ both included the debut of "The Dream" on their respective lists of the 100 most popular singles in the US and listed "Why Me?" with bullets indicating noteworthy airplay and sales gains, giving her two songs moving up the charts at the same time.
"The Dream" peaked at number 37 on February 11, 1984, and stayed on the Hot 100 for a total of fourteen weeks.] Her next single, "Breakdance
Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in ...
", started its nineteen weeks there in the March 24, 1984, issue.[ It peaked at number eight in the June 9 issue and was her third and last top ten hit.] " You Were Made for Me" was the final single from the album and her last song to make the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It began its five weeks on the pop chart in the July 28, 1984, issue[ and peaked at number 78 in its third week there.]
Music videos
Although a promotional video had not been planned for "Flashdance... What a Feeling", ''Flashdance'' distributor Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
had the director Adrian Lyne
Adrian Lyne (born 4 March 1941) is an English film director, writer and producer. Having begun his career directing 1970s television commercials, Lyne made well-received short films which were entries in the London Film Festival. He started mak ...
compile clips exclusively from the film to create a music video for the song when the movie became a surprise hit in the spring of 1983. Cara did appear in the other two videos created for songs on ''What a Feelin'', "Why Me?" and "The Dream". Both were directed and edited by Doug Dowdle and produced by Jeffrey Abelson.
The character Cara portrays in the video for "Why Me?" juggles two plot lines: her frustration as a performer going to auditions at Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
theaters and finally having success while at the same time ending one relationship and finding another. Because the story takes place in Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, Cara is filmed at various landmarks and theaters as she lip-syncs the song. ''Billboard'' listed the clip in the New Videos Added section of its MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
Adds & Rotation column, which noted that it was added to the cable channel's playlist of music videos as of December 7 in the magazine's December 17 issue, eight weeks after its debut on the Hot 100.
The video for "The Dream" used scenes from ''D.C. Cab
''D.C. Cab'' (also known as ''Street Fleet'') is a 1983 American comedy film written and directed by Joel Schumacher, based on a story by Topper Carew and Schumacher, and starring Max Gail, Adam Baldwin, Mr. T, Charlie Barnett, Gary Busey, Mar ...
'' alongside footage of Cara playing herself in her home and around the streets of London. The cabbies have sent her a note that reads, "We miss you, Irene! Your friends at D.C. Cab", and Cara lip-syncs and dances to the music as the comedic visual elements from the film are interwoven throughout. According to the MTV Adds & Rotation list, the video began airing on the cable channel on December 14, one week after "Why Me?" did.
Critical reception
At the time of the album's release, ''Billboard'' Dance Trax columnist Brian Chin described it as "a well-executed piece of work on the part of both producer and artist" and made mention of the yet-to-be-released singles "Breakdance
Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in ...
" and " The Dream (Hold On to Your Dream)" as "ace uptempo picks" that "beg for remixes." He added, "Cara should also please fans nostalgic for the robotic early onna
Onna is a Local Government Area in Akwa Ibom State, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Its name comes from an acronym of the names of the four predominant clans in the area: Oniong, Nnung Ndem, Awa Afaha and Awa.
Onna has a population of about 495,000 ...
Summer sound with her slightly off, trance-like delivery of 'Romance 83' and 'Cue Me Up.'"[ ''Cash Box'' averred that " Flashdance... What a Feeling" and " Why Me?" were "just two of the sizzling singles from this consistent collection."] They felt it was "strong on well-structured pop songs, often reminiscent of ABBA
ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's ...
in 'Why Me?' and 'You Took My Life Away' with impeccable melodic turns."[ They concluded, "Many of the tunes sound suitable for follow-up singles because of their distinctive quality and Cara's vocal warmth."][
In a contemporary review for '']The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
'', music critic Robert Christgau
Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...
gave the album a "C+" grade but confused Cara's educational background with that of her Fame character, Coco Hernandez: "I wish she'd gotten her training in church rather than at Performing Arts
The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...
." In a retrospective review, AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
's William Ruhlmann gave it four-and-a-half out of five stars and said that, even though she sang and co-wrote the lyrics, Cara was mostly "the mouthpiece of Euro-disco producer Giorgio Moroder
Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance mu ...
on these recordings." ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide
''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...
'' found that the title song was its only redeeming feature.[
]
Aftermath
In a 2018 interview, Cara described how the time of receiving awards for "Flashdance... What a Feeling" in early 1984 was also quite painful. "Unfortunately, I was going through a lot of hassles with my record company… So on the outside, I was putting on a face of being on top of the world and being a success, and on the inside I was trying to figure out how to sue my label." Al Coury
Albert Eli Coury (October 21, 1934 – August 8, 2013) was an American music record executive and producer who was vice-president of Capitol Records, co-founder of RSO Records, founder of Network Records and general manager of Geffen Records.
Co ...
