Sunbeam is the fifth studio album by the girl group the Emotions, issued in April 1978 on Columbia Records. The album rose to No. 12 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart and No. 40 on the Billboard 200 chart. Sunbeam has been certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.
Critical reception
John Storm Roberts of High Fidelity stated that "Sunbeam sparkles with good tracks." Phyl Garland of Stereo Review wrote that "Sunbeam is from the same mold as 'Rejoice'—and a very good mold it is—though the outcome here falls just a bit short of the previous opus." Garland also called Sunbeam a "very good" recording with a "polished, but not slick" performance by the Emotions. Glenn Clark of The Morning Call wrote: "The best thing I can say about this LP is that I like it. The Emotions' brand of snappy and upbeat soul is good for my soul. Maurice White, guru of Earth, Wind & Fire, produced this album, and I think he has blended well the talent he has brought together."
Craig Lytle of AllMusic found that, "as White's signature can be detected throughout most of the compositions, he is humble enough to leave room for the Emotions to flourish vocally."
Track listing
Personnel The Emotions Wanda Hutchinson – vocals Sheila Hutchinson Whitt – vocals Jeanette Hawes – vocals
Musicians Terry L. Mashall, Skip Scarborough – keyboards Charles "Chuck-A-Luck" Hosch, Gary Grainger, Verdine White – bass Keith Henderson, Marlo Henderson, Jon Lind, Al McKay – guitars Donzell Davis, Fred White, Maurice White – drums Paulinho da Costa, Earl DeRouen – percussion Victor Feldman – vibes Oscar Brashear, Rahm Lee Davis, Chuck Findley, Michael Harris – trumpets George Bohanon, Louis Satterfield, Maurice Spears – trombones Barbara Korn, Sidney Muldrow, Alan Robinson, Gale Robinson, Marilyn Robinson – French horns Donald Myrick, George Patterson, Jr. – saxophones Murray Adler, Harry Bluestone, Ron Clark, Assa Drori, Ronald Folsom, Frank Foster, Janice Gower, Endre Granat, William Henderson, Davida Lou Johnson, Bernard Kundrell, Joseph Livoti, Joy Lyle, Stanley Plummer, Nathan Ross, Sheldon Sanov, Ilkka Talvi – violins Samuel Boghossian, Denyce Buffum, Gareth Nuttycombe – violas Armand Kaproff, Dennis Karmazyn, Raymond Kelley – cellos Tom Tom 84 (Thomas Washington) – horn and string arrangements
Technical Tom Perry – engineer Andy Engel – album design Jürgen Reisch – photography
Charts Chart (1978)PeakU.S. Billboard Top LPs40U.S. Billboard Top Soul LPs12
Singles Year Single Peak chart positions USR&B1978 "Smile" 6 "Whole Lot of Shakin'" 441979 "Walking the Line" 58
References
External links Sunbeam at Discogs