Street Player

Street Player is the gold-selling sixth studio album by funk band Rufus (billed as Rufus & Chaka Khan), released on the ABC Records label in 1978. Street Player was the band's third album to top Billboard's R&B Albums chart and also reached #14 on Pop. The album includes the singles "Stay" (US R&B #3, US Pop #48) and "Blue Love" (US R&B #34).

History

In 1978, Rufus and Chaka Khan was still a top-selling band. Their last four releases had gone platinum and the group continued to sell out in arenas as a top headlining act with fiery Khan leading the way. By this point, Khan's stardom outside the group had grown and it led to the group drifting apart. While Khan opted to stay a member of the group, other members were uncomfortable that Khan was now offered solo contracts.

After the release of this record, Khan would sign a solo deal with Warner Bros. Records. Khan would later have a hit with her debut album, which featured the hit, "I'm Every Woman". Due to their popularity and the strong cohesiveness of the songs, Street Player became their fifth consecutive platinum album. While Khan went on to a solo career, Rufus cut Numbers, in 1979, without her. Khan, however, didn't leave the group, returning for their Quincy Jones-produced Masterjam later that year.

Also after the departure of original drummer Andre Fischer, Richard "Moon" Calhoun took over on this album on drums. This would be his only album with the group. Additionally, the jazz/rock band Chicago featured a version of the title track on their 1979 album Chicago 13, with Peter Cetera on lead vocals. The song was co-written by former Chicago drummer Danny Seraphine. The track "Stay" was later covered by Erykah Badu on her 1997 album Live.

Track listing

Personnel

• Chaka Khan – lead vocals, background vocals
• Tony Maiden – guitar, percussion, lead vocals, background vocals
• Kevin Murphy – keyboards
• Bobby Watson – bass, percussion
• David "Hawk" Wolinski – keyboards, background vocals
• Richard "Moon" Calhoun – drums, percussion, background vocals
• Seawind – horns
• Jerry Hey – trumpet, flugel horn
• Kim Hutchcroft – saxophone, flute
• William Reichenbach – trombone
• Larry Williams – saxophone, flute, piccolo
• Helen Lowe – additional background vocals
• Everett Bryson, Jr. – percussion

Production

• Rufus, Roy Halee – producers
• Roy Halee, George Belle – engineers
• Clare Fischer – string arrangements & conductor
• Seawind, Rufus – horn arrangements
• Brian Gardner – audio mastering

Charts

Album

Singles

See also

• List of number-one R&B albums of 1978 (U.S.)

References

External links

• Street Player at Discogs