Chaka (album)

Last updated
Chaka
Chaka Khan - Chaka (1978 album).jpg
Studio album by
Chaka Khan
ReleasedOctober 12, 1978
Studio Atlantic Recording Studios (New York City)
Length43:11
Label Warner Bros.
Producer Arif Mardin
Chaka Khan chronology
Street Player
(1978)		Chaka
(1978)		 Masterjam
(1979)
Singles from Chaka
  1. "I'm Every Woman"
    Released: September 26, 1978
  2. "Life is a Dance"
    Released: January 17, 1979

Chaka is the debut solo album by American singer Chaka Khan. It was released on October 12, 1978, through Warner Bros. Records. Following the release of the Chaka album, Khan reunited with Rufus for the recording of 1979's Masterjam , produced by Quincy Jones. Her second solo album Naughty followed in 1980.

Contents

Overview

Two singles were released from Chaka, the first being her anthemic solo debut "I'm Every Woman," which would become one of Khan's signature tunes alongside "Ain't Nobody" (1983) and "I Feel For You" (1984). [1] The song has over the past three decades been re-released, remixed and covered a number of times, most notably by Whitney Houston in 1992 for the soundtrack album The Bodyguard , then featuring guest vocals by Khan herself and topping Billboard 's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. A remix of Khan's original recording was also a Top-Ten hit in the U.K. in 1989. The remix was included on the compilation Life is a Dance - The Remix Project , the title track of which was the second single release from the Chaka album in early 1979 (US R&B number 40). The album also features the ballad "Roll Me Through The Rushes", never commercially released as a single but still receiving considerable airplay in 1979, as well as Khan's cover version of Stevie Wonder's "I Was Made To Love Her", re-titled "I Was Made to Love Him".

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Christgau's Record Guide B [3]

AllMusic editor Andy Kellman called the album "a near-total break from Rufus." He found that although "I'm Every Woman" "overshadows everything else on Chaka, the album is full of outstanding performances and a broad range of strong material pulled together by Arif Mardin. It's a near-total break from Rufus. The only connections are Tony Maiden's guitar solo on a gender-switched cover of Stevie Wonder's "I Was Made to Love Her" and writing input from a few Rufus collaborators." [2] Robert Christgau wrote that "Mardin and the usual En Why studio funkies lay down a heavier bottom for Ms. Rufus than her El Lay street bottom for Ms. Rufus than her El Lay street players have in years. She's expressing herself by looking for songs, too, but while every one gives her something to say, only Ashford & Simpson's "I'm Every Woman" is up to her human potential." [3]

Commercial performance

Chaka debuted at number 111 on the US Billboard 200 in the week of November 4, 1978, and eventually peaked at number 12 on December 16, 1978. [4] It was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on November 14, 1978. [5]

Track listing

Chaka track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I'm Every Woman"
4:07
2."Love Has Fallen on Me"
4:52
3."Roll Me Through the Rushes"
4:42
4."Sleep on It"
  • Andrew Kastner
  • Larry John McNally
4:21
5."Life Is a Dance" Gavin Christopher 4:20
6."We Got the Love" (duet with George Benson)Benson3:27
7."Some Love"
  • Khan
  • Keith Boyd, Jr.
  • Traude Sapik
  • Mark Stevens
5:50
8."A Woman in a Man's World"
  • Kastner
  • McNally
3:56
9."The Message in the Middle of the Bottom" Lalomie Washburn 4:15
10."I Was Made to Love Him" Henry Cosby, Lula Mae Hardaway, Sylvia Moy, Stevie Wonder 3:23

Personnel

Performers and musicians

Technical

Charts

Weekly chart performance for Chaka
Chart (1978–2024)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [6] 74
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [7] 50
Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ) [8] 5
US Billboard 200 [4] 12
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [9] 2

Certifications

Certifications for Chaka
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [5] Gold500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaka Khan</span> American singer (born 1953)

