''Busy Body'' is the third

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by American R&B/

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

singer-songwriter

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American Soul music, soul and Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. Over his career, he achieved eleven consecutive RIAA certification, RIAA-certified ...

, released on November 25, 1983. It hit the number one position on the US ''Billboard'' Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in the week of April 13, 1984 and was certified Platinum by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

in January 1985.

Track listing

Personnel

* Luther Vandross – lead vocals (1-3, 5-7), backing vocals (1-3, 5-7), all vocals (4), vocal arrangements *

Nat Adderley, Jr. Nathaniel Adderley Jr. (born May 23, 1955) is an American pop music, pop and rhythm and blues music arranger and pianist who spent much of his music career arranging as music director for Luther Vandross tours and contributed as co-songwriter on ...

– keyboards, string arrangements (2, 7), horn arrangements (4, 7), rhythm and synthesizer arrangements (4, 6, 7) *

Marcus Miller William Henry Marcus Miller Jr. (born June 14, 1959) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He has worked with trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Herbie Hancock, singer Luther Vandross, and saxophonists Wayne Shorter and David Sa ...

– synthesizers (1-5, 7), bass guitar, rhythm and synthesizer arrangements (1-3, 5) * John "Skip" Anderson – synthesizers (4, 6, 7) * Doc Powell – guitars *

Georg Wadenius Georg "Jojje" Wadenius (born 4 May 1945) is a Swedish multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer who was particularly active during the 1970s and 1980s as a studio and session guitarist and bassist, as well as for a series of albums of childre ...

– guitars *

Yogi Horton Lawrence "Yogi" Horton (October 1, 1953June 8, 1987) was an American R&B, funk, jazz and rock drummer. Horton worked and recorded as a session and touring drummer with a wide variety of musicians such as Aretha Franklin, Luther Vandross, John Le ...

– drums *

Paulinho da Costa Paulinho da Costa (, born Paulo Roberto da Costa on May 31, 1948) is a Brazilian percussionist. Beginning his career as a samba musician in Brazil, he moved to the United States in the early 1970s and worked with Brazilian bandleader Sérgio Me ...

– percussion * Michael White – percussion (7) * Steve Kroon –

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest ...

s (1, 3, 5-7),

bongos Bongos (Spanish language, Spanish: ''bongó'') are an Afro-Cubans, Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. The pair consists of the larger ''hembra'' () and the smaller ''macho'' ...

(2, 4) *

Jimmy Webb Jimmy Layne Webb (born August 15, 1946) is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He achieved success at an early age, winning the Grammy Award for Song of the Year at the age of 21. During his career, he established himself as one of Am ...

– horn and string arrangements (6) * Alfred Brown – horn and string contractor (2, 4, 6, 7) *

Tawatha Agee Tawatha Agee (born November 14, 1954) is an American vocalist and songwriter. Her voice has been described in ''The New York Times'' as an "acrobatic, gospel-charged soprano." She was the lead singer of funk and soul band Mtume; her soulful lead ...

– backing vocals (1-3, 5, 7) * Phillip Ballou – backing vocals (1, 2, 5-7) *

Robin Clark Robin Clark is an American vocalist known for her work as a vocalist on David Bowie's 1975 album ''Young Americans'' and Simple Minds' 1985 album ''Once Upon a Time''. Clark was born in New York. In 1967, when Clark was 17, she and future s ...

– backing vocals (1-3, 5, 7) *

Fonzi Thornton Alfonso "Fonzi" Thornton is an American vocalist, songwriter, producer and vocal contractor. In a career spanning 40 years, Thornton has sung backing vocals for top artists across many genres of music. His vocal credits can be found on the re ...

– backing vocals (1, 5) * Brenda White King – backing vocals (1-3, 5-7) * Alfa Anderson – backing vocals (2, 3, 6) *

Cissy Houston Emily Drinkard (September 30, 1933 – October 7, 2024), known professionally as Cissy Houston, was an American soul and gospel singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, Houston began singing with three of her siblings in the family gospel group, T ...

– backing vocals (2, 6) *

David Lasley David Eldon Lasley (August 20, 1947 – December 9, 2021) was an American recording artist, singer, musician and songwriter. He was best known as a touring background singer for James Taylor, as a session singer on recordings by artists including ...

– backing vocals (3, 5) *

Darlene Love Darlene Wright (born July 26, 1941), also known by the stage name Darlene Love, is an American R&B and soul singer and actress. She was the lead singer of the girl group the Blossoms and also a solo recording artist. She began singing as a ch ...

– backing vocals (3, 5) *

Cheryl Lynn Cheryl Lynn (born Lynda Cheryl Smith; March 11, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She is best known for her songs during the late 1970s through the mid-1980s, including the 1978 R&B/disco song " Got to Be Real" from her albu ...

– backing vocals (3, 5) *

Paulette McWilliams Paulette McWilliams is an American singer and songwriter. She began her career singing with the bands The American Breed and Rufus, and has appeared as a backing vocalist on recordings and on tour for numerous artists. She worked with Marvin Gay ...

– backing vocals (3, 5) * Yvonne Lewis – backing vocals (5, 6) *

Patti Austin Patti Austin (born August 10, 1950) is an American Grammy Award-winning R&B, pop, and jazz singer and songwriter best known for " Baby, Come to Me", her 1982 duet with James Ingram, which topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 after its re-release ...

– backing vocals (6) * Michelle Cobbs – backing vocals (6) *

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick ( ; born Marie Dionne Warrick; December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. During her career, Warwick has won many awards, including six Grammy Awards. She has been inducted into the Hollywood Wa ...

– lead vocals (6)

Production

* Larkin Arnold – executive producer * Marcus Miller – producer (1-3, 5) * Luther Vandross – producer * Ray Bardani – recording, mixing * Michael Barbiero – additional engineer * Carl Beatty – additional engineer * Michael Christopher – additional engineer, assistant engineer * Paul Brown – assistant engineer * Rudy Hill – assistant engineer * Bruce Robbins – assistant engineer * Harry Spiridakis – assistant engineer * Steve Bates – mix assistant *

Greg Calbi Gregory Calbi (born April 3, 1949) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound, New Jersey. Biography Greg Calbi was born on April 3, 1949, in Yonkers, New York, and raised in Bayside, Queens, New York. He graduated in 1966 from Bishop ...

– mastering at Sterling Sound (New York, NY) * Kate Jansen – album administrator * Dana Lester – album administrator * George Corsillo – art direction, design * Brian Hagiwara – front and back photography * Harry Langdon – photography of Luther Vandross * Shep Gordon – management * Daniel S. Markus – management * Alive Enterprises, Inc. – management company

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

1983 albums Luther Vandross albums Albums arranged by Jimmy Webb Albums produced by Luther Vandross Albums produced by Marcus Miller Epic Records albums {{1980s-R&B-album-stub