''Coming Out'' is the third album by

The Manhattan Transfer The Manhattan Transfer was an American vocal group founded in 1969 in New York City, performing music genres like a cappella, Brazilian jazz, Swing music, swing, vocalese, rhythm and blues, Pop music, pop, and standards. They have won eleven G ...

, released August 19, 1976, on

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

. The single "

Chanson d'Amour ; ) is a popular song written by Wayne Shanklin. A 1977 recording by the Manhattan Transfer was an international hit, reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart. Original version In 1958, the husband and wife team of Art and Dotty Todd w ...

" hit the No. 1 spot in the United Kingdom for three weeks. The song "Zindy Lou" featured

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

and

Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America". Howard Sounes. ''Do ...

on drums,

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. His music combined New Orleans blues, jazz, R&B, soul and funk. Active as a session mus ...

on piano, and Doug Thorngren on percussion. The song "Poinciana (The Song of the Tree)" featured a solo by

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as a performer and composer, received an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music in ...

Track listing

LP side 1

# " Don't Let Go" (

Jesse Stone Jesse Stone may refer to: People * Jesse Stone (musician) (1901–1999) was an American musician and songwriter, also known as Charles Calhoun. * Jesse Stone (Wisconsin politician) (1836–1902), Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin from 1899 to 1902 ...

) - 2:45 # "Zindy Lou" ( Johnny Moore, Eddie Smith) – 2:50 # "

Chanson D'Amour ; ) is a popular song written by Wayne Shanklin. A 1977 recording by the Manhattan Transfer was an international hit, reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart. Original version In 1958, the husband and wife team of Art and Dotty Todd w ...

" (

Wayne Shanklin Wayne Shanklin (June 6, 1916 – June 16, 1970) was an American singer, songwriter and producer. His best known compositions were "Jezebel", " Chanson D'Amour (Song of Love)", " Primrose Lane", and " The Big Hurt". Music career In the early 19 ...

) – 2:55 # "Helpless" ( Holland-Dozier-Holland) – 3:07 # " Scotch and Soda" (

Dave Guard Donald David Guard (October 19, 1934 – March 22, 1991) was an American folk singer, songwriter, arranger and recording artist. Along with Nick Reynolds and Bob Shane, he was one of the founding members of the Kingston Trio. Guard was born i ...

) – 2:59 # "The Speak Up Mambo (Cuentame)" (Al Castellanos) – 3:05

LP side 2

# " Poinciana (The Song of the Tree)" (

Nat Simon Nat Simon (6 August 1900 – 5 September 1979) was an American composer, pianist, bandleader and songwriter. Born in Newburgh, New York, from the 1930s to the 1950s, his songs were used in over 20 films. Between 1931 and 1940, he also took part in ...

Buddy Bernier Henry 'Buddy' Bernier (April 21, 1910 – June 18, 1983) was an American lyricist born in Watertown, New York, who was mainly active during the 1940s and 1950s. He came from a show business family and had two sisters, Daisy and Peggy who were each ...

) – 4:11 # "S.O.S." (

Ron Roker Ronald Ernest Alfred Roker (born 23 January 1941) is an English songwriter, singer and record producer. Roker has written UK chart hits for Jackie Lee, The Fortunes, Barry Blue, Tina Charles, Polly Brown, The Pearls, The Real Thing and Swe ...

Gerry Shury Gerald Roland Shury (11 August 1944General Register Office; United Kingdom; Volume: 17; Page: 0919 – 24 May 1978)England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), page 7395 was a British songwriter, arranger, a ...

Phil Swern Anthony Philip Swern (30 June 1948 – 31 August 2024) was an English radio producer, record producer and collector. Career Born in Ealing, London, Swern was a record producer and songwriter, and also wrote for television. He earned the nick ...

) - 3:10 # "Popsicle Toes" ( Michael Franks) – 4:16 # "It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference" (

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the bands Nazz and Utopia. He is known for his sophistica ...

) – 3:30 # "The Thought of Loving You" ( David White) – 2:56 The album was re-released on CD in March 1993.

Personnel

The Manhattan Transfer *

Tim Hauser Timothy DuPron Hauser (December 12, 1941 – October 16, 2014) was a singer and founding member of the vocal group The Manhattan Transfer. He won 10 Grammy Awards as a member of The Manhattan Transfer. Early life Hauser was born in Troy, New Y ...

– vocals, vocal arrangements (1-4, 6, 8, 11), song concept (7) *

Laurel Massé Laurel Massé (born December 29, 1951) is an American jazz singer and former member of The Manhattan Transfer. Career Massé was born in Holland, Michigan, grew up in Westchester County, New York, and lived in Europe during her teens. Early in s ...

– vocals, vocal arrangements (1, 4, 10) *

Alan Paul Alan Paul Wichinsky (born November 23, 1949) is an American Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstan ...

– vocals, vocal arrangements (1, 11), song concept (7) *

Janis Siegel Janis Siegel (born July 23, 1952) is a multiple grammy-winning American jazz singer, best known as a member of the vocal group The Manhattan Transfer. Musical career In 1965, Siegel made her recording debut with a group called Young Generation ...

