''Union'' is the debut album by American singer-songwriter

Toni Childs Toni Childs (born October 29, 1957) is an American-Australian singer-songwriter. She is best known for her songs "Don't Walk Away" (a Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hit in the United States in 1988), "I've Got to Go Now", a Top 5 hit ...

. Released in 1988, the album peaked at number 63 in the US (where it has since been certified Gold for sales of over 500,000 copies). It also peaked at number one in New Zealand, where it was certified 5× Platinum (75,000 copies sold). Four singles were released from the album: "Stop Your Fussin'", "Don't Walk Away", "Walk and Talk Like Angels", and "Zimbabwae". "Stop Your Fussin'" reached the top 20 in Australia, New Zealand, and Germany while "Don't Walk Away" became Childs' only single to chart in the United States, reaching number 72 there. The album was recorded in London, Paris, and

Swaziland Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

. Childs' collaborated with David Ricketts and David Baerwald (who recorded the 1986 album ''

Boomtown A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although ...

'' as David + David) in the writing and production of the album. Time Magazine described ''Union'' as an album that "catches the sweet, scary feelings, all the uncertainty and release, that can come when the sun goes down", and "a diary of dashed love and stubborn hope set into layers of melody that will never let the memory loose". Following its release, Childs was nominated for two

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

s for 'Best New Artist' and for 'Best Rock Vocal Performance (Female)' for the single "Don't Walk Away".

Track listing

All songs written by

and David Ricketts except as indicated. #"Don't Walk Away" (Childs, Phil Ramacon) 4:00 #"Walk and Talk Like Angels" 5:48 #"Stop Your Fussin" 4:40 #"Dreamer" 5:01 #"Let the Rain Come Down" (Childs, Ricketts,

David Batteau David Hurst Batteau (born June 25, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter. Batteau is the son of Blanca Batteau and Dr. Dwight Wayne Batteau, of Harvard University and Tufts University. He is the brother of singer-songwriter Robin Batteau. H ...

) 4:51 #"Zimbabwae" 6:18 #"Hush" (Childs) 4:04 #"Tin Drum" 5:41 #"Where's the Ocean" (Childs) 4:42

Personnel

*Toni Childs – vocals, guitar, bass * David Ricketts – bass, guitar, keyboard, drum programs *

Rick Marotta Richard Thomas Marotta (born January 7, 1948) is an American drummer and percussionist. He has appeared on recordings by leading artists such as Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, Steely Dan, James Taylor, Paul Simon, John Lennon, Hall & Oates, Ste ...

– drums *

Alex Acuña Alejandro Neciosup Acuña (born December 12, 1944), known professionally as Alex Acuña, is a Peruvian-American drummer and percussionist. Background Born in Pativilca, Peru, Acuña played in local bands such as La Orquesta de los Hermanos Neci ...

– percussion *

Hans Christian Hans Christian may refer to: People * Hans Christian (musician) (born 1960), German-born musician and producer * Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875), Danish author and poet * Hans Christian Gram (1853–1938), Danish bacteriologist * Hans Chris ...

– cello *

Paul Hanson Paul Hanson is an American bassoonist, saxophonist, duduk player, and composer with roots in jazz and classical music. Music career Paul Hanson was born in San Francisco, CA, in 1961. His parents were both musicians: his mother a classical pi ...

– bassoon *Gary Barlough – synthesizers, synclavier programs *George Lee – saxophone, percussion *

Steve Hogarth Steve Hogarth (born Ronald Stephen Hoggarth, 14 May 1956 in Kendal, Westmorland) also known as "h", is an English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Since 1989 he has been the lead singer of the British rock band Marillion, for which ...

– keyboards * David Rhodes – guitar * Alex Weir – guitar *

Dann Huff Dann Lee Huff (born November 15, 1960) is an American record producer and songwriter. For his work as a producer in the country music genre, he has won several awards, including the ''Musician of the Year'' award in 2001, 2004, and 2016 at the Co ...

– guitar *

Gary Barnacle Gary Barnacle (born 1959 in Dover, England) is an English saxophonist, flautist, brass instrument arranger, composer, and producer. Barnacle is primarily noted for his session work and live work, including various Prince's Trust concerts at Wem ...

, Pete Thoms,

John Thirkell John Thirkell is a British trumpet and flugelhorn player, who has appeared on hundreds of pop, rock, and jazz recordings. Through the 1980s and early 1990s he was on at least one album in the UK Charts continuously, without a break, for over ...

– horns

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Union (Toni Childs Album) 1988 debut albums Toni Childs albums A&M Records albums Albums produced by David Tickle