''Play Don't Worry'' is the second album by English

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

ist and singer

Mick Ronson Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session musici ...

, recorded in 1974 and released in January 1975 after his several projects in the early seventies together with

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...

and the band the Spiders from Mars. It contains mainly covers arranged by Ronson for his own sound, covering everyone from

Pure Prairie League Pure Prairie League is an American country rock band which featured in its original lineup singer and guitarist Craig Fuller, drummer Tom McGrail and steel guitarist John David Call, all from Waverly in southern Ohio. Fuller started the band i ...

The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionis ...

and

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...

. The backing track to "

White Light/White Heat ''White Light/White Heat'' is the second studio album by the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Released on January 30, 1968, by Verve Records, it was the band's last studio album with multi-instrumentalist and founding member John Cale ...

" was salvaged from Bowie's ''

Pin Ups ''Pin Ups'' (also referred to as ''Pinups'' and ''Pin-Ups'') is the seventh studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released on 19October 1973 through RCA Records. Devised as a "stop-gap" album to appease his record label, it is a ...

'' sessions. The title track was co-written by

Bob Sargeant Robert Sargeant (20 November 1947 – 13 July 2021) was a British musician and record producer. Life and career Born in North Shields, Sargeant played keyboards in various local bands before joining regional R&B band the Junco Partners in 1966 ...

, later producer to The Beat amongst others, who released an album ''First Starring Role'' in April 1974 which included Ronson on recorder and producing four tracks.

Track listing

;Side one # "Billy Porter" (

) – 3:30 # "Angel No. 9" (

Craig Fuller Craig Lee Fuller (born July 18, 1949) is an American musician and songwriter. Fuller was the co-founder of Pure Prairie League, along with John David Call and George Powell. Fuller wrote and sang their first hit "Amie". He departed the band i ...

) – 5:31 # "This Is for You" (Laurie Heath) – 4:30 # "

" (

) – 4:07 ;Side two # "Play Don't Worry" (Ronson,

) – 3:15 # "Hazy Days" (Ronson) – 4:10 # " Girl Can't Help It" (

Bobby Troup Robert William Troup Jr. (October 18, 1918 – February 7, 1999) was an American actor, jazz pianist, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the composer of the rhythm and blues standard " (Get Your Kicks on) Route 66" and for the role of D ...

) – 2:45 # "Empty Bed (Io Me Ne Andrei)" (

Claudio Baglioni Claudio Baglioni (; born 16 May 1951) is an Italian Pop music, pop singer-songwriter and musician. His career has been going on for over 50 years. Considered one of the most successful pop rock singer-songwriters in the history of Italian mu ...

Antonio Coggio Antonio Coggio (16 May 1939 – 19 October 2021) was an Italian composer, arranger, pianist, and record producer. After his studies at the Conservatorio Niccolò Paganini in Genoa, between 1964 and 1966 Coggio was pianist for Gino Paoli, accomp ...

, Ronson) – 5:12 # "Woman" (Adam Taylor) – 3:25

CD edition bonus tracks

# "Seven Days" (

Annette Peacock Annette Peacock (born 1941) is an American composer, musician, songwriter, producer, and arranger. She is a pioneer in electronic music who combined her voice with one of the first Moog synthesizers in the late 1960s. Biography Annette Peacock ...

) – 2:44 riginal B-Side# "Stone Love ( Soul Love)" (

) – 3:30 # "I'd Rather Be Me" (Ronson) – 4:54 # "Is There Life on Mars?" (Bob Barnes aka Roscoe West) – 4:14 # "Pain in the City" (Ronson) – 3:45 # "Dogs (French Girl)" (J.H. Burnett) – 3:49 # "Seven Days" (Annette Peacock) – 6:01 lternate Take# "28 Days Jam" (Ronson) – 6:23 # "Woman" (Adam Taylor) – 3:32 lternate Take

Charts

Personnel

– guitar, bass, drums, harmonica, piano,

clavinet The Clavinet is an electric clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds with rubber pads, each matching one of the keys and respond ...

, synthesizer, vocals *

Trevor Bolder Trevor Bolder (9 June 1950 – 21 May 2013) was an English rock musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his long association with Uriah Heep and his tenure with the Spiders from Mars, the backing band for David Bowie, ...

– bass, horn *

Mike Garson Michael David Garson (born July 29, 1945) is an American pianist, who has worked with David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, St. Vincent, Duran Duran, Free Flight, The Smashing Pumpkins, Melissa Auf der Maur, CSS and The Pretty Reckless. Early caree ...

– piano *Ritchie Dharma,

Aynsley Dunbar Aynsley Thomas Dunbar (born 10 January 1946) is an English drummer. He has worked with John Mayall, Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck, Journey, Jefferson Starship, Nils Lofgren, Eric Burdon, Shuggie Otis, Ian Hunter, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Mick Ron ...

, Tony Newman – drums *Jeff Daly – saxophone, flutes *

Neil Kernon Neil Kernon is an English record producer, mixer, recording engineer and musician from London. He is a Grammy Award winner and has worked on over 100 Gold and Platinum records. Biography Born to a musical family, Kernon's formal musical train ...

– ARP synthesizer on "Billy Porter" and "This Is for You" *Paul Francis – drums on "Play Don't Worry" *

John Mealing John Mealing (born in Yeovil, Somerset) is a British keyboardist, composer and arranger. After leaving the Don Rendell-Ian Carr Quintet in the late sixties, he joined the pioneering British jazz-rock band If until they came off the road in 1 ...

– piano on "Woman" * Ian Hunter – backing vocals on "Girl Can't Help It" *Vicky Silva,

Miquel Brown Miquel Brown (born Michael Brown; February 8, 1945) is a Canadian actress, disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particular ...

, Beverly Baxton – backing vocals on "Angel No.9" and "Woman" *Sid Sax – string conductor on "Empty Bed (Io Me Ne Andrei)"

Charts

Weekly charts

Production

*Engineered by Dennis Mackay, Peter Fielder, Ted Sharp, Ray Hendrickson and Ian Major **Track 01-10: recorded and mixed at

Strawberry Studios Strawberry Studios was a recording studio in Stockport, historically in Cheshire, now within Greater Manchester, England. Founded in 1968, it operated until the early 1990s. Strawberry Studios was used by a range of artists including the Ramones ...

, Juan La Pins, South of France,

Trident Studios Trident Studios was a British recording facility, located at 17 St Anne's Court in London's Soho district between 1968 and 1981. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield, drummer of the 1960s group the Hunters, and his brother Barry ...

and Scorpio Sound, London, 1974. **Track 11–15: recorded and mixed at Sundragon Studios, 13–14 December 1975. **Track 16–18: mixed August 1997 by Lestyn at Dana Studios, London. **All tracks produced, arranged and conducted by Mick Ronson for Mainman. *

Clive Arrowsmith Clive Arrowsmith is a London-based photographer. Works He has worked for many fashion publications and is one of only a few photographers, including Brian Duffy who have twice been given the commission to shoot the Pirelli Calendar. He curren ...

– photography

References

Mick Ronson albums 1975 albums Albums produced by Mick Ronson RCA Records albums Albums recorded at Trident Studios {{1970s-rock-album-stub