''Dancin' and Lovin'' is a 1979 studio album from

Philly soul Philadelphia soul, sometimes called Philly soul, the Philadelphia sound, Phillysound, or The Sound of Philadelphia (TSOP), is a genre of late 1960s–1970s soul music characterized by funk influences and lush string and horn arrangements. The g ...

vocal group A musical ensemble, also known as a music group, musical group, or a band is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrume ...

the Spinners, released 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 ...

. This album comes after a long-time association with producer

Thom Bell Thomas Randolph Bell (January 26, 1943 – December 22, 2022) was an American record producer, arranger, and songwriter known as one of the creators of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s. Hailed as one of the most prolific R&B songwriters and prod ...

and marks a shift to

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

, resulting in a commercial success after a short string of decline.

Recording and release

The Spinners had a series of certified gold albums produced by

for

in the 1970s. By 1977, vocalist

Philippé Wynne Philippé Wynne (''aka'' Philippe Escalante Wynn; ''né'' Walker; April 3, 1941 – July 14, 1984) was an American singer, best known for his role as a lead vocalist of The Spinners (a role he shared with fellow group members Bobby Smith and ...

had left the group for a solo career and to work in the music business, leading to a commercial decline for the group and a pair of less successful albums in 1977, followed by a

greatest hits album A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

to buoy their profile. After '' From Here to Eternally'' and a few songs on the soundtrack to Bell's film ''

The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh ''The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh'' is a 1979 American sports/fantasy comedy film directed by Gilbert Moses and coproduced by David Dashev and Gary Stromberg. It was produced by Lorimar and distributed by United Artists. The film was shot on lo ...

'', the group changed their sound to

and enlisted a different production technique for this release in 1979. For the first time, the group produced their own music, collaborating with Will Hatcher and

Michael Zager Michael Zager (born January 3, 1943) is an American record producer, composer, and arranger of original music for commercials, albums, network television, and theme music for films. He teaches music at Florida Atlantic University. Zager was a m ...

Reception

A review in ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' upon release recommended the album to retailers and noted that the group still retained its "vocal punch" with the addition of

John Edwards Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who represented North Carolina in the United States Senate from 1999 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the vice presidential nominee under ...

replacing

. The editors of

AllMusic Guide AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

scored this release three out of five stars, with reviewer Ron Wynn noting that the band's reinvention worked commercially and allowed them to briefly retire a worn-out formula of soul music, which they returned to with a fresh approach in the 1980s. In a year-end round-up for ''

'', the Spinners were 76th in the Number One Pop Album Artists for this album and 22nd in Number One Soul Album Artists for both ''Dancin' and Lovin'' and its follow-up '' Love Trippin'''.

Track listing

#"Disco Ride" (Jolyon Skinner, Eltesa Weathersby, and

) – 6:24 #"Body Language" (Ed Fox, Frank Fuchs, and Alan Roy Scott) – 6:26 #"Let's Boogie, Let's Dance" (Doug Frank, Ed Fox, and Doug James) – 5:56 #Medley: " Working My Way Back to You" (

Sandy Linzer Sanford Roy Linzer (born 1941) is an American songwriter, lyricist, and record producer, who is best known for his songwriting collaborations with Denny Randell and Bob Crewe in the 1960s and 1970s. He co-wrote hits including " A Lover's Concert ...

and

Denny Randell Dennis Joel Rafkin (born 1941), known professionally as Denny Randell, is an American songwriter and record producer, who is best known for his songwriting collaborations with Sandy Linzer and Bob Crewe in the 1960s and 1970s. He co-wrote hits i ...

) / "Forgive Me Girl" (Michael Zager) – 6:04 #"With My Eyes" (Tray Christopher and Doug James) – 6:43 #"One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" (William Hatcher and Rickie Ross) – 5:05

Personnel

The Spinners *

– vocals, backing vocals,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

on "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" *

Henry Fambrough Henry Lee Fambrough (May 10, 1938 – February 7, 2024) was an American vocalist, known for being a member of the R&B quintet The Spinners (also called The Detroit Spinners and The Motown Spinners) from 1954 until his retirement in April 2023. ...

