Rockbird

Rockbird is the second solo studio album by American singer Debbie Harry.[9] It was released in November 1986 by Geffen Records in the United States and Chrysalis Records in the United Kingdom.

Rockbird
Studio album by
Debbie Harry
ReleasedNovember 15, 1986
Recorded1986
Studio
Genre
Length39:18
LabelGeffen
ProducerSeth Justman
Debbie Harry chronology
KooKoo
(1981)		 Rockbird
(1986)		 Once More into the Bleach
(1988)
Singles from Rockbird
  1. "French Kissin' in the USA"
    Released: November 1986
  2. "Free to Fall"
    Released: February 1987 [1]
  3. "In Love with Love"
    Released: April 1987 [2]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Robert ChristgauB[4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[6]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide[7]
Smash Hits[8]

Background

Rockbird was released four years after the split of Blondie in 1982. Harry had largely put her music career on hold during the mid-1980s in order to look after Blondie guitarist and boyfriend Chris Stein, who had been diagnosed with a serious illness. The album was produced by Seth Justman, a key member of the J. Geils Band. Released in November 1986, there were four variations of the album artwork with the lettering in either green, orange, pink and yellow (with slight variations due to printing techniques).

A stylized version of the album's cover photo appears on the cover of select editions of the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Critical reception

Trouser Press wrote that the album "paves a pop path Harry can navigate, but the material is weak."[10] The Los Angeles Times wrote that "the songs--which tend to be about ne’er-do-well boyfriends and romantic escapades--are tethered to jacked-up rhythms that don’t go down so well on the dance floor."[11] Chris Heath of Smash Hits magazine was more positive, giving the album 7 out of 10 and stating "Nothing else is quite as brilliant as the current single "French Kissin' In The USA", but there's plenty of the aggressive sprightly pop songs that Blondie used to do so well, the odd slightly swoonsome ballad, and a couple of throwaway disco songs. How very nice it is to have her back".[12]

Commercial performance

Rockbird peaked at number 31 on the UK Albums Chart, and remained in the charts for 11 weeks. It was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in January 1987 for shipments in excess of 100,000 copies. In the United States, the album peaked at number 97 on the Billboard 200.

Three singles were released from the album, "French Kissin' in the USA", which reached #8 in the UK, and is Harry's only solo top-10 single in that country, as well as "In Love with Love" and "Free to Fall", which reached #45 and #46, respectively. "French Kissin'" also reached #57 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and #3 in Australia.

Track listing

Side A:

  1. "I Want You" (Deborah Harry, Toni C.) – 4:28
  2. "French Kissin' in the USA" (Chuck Lorre) – 5:14
  3. "Buckle Up" (Deborah Harry, Seth Justman) – 3:46
  4. "In Love with Love" (Deborah Harry, Chris Stein) – 4:34

Side B:

  1. "You Got Me in Trouble" (Deborah Harry, Seth Justman) – 4:18
  2. "Free to Fall" (Deborah Harry, Seth Justman) – 5:31
  3. "Rockbird" (Deborah Harry, Chris Stein) – 3:09
  4. "Secret Life" (Deborah Harry, Chris Stein) – 3:46
  5. "Beyond the Limit" (Deborah Harry, Nile Rodgers) – 4:37

Personnel

Musicians

  • Deborah Harry – lead vocals, backing vocals (1, 3-9)
  • Seth Justman – keyboards, arrangements, bass and drum programming (1, 2, 4, 6-8), backing vocals (1, 3-9)
  • Phil Ashley – synthesizer programming, keyboards (1, 2, 4-8), bass and drum programming (1, 2, 4, 6-8)
  • Jimmy Rip – guitars
  • Toni C. (Antoinette Colandero) – additional guitars (1)
  • Chris Stein – additional guitars (4, 7, 8), bass and drum programming (4, 7, 8), additional arrangements (4, 7, 8)
  • Neil Jason – bass (3, 5, 6, 9)
  • Yogi Horton – drums (3, 6, 9)
  • Mickey Curry – drums (5)
  • Gordon Gottlieb – percussion (2-4, 8, 9)
  • Magic Dick – harmonica (1)
  • James White – saxophone solo (1)
  • Crispin Cioe – alto sax solo (2), alto saxophone (3, 5, 9), baritone saxophone (3, 5, 9)
  • Arno Hecht – tenor saxophone (3, 5, 9)
  • Bob Funk – trombone (3, 5, 9)
  • Paul Litteral – trumpet (3, 5, 9)
  • Jocelyn Brown – backing vocals (1, 2, 5, 6)
  • Connie Harvey – backing vocals (1, 2, 5, 6)
  • La-Rita Gaskins – backing vocals (1, 2, 5, 6)
  • Fonda Rae – backing vocals (3)
  • Judith Spears – backing vocals (3)
  • Cookie Watkins – backing vocals (3)
  • Jay Siegel – backing vocals (4)

Production and artwork

  • Seth Justman – producer
  • Bill Scheniman – recording, mixing
  • John Alters – assistant engineer
  • David Avidor – assistant engineer
  • Ken Collins – assistant engineer
  • Jon Goldberger – assistant engineer
  • Jack Kennedy – assistant engineer
  • Michael O'Haro – assistant engineer
  • Rick Slater – assistant engineer
  • Ken Steiger – assistant engineer
  • Kent Wagner – assistant engineer
  • Greg Calbi – mastering
  • Kyle Davis – production coordinator
  • Stephen Sprouse – cover design
  • Andy Warhol – background painting
  • Paula Greif – art direction
  • Guzman (Constance Hansen and Russell Peacock) – photography
  • Mixed at Counterpoint Studios (New York, NY).
  • Mastered at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).

Charts
Chart (1986–1987) Peak
position
Australian (Kent Music Report)[13] 18
European Albums (Music & Media)[14] 78
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[15] 40
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[16] 22
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[17] 30
UK Albums (OCC)[18] 31
US Billboard 200[19] 97

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[20] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Smith, Robin (February 14, 1987). "Index". Record Mirror. p. 3. ISSN 0144-5804.
  2. "Debbie Harry singles".
  3. Ruhlmann, William. Rockbird at AllMusic
  4. "Robert Christgau: CG: Artist 332". www.robertchristgau.com.
  5. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 4. MUZE. p. 161.
  6. MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 122.
  7. The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. 2004. p. 368.
  8. "Heath, Chris (19 November 1986). "Album Reviews". Smash Hits. EMAP Metro. 8 (24): 92.
  9. Harrington, Richard (November 30, 1986). "Debbie Harry, On Beyond Blondie" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  10. "Debbie Harry". Trouser Press. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  11. "FALL ALBUM ROUNDUP : DEBBIE HARRY: CANDY-BOX POP". Los Angeles Times. November 23, 1986.
  12. Heath, Chris (19 November 1986). Smash Hits. p. 92. {{cite magazine}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 134. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  14. "European Hot 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 3, no. 49. December 13, 1986. p. 21. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  15. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  16. "Charts.nz – Debbie Harry – Rockbird". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  17. "Swedishcharts.com – Debbie Harry – Rockbird". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  18. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  19. "Debbie Harry Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  20. "British album certifications – Debbie Harry – Rockbird". British Phonographic Industry. January 12, 1987. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
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