Jody Watley is the debut studio album by American singer Jody Watley, released on February 23, 1987, by MCA Records. Although Watley had already found success as a part of the trio Shalamar, the impact of this album made her a cultural style icon in contemporary R&B, pop and dance music. Its success culminated in Watley winning a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1988 against fellow artists Breakfast Club, Cutting Crew, Terence Trent D'Arby and Swing Out Sister. The album also produced three top-ten singles on the US Billboard Hot 100: "Looking for a New Love" (No. 2), "Don't You Want Me" (No. 6) and "Some Kind of Lover" (No. 10). The album has sold two million copies in the United States and over four million copies worldwide.
Track listing
Personnel Musicians Jody Watley – lead vocals, background vocals André Cymone – "the band" (1–4, 7, 8, 10) Larry Schneider – saxophone (2, 3) Bernard Edwards – bass guitar (5, 6, 9) Tony Thompson – drums (5, 6, 9) Jeff Bova – Kurzweil K250 keyboards (5, 6, 9) Eddie Martinez – guitars (5, 6, 9) Terence Elliot – guitars (5, 6, 9) John "LBJ" Staehely – guitars (5, 6, 9) Roy Galloway – backing vocals (5, 6, 9) Fonzi Thornton – backing vocals (5, 6, 9) Patrick Leonard – Yamaha synthesizers (8), drum programming (8) Bruce Gaitsch – guitars (8) Gardner Cole – background vocals (8) Tampa Lann – background vocals (8) George Michael – duet vocals (9)
Technical
André Cymone – producer (1–4, 7, 8, 10), mixing (9) David Z. – producer (1–4, 7, 8, 10), mixing (9) Erik Zobler – engineer (1–4, 7, 8, 10) Coke Johnson – mixing (1–4, 7, 8, 10) Louis Silas, Jr. – remixing (1–4, 7, 8, 10) Taavi Mõte – remix engineer (1–4, 7, 8, 10) Bernard Edwards – producer (5, 6, 9) Josh Abbey – engineer (5, 6, 9) Scott Church – assistant engineer (5, 6, 9) Daren Chadwick – second engineer (5, 6, 9) Glenn Kurtz – second engineer (5, 6, 9) Jon Ingoldsby – second engineer (5, 6, 9) Bridget Daly – second engineer (5, 6, 9) Chris Porter – second engineer (5, 6, 9) Patrick Leonard – producer (8) Csaba Petocz – engineer (8) Michael Verdick – engineer (8) Michael V. Blum – mixing assistant (8) Lynn Robb – art direction, design Victoria Pearson – photography Jody Watley – album cover concept
Awards and nominations 1987 - American Music Award Nomination for R&B/Soul Single of the Year ("Looking for a New Love") 1988 - Grammy Award for Best New Artist 1988 - Soul Train Award Nomination for Album of the Year 1988 - Soul Train Award Nomination for Single of the Year ("Looking for a New Love") 1988 - Soul Train Award Nomination for Best Music Video ("Looking for a New Love") 1988 - MTV Video Music Award Nomination for Female Video of the Year ("Some Kind of Lover") 1988 - MTV Video Music Award Nomination for Best New Artist Video of the Year ("Some Kind of Lover") 1988 - Billboard Music Award for Top Dance / Club Play Artist of the Year
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (1987)PeakpositionAustralian Albums (Kent Music Report) N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid 1983 and 19 June 1988.94South African Albums (RISA)7Canada Top Albums/CDs17New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)23UK Albums (OCC)62US Billboard 20010US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)1
Year-end charts Chart (1987)PositionCanada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)64US Billboard 20041US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)10 Chart (1988)PositionUS Billboard 20035US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)21
Singles YearSingleChartPosition1987"Looking for a New Love"Dance Club Songs (Billboard)1Dance/Electronic Singles Sales (Billboard)1Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)1Billboard Hot 1002"Still a Thrill"Dance Club Songs (Billboard)8Dance/Electronic Singles Sales (Billboard)14Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)3Billboard Hot 10056"Don't You Want Me"Dance Club Songs (Billboard)3Dance/Electronic Singles Sales (Billboard)3Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)3Billboard Hot 1006"Some Kind of Lover"Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)31988Dance Club Songs (Billboard)1Dance/Electronic Singles Sales (Billboard)1Billboard Hot 10010"Most of All"Dance Club Songs (Billboard)8Dance/Electronic Singles Sales (Billboard)17Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)11Billboard Hot 10060
Certifications
See also List of number-one R&B albums of 1987 (U.S.)
References
External links Jody Watley at Discogs