, the former RSO executive who signed Cara to his newly formed Network Records a few years earlier, was "acting like a manager, which he shouldn't have been doing," according to Cara.[.] Her musical contribution to ''D.C. Cab
''D.C. Cab'' (also known as ''Street Fleet'') is a 1983 American comedy film written and directed by Joel Schumacher, based on a story by Topper Carew and Schumacher, and starring Max Gail, Adam Baldwin, Mr. T, Charlie Barnett, Gary Busey, Mar ...
'', for example, was something that Coury arranged. She confronted him about not receiving financial compensation for her first album or for "Flashdance... What a Feeling" but was given the runaround.[
In 1985, Cara filed a lawsuit against Network Records and Al Coury, Inc., for, among other things, withholding most of the royalties she had earned from her recordings for the label.][ She claimed that the backlash she endured from taking action against Coury cost her her "future as a recording artist",][ and believed that the company discouraged the other record labels from working with her because of her legal actions; she described it as being blacklisted.][ From that point on, record executives and film producers would have nothing to do with her.][.] "Rumors swirled mercilessly about rampant drug use, spreading the notion that, in her early twenties, this great talent already had been hollowed out."[ The first team of lawyers she hired proved ineffective, and the lawsuit laid dormant until the early nineties when she found a lawyer willing to address what happened.][.]
A Los Angeles County Superior Court awarded her $1.5 million in 1993 after concluding that her career was damaged as a result of the treatment she received, but her attorney, Tom Nunziato explained how actually getting the money was more complicated: "Because only the corporations l Coury Inc. and Network Recordswere sued back in the beginning and not the individuals, the corporations just declared bankruptcy; supposedly they used all the money to pay attorneys… Irene was vindicated by the jury, but the legal system kind of fell down, and there was no way to compensate her."[.] She did, however, begin earning royalties almost a decade after her last chart hit.[
]
1997 CD reissue
Unidisc Music
Unidisc Music is a Canadian independent record label. The label is known for releasing rare music, that was made between the mid-1960s and late 1980s. Genres include rock, electronic, funk, soul, hip hop, jazz, reggae, Latin, disco and a cappel ...
reissued ''What a Feelin'' on compact disc in 1997 in an expanded edition that included dance remixes of "Flashdance... What a Feeling", "Why Me?", "The Dream", and "Breakdance" as well as an instrumental remix of the album's title song and the track that "The Dream" replaced on some editions of the 1983 reissue, "Talk Too Much". The dance remix of "Why Me?" was the only version of that song included, but the other four singles were presented as heard on their albums of origin instead of as the single edit or "radio edit" that the liner notes indicated.
Track listing
Original 1983 version
1983 reissue #1
The version of "The Dream" on this reissue is the same as the ''D.C. Cab'' soundtrack album version (running approximately 4:49).
1983 reissue #2
The version of "The Dream" on this reissue is the same as the 7-inch single version (running approximately 4:18).
1997 CD reissue
Personnel
From the liner notes for the 1997 CD release. Personnel for CD track 11 from the liner notes for the original 1983 vinyl release.[
*Irene Cara – lead vocals
Additional vocalists
*]Joe Esposito Joe Esposito may refer to:
*Joe Esposito (author) (1938–2016), American author and publisher
*Joe Esposito (singer) (born 1948), member of the Brooklyn Dreams
*Joe Esposito (politician) (1872–1928), American corrupt politician
*Joe Esposito (ba ...
– background vocals
*Stephanie Spruill – background vocals
*Maxine Willard Waters – background vocals
*Merry Clayton
Merry Clayton (born December 25, 1948) is an American soul and gospel singer. She provided a number of backing vocal tracks for major performing artists in the 1960s, most notably in her duet with Mick Jagger on the Rolling Stones song "Gimme Sh ...
– background vocals
*Irene Cara – background vocals ; additional background vocals
*Bunny Hull
Jeri Keever "Bunny" Hull is an American songwriter, musician, and author. Her catalog includes music, film and television projects. She is a recipient of 20 Gold and Platinum Certifications, a Grammy Award and two nominations, an Emmy nomination ...
– background vocals ; additional background vocals
*Giorgio Moroder
Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance mu ...
– background vocals
* Beth Anderson – background vocals
*Mary Hylan – background vocals
*Joe Pizzulo
Joe Pizzulo is an American vocalist best known as one of the lead singers on 1980s hit singles credited to Sérgio Mendes, including " Never Gonna Let You Go" (from Mendes' self-titled 1983 album) and "Alibis" (from the 1984 album ''Confetti''). ...
– background vocals ; guest vocalist
*Charlotte Crossley – background vocals
*David Lasley
David Eldon Lasley (August 20, 1947 – December 9, 2021) was an American recording artist, singer, musician and songwriter. He was best known as a touring background singer for James Taylor, as a session singer on recordings by artists including ...
