Rickie Lee Jones (album)

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Rickie Lee Jones
Rickie Lee Jones cover
Studio album by Rickie Lee Jones
Released March 1979
Recorded 1978 at Warner Bros. Recording Studios and The Burbank Studios; Tracks 2, 11 recorded live December 22, 1978 at TBS
Genre Rock
Length 42:11
Label Warner Bros. Records
Producer Lenny Waronker and Russ Titelman
Professional reviews
Rickie Lee Jones chronology

Rickie Lee Jones
(1979)		 Pirates
(1981)

Rickie Lee Jones is the eponymously titled debut album of Chicago-born musician Rickie Lee Jones, released in March 1979. After arriving in California in the mid-1970s, Jones started writing songs more seriously and by 1977 had met a pair of singer-songwriters, Chuck E. Weiss and Tom Waits, who became her lover during this period.

Contents

[edit] Overview

A demo containing songs for the album including "The Last Chance Texaco", "Easy Money", "Young Blood" and "After Hours" did the rounds in 1978 and earned Jones a record deal with Warner Bros. Records. Recording sessions during 1978 yielded eleven songs for inclusion on an album, with two, "On Saturday Afternoons in 1963" and "After Hours," recorded live on December 22, 1978.

[edit] Success

The album was released in the spring of 1979 to favourable reviews, propelled by the substantial jazz-pop hit single "Chuck E.'s in Love," based on a rumoured romance of her friend Weiss. The single became a US #4 hit during the summer, while the album, which went on to become a million seller, hit US #3. A second single, "Young Blood," cracked the US Top 40 in late 1979, when Jones went on an international tour.

[edit] Image

The album cover contributed to the image of Jones as a cool beret-wearing beatnik; it was reported at the time that Jones was a heavy drinker and also a drug addict, and she and Tom Waits were, in some quarters, known as rock music's bohemian couple. The music videos for the album's two hit singles also contribute to Jones' "hipster chic" image, and in 1979 she featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, becoming one of the most successful music stars of the year. The album cover photography and design was by Norman Seeff.

[edit] Track listing

Songs written by Rickie Lee Jones, except where noted.

  1. "Chuck E's In Love" 3:28
  2. "On Saturday Afternoons In 1963" – 2:31
  3. "Night Train" – 3:14
  4. "Young Blood" – 4:04
  5. "Easy Money" – 3:16
  6. "The Last Chance Texaco" – 4:05
  7. "Danny's All-Star Joint" – 4:01
  8. "Coolsville" – 3:49
  9. "Weasel And The White Boys Cool" (Rickie Lee Jones, Alfred Johnson) – 6:00
  10. "Company" (Rickie Lee Jones, Alfred Johnson) – 4:40
  11. "After Hours" – 2:13

[edit] Personnel

Rickie Lee Jones - vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion, horn arrangements

[edit] Miscellanea

  • The "Chuck E." referred to in the first track is musician Chuck E. Weiss.
  • The acronym "P.L.P." in the same track is a slang acronym for "Public Leaning Post", referring to people (typically friends) physically leaning against one another.
  • "Weasel and the White Boys Cool" was the first song written for the album, copyrighted in 1976.
  • The original title for "Danny's All-Star Joint" was "Cecil, Take a Dollar."
  • Lowell George covered "Easy Money" in 1978 prior to the album release.
  • Emmylou Harris has stated that she received the original demos for the album in 1978 at her home in California.
  • "On Saturday Afternoons in 1963" has been covered by various artists including Tori Amos.
  • "On Saturday Afternoons in 1963" was also featured in Season 1 Episode 2 ("Paternity") of House, M.D..

[edit] Charts

Album

Year Chart Position
1979 US 3
1979 UK 18

Singles - Billboard

Year Single Chart Position
1979 "Chuck E's In Love" Black Singles 79
1979 "Chuck E's In Love" Pop Singles 4
1979 "Young Blood" Pop Singles 40

[edit] Sample

Audio samples of Rickie Lee Jones