Street Life (The Crusaders album) explained

Street Life
Type:	studio
Artist:	the Crusaders
Cover:	Street Life.jpg
Released:	December 9, 1979
Recorded:	1979
Studio:	Hollywood Sound Recorders, Hollywood, California
Genre:	Jazz, R&B, disco
Length:	39:21
Label:	MCA
Producer:	Wilton Felder, Stix Hooper, Joe Sample
Prev Title:	Images
Prev Year:	1978
Next Title:	Rhapsody and Blues
Next Year:	1980

Street Life is a studio album by the American jazz band the Crusaders. It was a top 20 album on three Billboard charts and represents the peak of the band's commercial popularity. The title track, featuring singer Randy Crawford, was a Top 40 pop single (No. 36) and became the group's most successful entry on the soul chart (No. 17).^[1] It was No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart. "Street Life" also hit the disco chart, peaking at No. 75,^[2] and was re-recorded by Doc Severinsen with Crawford reprising her vocal for the opening sequence of the noir crime drama Sharky's Machine, directed by Burt Reynolds in 1981. This faster paced version was also featured in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown, released in 1997.

The cover photograph was taken at 409 N Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, California.^[3]

Critical reception

The Bay State Banner noted that "Crawford's voice has passion and intensity, unlike the meanderings heard on her albums."^[4]

The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.^[5]

Track listing

1. "Street Life" (Will Jennings, Joe Sample) – 11:18
2. "My Lady" (Wilton Felder) – 6:43
3. "Rodeo Drive (High Steppin')" (Sample) – 4:28
4. "Carnival of the Night" (Felder) – 6:24
5. "The Hustler" (Stix Hooper) – 5:18
6. "Night Faces" (Sample) – 5:10

Personnel

The Crusaders

• Wilton Felder – tenor saxophone (tracks 1, 2, 3, 4), alto saxophone (track 5, 6), bass (tracks 1, 2, 5)
• Joe Sample – keyboards, horn and string arrangements
• Stix Hooper – drums

Additional personnel

• Randy Crawford – vocals (track 1)
• Louis Aldebert – vocals (track 2)
• Monique Aldebert – vocals (track 2)
• Oscar Brashear – trumpet (tracks 1, 3)
• Robert O. Bryant Sr. – trumpet (track 1)
• Jerome Richardson – alto saxophone (track 1)
• Robert Bryant Jr. – tenor saxophone (track 1)
• William Green – baritone saxophone (track 1)
• Garnett Brown – tenor trombone (tracks 1, 3)
• Maurice Spears – bass trombone (tracks 1, 3)
• Arthur Adams – guitar (tracks 1, 4)
• Billy Rogers – guitar (track 1)
• Roland Bautista – guitar (tracks 1, 4)
• Barry Finnerty – guitar (tracks 2-5)
• Paul Jackson Jr. – guitar (tracks 2, 5)
• David T. Walker – guitar (track 4)
• Alphonso Johnson – bass (tracks 3, 6)
• James Jamerson Jr. – bass (track 4)
• Paulinho Da Costa – percussion (tracks 1-5)

Charts

Album - Billboard (United States)

Year	Chart	Position
1979	Black Albums	3
1979	Jazz Albums	1
1979	Pop Albums	18

Singles - Billboard (United States)

Year	Chart	Single	Position
1979	Black Singles	"Street Life"	17
1979	Club Play Singles	"Street Life"	75
1979	Pop Singles	"Street Life"	36

External links

• Transcription of Joe Sample's piano solo on Track 1 - "Street Life"

Notes and References

1. Book: Whitburn, Joel . Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Joel Whitburn . 2004 . Record Research . 140.
2. Book: Whitburn, Joel . Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Joel Whitburn . 2004 . Record Research . 66.
3. Web site: Musical Maps. Musicalmaps.com.au. 4 August 2018.
4. News: Lane . George . Shades of Blue . Bay State Banner . 35 . 7 June 1979 . 13.
5. Book: Robert Dimery. Michael Lydon. 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. 7 February 2006. Universe. 0-7893-1371-5.