Yvette Marie Stevens, 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 the funk band Rufus. With the band she recorded the notable hits "Tell Me Something Good", "Sweet Thing", "Do You Love What You Feel" and the platinum-certified "Ain't Nobody". Her debut solo album featured the number-one R&B hit "I'm Every Woman". Khan scored another R&B charts hit with "What Cha' Gonna Do for Me" before becoming the first R&B artist to have a crossover hit featuring a rapper, with her 1984 cover of Prince's "I Feel for You". More of Khan's hits include "Through the Fire" and a 1986 collaboration with Steve Winwood that produced a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, "Higher Love".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'm Every Woman</span> 1978 single by Chaka Khan

"I'm Every Woman" is a song by American singer Chaka Khan, released in September 1978 by Warner Bros. as her debut solo single from her first album, Chaka (1978). It was Khan's first hit outside her recordings with the funk band Rufus. "I'm Every Woman" was produced by Arif Mardin and written by the successful songwriting team Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson. The single established Chaka's career outside the group Rufus, whom she would leave after their eighth studio album, Masterjam, was released in late 1979.

<i>I Feel for You</i> (album) 1984 studio album by Chaka Khan

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<i>What Cha Gonna Do for Me</i> 1981 studio album by Chaka Khan

What Cha' Gonna Do for Me is the third solo album by American R&B/funk singer Chaka Khan, released on Warner Bros. Records in 1981. It was certified gold by the RIAA.

<i>Naughty</i> (Chaka Khan album) 1980 studio album by Chaka Khan

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<i>Chaka Khan</i> (album) 1982 studio album by Chaka Khan

Chaka Khan is the fourth solo album by American singer Chaka Khan. It was released on the Warner Bros. Records label on November 17, 1982. Khan worked with frequent collaborator Arif Mardin on the album, who would produce all the tracks on Chaka Khan. The "Be Bop Medley" won the pair Grammy Award for Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices at the 26th awards ceremony.

<i>Destiny</i> (Chaka Khan album) 1986 studio album by Chaka Khan

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<i>Life Is a Dance: The Remix Project</i> 1989 remix album by Chaka Khan

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Epiphany: The Best of Chaka Khan, Vol. 1 is a compilation album of recordings by American R&B/funk singer Chaka Khan, first released on the Warner Bros. Records label in 1996. Although the compilation, which reached #22 on Billboard's R&B chart and #84 on Pop, was given the "Vol. 1" tag, it remains without a sequel to date.

<i>ClassiKhan</i> 2004 studio album by Chaka Khan

ClassiKhan is the tenth studio album by American singer Chaka Khan, featuring the London Symphony Orchestra. It was released by independent label Sanctuary Records on October 5, 2004 in United Kingdom, with international releases overseen by different record companies. Produced and arranged by Eve Nelson, ClassiKhan was mainly recorded at London's legendary Abbey Road Studios and features guest appearances by pianist Joe Sample and percussionist Sheila E., among others.

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<i>Against the Grain</i> (Phoebe Snow album) 1978 studio album by Phoebe Snow

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<i>Take No Prisoners</i> (Peabo Bryson album) 1985 studio album by Peabo Bryson

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References

  1. ↑ Leech, Jeanette (March 22, 2024). "I'm Every Woman: The Story". thisisdig.com. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  2. 1 2 https://www.allmusic.com/album/r42218/review
  3. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: K". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies . Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   089919026X . Retrieved February 28, 2019– via robertchristgau.com.
  4. 1 2 "Chaka Khan Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  5. 1 2 "American album certifications – Chaka Khan – Chaka". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  6. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Chaka Khan – What Cha' Gonna Do for Me". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Chaka Khan – What Cha' Gonna Do for Me" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  8. ↑ "Album Top 40 slágerlista (fizikai hanghordozók) – 2024. 13. hét". MAHASZ . Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  9. ↑ "Chaka Khan Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
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