''Numbers'' is the seventh studio album by

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

band

Rufus Rufus is a masculine given name, a surname, an Ancient Roman cognomen and a nickname (from Latin ''wikt:rufus, rufus'', "red"). Notable people with the name include: Given name Politicians * Marcus Caelius Rufus, (28 May 82 BC – after 48 ...

, released on the

ABC Records ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels bef ...

label in 1979. It was the band's first album without

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan ( ), is an American singer. Known as the " Queen of Funk", her career has spanned more than five decades beginning in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of ...

on lead vocals. Instead, band members Tony Maiden and David "Hawk" Wolinski shared lead vocal duties, with additional female leads by Helen Lowe and Maxayne. The album reached #15 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 advertis ...

s R&B Albums chart, #81 on Pop and included the single release "Keep It Together (Declaration of Love)" (US R&B #16). Khan returned to the band for the recording of the following album ''Masterjam'', produced by

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

. ''Numbers'' would be Rufus' final album on

. The label would be purchased and subsequently dissolved by

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

, and the band transferred to its roster. ''Numbers'' also marked the debut of drummer John "J.R." Robinson to the lineup. He would remain Rufus's drummer for the rest of their run.

Track listing

Personnel

*Tony Maiden – guitar, lead vocals on "Ain't Nobody Like You", "Keep It Together (Declaration of Love)", "Bet My Dreams", "Pleasure Dome", and "Life in the City", background vocals, clavinet * Kevin Murphy – keyboards *Bobby Watson – bass, guitar, clavinet * John Robinson – drums, percussion * David "Hawk" Wolinski – keyboards, lead vocals on "You're to Blame", "Don't You Sit Alone" and "Are We?", background vocals, guitar *Rufus – lead vocals on "Dancin' Mood" *Everett Bryson – percussion *Richard Mikuls – guitar *Truman Thomas – piano on "Keep It Together (Declaration of Love)" *Chuck "The German" Brooke – tenor saxophone, flute *John "Iron Lips" Erwin – trombone *Bob "The Professor" Greve – baritone saxophone, flute *Dave Grover – trumpet, slide trumpet, trombone *Bill Lamb – trumpet, slide trumpet, trombone, bass trombone *Helen Lowe – lead vocals on "Ain't Nobody Like You", background vocals * Lalomie Washburn – background vocals * Maxayne – lead vocals on "Are We?", background vocals *

Freddie Hubbard Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...

– trumpet on "Bet My Dreams" *

Harvey Mason Harvey William Mason (born February 22, 1947) is an American jazz drummer, record producer, and member of the band Fourplay. He was the original drummer for Herbie Hancock's band The Headhunters. Life and career Mason was born and grew ...

– drums on "Pleasure Dome"

Production

*Rufus – producer, mixing *

Roy Halee Roy Decker Halee (born 1934) is an American record producer and engineer, best known for working with Simon & Garfunkel, both as a group and for their solo projects. Early life Halee grew up on Long Island, New York. His father, also named Roy ...

– producer, engineer, mixing *

Thom Wilson Thom Wilson (died February 8, 2015) was an American punk rock record producer and engineer. Career Wilson began his musical career in the mid-1970s, engineering recordings by soft rock artists Burton Cummings and Seals & Crofts. He began worki ...

– engineer *Allen Zentz – audio mastering *

Ernie Freeman Ernest Aaron Freeman (August 16, 1922 – May 16, 1981) was an American pianist, organist, bandleader, and arranger. He was responsible for arranging many successful rhythm and blues and pop music, pop records from the 1950s to the 1970s. B ...

– string arrangements and conductor

Charts

Album Singles

References

External links

*
Numbers
at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

{{Authority control 1979 albums Rufus (band) albums Albums arranged by Ernie Freeman Albums produced by Roy Halee ABC Records albums