– vocals, backing vocals, production on "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" * Billy Henderson – vocals, backing vocals, production on "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" * Pervis Jackson – vocals, backing vocals, production on "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" * Bobby Smith – vocals, backing vocals, production on "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" Additional musicians *Gloria Agostini – harp on "Disco Ride", "Let's Boogie, Let's Dance", and "With My Eyes" *The Alfred V. Brown String Section – strings on all tracks except "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" *

Rubens Bassini Rubens Bassini (January 26, 1933 in Rio de Janeiro – September 1985) was a Brazilian percussionist, who played bongos and congas above all. He played together with the band Os Ipanemas: Astor Silva; (trombone), Marinho (bass), Wilson das N ...

– percussion on all tracks except "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" *Lorenzo Brown – percussion on "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" *Danny Cahn – trumpet on all tracks except "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" *Francisco Centeno – bass guitar on all tracks except "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" *Gerald Chamberlain – trombone on all tracks except "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" *Rodrick "P-Nut" Chandler – bass guitar on "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" *

Warren Covington Warren Covington (August 7, 1921 – August 24, 1999) was an American big band trombonist. He was active as a session musician, arranger, and bandleader throughout his career. Biography Covington, who was born in Philadelphia, played early ...

– trombone on all tracks except "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" *

John Gatchell John E. Gatchell (November 27, 1945 – July 9, 2004) was an American jazz trumpeter who was prolific in New York City recording studios from the 1970s to the mid-1980s. After serving in the U.S. Navy in the late 1960s, Gatchell became one of ...

– trumpet on all tracks except "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" *

Lenny Hambro Leonard William Hambro, known as Lenny Hambro (October 16, 1923 – September 26, 1995), was a journeyman jazz musician who played woodwinds, primarily alto saxophone, with a host of bands, orchestras, and jazz notables from the early 1940s thro ...

–

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

on all tracks except "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" *Tyrone Hornaday – synthesizer on "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" *Guy Hutson – bass guitar on "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" *Jerry Jones – drums on "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" *Steve Love – guitar on all tracks except "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" *George Marge –

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgians, Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭ ( ...

on "Disco Ride", "Let's Boogie, Let's Dance", and "With My Eyes" *Robert Millikan – trumpet on all tracks except "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" *Jeff Mironov – guitar on "Disco Ride", "Let's Boogie, Let's Dance", and "With My Eyes" *Cliff Morris – guitar on "Body Language" *

Rob Mounsey Rob Mounsey (born December 2, 1952) is an American musician, composer, and arranger. Music career Mounsey was born in Berea, Ohio, and grew up in Seattle, Washington, spending a few years each in Findlay and Granville, Ohio. At the age of 17, ...

– keyboards on tracks: "Disco Ride", "Let's Boogie, Let's Dance", and "With My Eyes" *Ronnie Nelson – drums on "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" *

Gerry Niewood Gerry Niewood (April 6, 1943 – February 12, 2009), born Gerard Joseph Nevidosky, was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist who worked often with Chuck Mangione. Like Mangione, Niewood was born in Rochester, New York, and graduated from the ...

– alto saxophone on "Body Language" and "Working My Way Back to You"/"Forgive Me Girl" *Danny Omar – guitar on "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" *

Alan Raph Alan Raph (July 3, 1933 – December 8, 2023) was an American bass trombonist, composer, arranger, and conductor who founded and conducted the Danbury Brass Band. He recorded with many well-known musicians including Quincy Jones, Philip Glass, Pe ...