– vocals, vocal arrangements (1-8, 10, 11) Musicians * Paul Griffin – organ (1) *

– acoustic piano (2) * John Barnes – acoustic piano (3) * Steve Paietta –

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

(3) *

Clarence McDonald Clarence Kermit "Mac" McDonald (February 24, 1945 – July 21, 2021) was a Los Angeles-based American pianist, composer, arranger, and producer. McDonald was known for his musical diversity, enduring melodies and signature groove. His most famous ...

– acoustic piano (4, 8) *

Bill Payne William H. Payne (born March 12, 1949, in Waco, Texas) is an American pianist who, with Lowell George, co-founded the American rock band Little Feat. He is considered by many other rock pianists, including Elton John, to be one of the finest A ...

– electric piano (5, 7, 10) * Roger Steinman – acoustic piano (5) * Arthur Jenkins – acoustic piano (6), arrangements (6) *

Dave Frishberg David Lee Frishberg (March 23, 1933 – November 17, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, vocalist, composer, and lyricist. His songs have been performed by Blossom Dearie, Rosemary Clooney, Shirley Horn, Anita O'Day, Michael Feinstein, Irene Kra ...

– acoustic piano (9),

clavinet The Clavinet is an electric clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds with rubber pads, each matching one of the keys and respond ...

(9) *

Mike Melvoin Mike Melvoin (May 10, 1937February 22, 2012) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He served as chairman and president of The Recording Academy and worked as a prolific studio musician, recording with Frank Sinatra, John Lennon, ...

– acoustic piano (11) *

Ira Newborn James Ira Newborn (born December 26, 1949) is an American musician, actor, orchestrator and composer, best known for his work composing motion picture soundtracks. Life and career Newborn was born in New York City. He has scored or written son ...

– guitar, orchestral arrangements, musical director, vocal arrangements (5, 9), electric autoharp (10) * Ben Benay – guitar (3) * Bob Bowles – rhythm guitar (9, 10) * Andy Muson – bass * Roy Markowitz – drums (1, 6) *

– drums (2, 8) *

– drums (2, 8) * Jim Gordon – drums (3, 9) *

Rick Shlosser Rick Shlosser is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music. He has been a member of Van Morrison's band and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. He's also been a varied sessions drummer. Discography 1970s * Andy Pratt – ''Records Are Like Life'' ( ...

– drums (4, 11) * Jim Nelson – drums (5) *

David Kemper David Law Kemper (born 1947/8 in Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 Unit ...

– drums (10) *

Bobbye Hall Bobbye Jean Hall is an American percussionist who has recorded with a variety of rock, soul, blues and jazz artists, and has appeared on 20 songs that reached the top ten in the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Early career, work for ...

– percussion (1), congas (10) * Doug Thorngren – percussion (2) *

Ralph MacDonald Ralph Anthony MacDonald (March 15, 1944 – December 18, 2011) was an American percussionist, steelpan virtuoso, songwriter, musical arranger, and record producer. His compositions include " Where Is the Love", a Grammy Award winner for the due ...

– percussion (4, 11), congas (6) * Nicky Marrero –

timbales Timbales () or pailas are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing. They are shallower than single-headed tom-toms and usually tuned much higher, especially for their size.Orovio, Helio 1981. ''Diccionario de la música cubana: biográfic ...

(6) *

Johnny "Dandy" Rodriguez Jr Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females. Variant ...

– bongos (6), cowbell (6) *

– tenor saxophone (1) *

Jay Migliori Jay Migliori (November 14, 1930 – September 2, 2001) was an American saxophonist, best known as a founding member of Supersax, a tribute band to Charlie Parker. Biography Migliori started playing the saxophone after he received one as a birthday ...

– tenor sax solo (3) *

Jackie Kelso John Joseph Kelson Jr. (February 27, 1922 – April 28, 2012), known professionally as Jackie Kelso, was an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, and clarinetist. Biography Born in Los Angeles, California, Kelson was the eldest child of John Jose ...

– baritone sax solo (4), tenor sax solo (8) *

Randy Brecker Randal Edward Brecker (born November 27, 1945) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, and composer. His versatility has made him a popular studio musician who has recorded with acts in jazz, rock music, rock, and R&B. Early life Brecker was ...

– trumpet (1)

Production

Richard Perry Richard Van Perry (June 18, 1942 – December 24, 2024) was an American record producer. He began his musical career as a performer while attending Poly Prep, his high school in Brooklyn. After graduating from college he rose through the late ...

– producer * Tim Hauser – assistant producer * Douglas Botnick – engineer * Lewis Hahn – engineer * Rick Rowe – engineer * Howard Steele – engineer, remixing * Dennis Devlin – assistant engineer * Dan Latham – assistant engineer * Tim Sadler – assistant engineer * Allen Zentz – mastering * Bob Defrin – art direction, design * Abie Sussman – art direction, design * Suze Randall – cover photography

Certifications

References

External links

Manhattan Transfer official website
{{Authority control 1976 albums The Manhattan Transfer albums Albums produced by Richard Perry Atlantic Records albums