City Life (The Blackbyrds album)

City Life is the third studio album by the American rhythm and blues and jazz-funk fusion group the Blackbyrds. It was produced by Donald Byrd and includes the popular singles "Happy Music" and "Rock Creek Park." "Happy Music" was first given a limited released as a six-minute remix on 12-inch vinyl for club deejays,[3] then in early 1976 was released on standard 7-inch vinyl. "Rock Creek Park" has been sampled repeatedly by hip hop musicians.[4]

City Life
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 1975
Recorded1975
StudioSound Factory (Hollywood)
GenreJazz-funk[1]
LabelFantasy
ProducerDonald Byrd
The Blackbyrds chronology
Flying Start
(1974)
City Life
(1975)
Unfinished Business
(1976)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [2]

Track listing

  1. "Rock Creek Park" (Joe Hall, Keith Killgo, Kevin Toney, Orville Saunders, Stephen Johnson) 4:35
  2. "Thankful 'Bout Yourself" (Orville Saunders) 5:11
  3. "City Life" (Kevin Toney) 5:22
  4. "All I Ask" (Kevin Toney) 3:50
  5. "Happy Music" (Donald Byrd) 4:32
  6. "Love So Fine" (Joe Hall) 5:00
  7. "Flying High" (Keith Killgo) 3:29
  8. "Hash and Eggs" (Fonce Mizell, Larry Mizell) 5:06

Personnel

  • Donald Byrd – trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals
  • Joe Hall – bass
  • Keith Killgo – drums
  • Orville Saunders – guitar
  • Kevin Toney – keyboards
  • Stephen Johnson – saxophone
  • Merry Clayton – vocals ("Happy Music")

Charts

Album

Chart (1976) Peak
position
Billboard Top LPs 16
Top Soul LPs 3
Jazz LPs 1

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
1975 "City Life" Disco Singles 4
"Flying High" Billboard Hot 100 70
Hot Soul Singles 22
1976 "Happy Music" Billboard Hot 100 19
Hot Soul Singles 3
Disco Singles 6
"Rock Creek Park" Billboard Hot 100 93
Hot Soul Singles 37

References

  1. Gorton, TJ (July 30, 2018). "BeatCaffeine's 100 Best Jazz-Funk Songs". BeatCaffeine. Archived from the original on August 25, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  2. Mason, Stewart. The Blackbyrds: City Life > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  3. Niebur, Louis (2022). Menergy: San Francisco's Gay Disco Sound. Oxford University Press. p. 49. ISBN 9780197511077.
  4. "Donald Byrd, Producer of "Rock Creek Park," Dead at 80". Archived from the original on 2022-07-05. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
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