–

bass trombone The bass trombone (, ) is the bass instrument in the trombone family of brass instruments. Modern instruments are pitched in the same B♭ as the tenor trombone but with a larger bore, bell and mouthpiece to facilitate low register playing, and u ...

on all tracks except "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" *Pat Rebillot – keyboards on "Body Language" and "Working My Way Back to You"/"Forgive Me Girl" *Tony Robertson – drums on "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" *Rickie Ross – piano on "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" *

Allan Schwartzberg Allan Schwartzberg (born December 28, 1942) is an American musician and record producer. He has been a member of the rock band Mountain, Peter Gabriel's first solo band, toured with Brecker Brothers' Dreams, B. J. Thomas, Linda Ronstadt, Stan Ge ...

– drums on all tracks except all tracks except "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" *Suniatta –

electronic drums Electronic drums are a modern electronic musical instrument, primarily designed to serve as an alternative to an acoustic drum kit. Electronic drums consist of an electronic sound module which produces the synthesized or sampled percussion sound ...

on "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)", percussion on "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" Technical personnel *Michael Barbiero – mixing on all tracks except "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" at Mediasound, New York City, New York, United States *Michael Barry – engineering assistance on "Disco Ride", "Let's Boogie, Let's Dance", and "With My Eyes" at Secret Sound Studios *Ted Brosnan – engineering assistance on "Disco Ride", "Let's Boogie, Let's Dance", and "With My Eyes" at Columbia Recording Studios *Jim Burgess –

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

remixing on "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" at Sigma Sound Studios, New York City, New York, United States *Bob Carbone – mastering at A&M Studios, Los Angeles, California, United States *Jason Corsaro – engineering assistance on "Disco Ride", "Let's Boogie, Let's Dance", and "With My Eyes" at Secret Sound Studios *Bob Defrin –

art direction Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to super ...

*Michael Ewasko – engineering assistance on "Body Language", "Working My Way Back to You"/"Forgive Me Girl" at Blue Rock Studio *Tim Geelan – engineering on "Disco Ride", "Let's Boogie, Let's Dance", and "With My Eyes") at Columbia Recording Studios *Darroll Gustamachio – engineering on "Disco Ride", "Let's Boogie, Let's Dance", and "With My Eyes"), Rick Rowe (tracks: "Disco Ride", "Let's Boogie, Let's Dance", and "With My Eyes" at Secret Sound Studios *Jim Houghton – photography *Will Hatcher – rhythm arrangement on "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)", production on "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" *Eddie Korvin – engineering on "Body Language" and "Working My Way Back to You"/"Forgive Me Girl") at Blue Rock Studio *Jerry Love – executive production on all tracks except "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" *Greg Reilly – engineering on "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" at Superdisc *Ken Robertson – engineering assistance on "Disco Ride", "Let's Boogie, Let's Dance", and "With My Eyes" at Columbia Recording Studios *Ed Sullivan – engineering assistance on "Disco Ride", "Let's Boogie, Let's Dance", and "With My Eyes" at Secret Sound Studios *Rickie Ross – rhythm arrangement on "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" *Jeni Taylor – engineering assistance on "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" at Superdisc *Craig Winterson – mixing assistance at Mediasound on all tracks except"One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)", Greg Mann on all tracks except "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)" *

– arrangement,

conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or Choir, choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary d ...

, and production on all tracks except "One, One, Two, Two, Boogie Woogie Avenue (Home of the Boogie, House of the Funk)"

Chart performance

''Dancin' and Lovin'' was the most commercially successful Spinners album in several years, reaching 11 on the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

and peaking at 32 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Additionally, they made their only appearance on Australian charts, topping out at 87. Furthermore, the single releases of " Working My Way Back to You" and "Forgive Me Girl" reached two on the pop charts and six on the R&B charts respectively. '' Jet'' included ''Dancin' and Lovin'' in their Soul Brothers Top 20 Albums three times in 1980, reaching 18 on March 20, 20 on April 3, and finally 13 on April 10.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dancin' And Lovin' 1979 albums Atlantic Records albums The Spinners (American group) albums Disco albums by American artists Albums produced by Michael Zager