Rock On is the second album by Raydio, released in 1979 on Arista Records. The album reached No. 4 on the US Billboard Top Soul Albums chart and No. 45 on the US Billboard 200 chart. Rock On was certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.
History Like the debut, it features eight tracks, most of which were written by Ray Parker Jr. It reached a peak of number 45 on the charts and featured two singles; one of them being "You Can't Change That", which was another top ten pop hit, peaking at number 9. The other single, "More Than One Way to Love a Woman", failed to chart on pop, but did make number 25 on R&B.
A song from the album, "Hot Stuff" was covered by Skyline recording artist Karen Silver and it was used as the B-side of her version of "Hold On, I'm Comin'", which was released in 1979.Session Days - 1979 Raydio – Rock On, Tracks, 2 Hot Stuff (Ray Parker Jr)RPM Weekly, Volume 32 No. 6 November 3, 1979 - Page 25 DISCO, Hi-yo Silver!
Critical reception
Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times described Rock On as "lively and fun". Ace Adams of the New York Daily News wrote, "This is the group that had the big hit 'Jack and Jill', and this album shows them at their best. It has an instant funk sound that will please their fans, plus sparkling vocals and good instrumental interplay." The Bay State Banner wrote that, "by settling for imitating everything from rock to Chic, Ray Parker has Raydio floundering around with poor songs, cutesy lyrics and no direction." Robert Christgau of The Village Voice gave Rock On a B+ grade, writing, "Ray Parker's idea is to synthesize the old black-music tradition of the male vocal group with the new one of the self-contained funk band, and here he proves that he has what it takes as a composer to keep the idea going. None of these songs stands out like 'Is This a Love Thing' and 'Me' did on the debut, but every one is danceable/listenable fun."
Craig Lytle of AllMusic remarked: "To be taken seriously as an R&B group and to shake the stigma of their nursery rhyme hit 'Jack and Jill' (their debut single), Raydio answers the call on this album with two Billboard R&B singles."
Track listing All tracks written by Ray Parker Jr.
Personnel Raydio Arnell Carmichael – vocals Darren Carmichael – vocals Ray Parker Jr. – vocals, keyboards, synthesizers, guitars, bass Charles Fearing – guitars Larry Tolbert – drums, percussion
Additional personnel Sylvester Rivers – acoustic piano Ollie E. Brown – drums, percussion, backing vocals Jack Ashford – percussion Norma Jean Bell – saxophones Horatio Gordon – saxophones Ken Peterson – trumpet, backing vocals Cheryl Brown – backing vocals Valorie Jones – backing vocals Franci Pearlman – backing vocals
Production Ray Parker Jr. – producer, engineer, mixing Bernie Grundman – mastering at A&M Studios (Hollywood, California)
Charts and certifications
Charts Chart (1979)PeakpositionAustralia (Kent Music Report) 65U.S. Billboard Top Soul LPs 4U.S. Billboard Top LPs 45
Singles Year Single Peak chart positions US Pop USR&B USA/C1979 "You Can't Change That" 9 3 25 "More Than One Way to Love a Woman" — 25 —
Certifications Country CertificationU.S. RIAAGold
References
External links Rock On at Discogs