– background vocals
*Bruce Roberts – background vocals
*Wendy McKenzie – additional background vocals
Musicians
*Richie Zito
Richie Zito (born August 21, 1952) is an American songwriter, composer and record producer from Los Angeles. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Zito has experienced success as a prolific session musician, being featured on a wide array of ...
– guitar , Linn drums , Simmons drums , keyboards
*Arthur Barrow
Arthur Barrow (born February 28, 1952) is a multi-instrumental musician, best known for his stint as a bass guitar player for Frank Zappa in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Early life
Barrow was born in San Antonio, Texas in 1952 and grew up in ...
– bass guitar , keyboards
*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 , percussion program
*Sylvester Levay
Sylvester Levay (originally Lévay Szilveszter, Serbian language, Serbian: Силвестер Леваи, ''Silvester Levai'') is a Hungarian people, Hungarian recording artist and composer, born in Yugoslavia (now Serbia).
Life and career
Levay ...
– keyboards
*Irene Cara – percussion program
*Leo Adamian – percussion
*Victoria Berdy – percussion
*Joe Caro – guitar
*Will Lee
William Lee (born William Lubovsky; August 6, 1908 – December 7, 1982) was an American actor who appeared in numerous television and film roles, but was best known for playing Mr. Hooper, the original store proprietor of the eponymous Hooper' ...
– bass guitar
*Carol Steele – percussion
*William Seidman – guitar
*Mike Baird
Michael Bruce Baird (born 1 April 1968) is an Australian investment banker and former politician who was the 44th Premier of New South Wales, the Minister for Infrastructure, the Minister for Western Sydney, and the Leader of the New South W ...
– drums
*Lenny Castro – percussion
*James Newton Howard
James Newton Howard (born June 9, 1951) is an American film composer, music producer and keyboardist. He has scored over 100 films and is the recipient of a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, and nine nominations for Academy Awards. His film scores ...
– piano , synthesizer
*Dean Parks
Weldon Dean Parks (born December 6, 1946) is an American session guitarist and record producer from Fort Worth, Texas.
Albums
Parks was member of the North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los Angeles to work with Sonny and Cher ...
– guitar
*Neil Stubenhaus
Neil Stubenhaus is an American bass guitarist.
Career
He started his musical training playing drums and switched to bass guitar at the age of 12. He studied at the Berklee College of Music where he graduated in 1975. After graduation, he was rec ...
– bass
Production
*Giorgio Moroder
Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance mu ...
– producer
*James Newton Howard
James Newton Howard (born June 9, 1951) is an American film composer, music producer and keyboardist. He has scored over 100 films and is the recipient of a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, and nine nominations for Academy Awards. His film scores ...
– producer
*Richie Zito
Richie Zito (born August 21, 1952) is an American songwriter, composer and record producer from Los Angeles. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Zito has experienced success as a prolific session musician, being featured on a wide array of ...
– arranger
*Sylvester Levay
Sylvester Levay (originally Lévay Szilveszter, Serbian language, Serbian: Силвестер Леваи, ''Silvester Levai'') is a Hungarian people, Hungarian recording artist and composer, born in Yugoslavia (now Serbia).
Life and career
Levay ...
– arranger
*William Seidman – co-arranger , co-engineer
*John "Jellybean" Benitez
John Benitez (born November 7, 1957), also known as Jellybean, is an American musician, songwriter, DJ, remixer, and music producer. He has produced and remixed artists such as Madonna, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, and the Pointer Sisters ...
– remixing
*Claude Allard – 1997 Unidisc CD digital remastering
*Brian Reeves – engineer
*Mike Frondelli – engineer
*Dave Concors – engineer
*Elliot Scheiner
Elliot Ray Scheiner (born 18 March 1947) is a music producer, mixer and engineer. Scheiner has received 27 Grammy Award nominations, eight of which he won, and he has been awarded four Emmy nominations, two Emmy Awards for his work with the Ea ...
– engineer
*Rick Ruggieri – engineer
*Jack Joseph Puig
Jack Joseph Puig is an American audio engineer, A&R executive, and record producer. He has worked with Tonic, Hole, Jellyfish, The Black Crowes, John Mayer, Weezer, Fiona Apple, Roger Hodgson, Taxiride, Green Day, Counting Crows, No Doubt, Klaxo ...
– mixing engineer
All tracks except 1, 14, 15 mixed at Oasis Studios, Los Angeles. Tracks 1, 14, 15 mixed at Westlake Studios, Los Angeles. 1997 CD digitally remastered at Unidisc Studios, Montreal, Quebec.
Artwork
*Jeffrey Fey – design
*Harry Langdon – photography
*Chris Whorf – design
Charts
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:What A Feelin'
1983 albums
Irene Cara albums
Albums produced by Giorgio Moroder
Epic Records albums
Geffen Records albums