''I Paralyze'' is the seventeenth studio album by American singer-actress

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

, released in 1982 by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. It was her only album for the label. The album was a commercial failure and failed to chart. The album was promoted by the release of two singles, "

Rudy Rudy or Rudi is a masculine given name, sometimes short for Rudolf, Rudolph, Rawad, Rudra, Ruairidh, or variations thereof, a nickname and a surname which may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Rudolf Rudy Andeweg (born 1952), Dutch poli ...

", and " I Paralyze", both of which also failed to chart. Following the record's release, Cher took a five-year hiatus from music to focus on her film career due to a lack of successful albums and singles. She made a comeback in 1987 when she released the Platinum-certified album ''

''.

Album information

Recorded in 1982, the album was produced by

John Farrar John Clifford Farrar ( ; born 8 November 1946) is an Australian Record producer, music producer, songwriter, arranger, singer, and guitarist. As a musician, Farrar is a former member of several rock and roll groups including The Mustangs (1963 ...

(of

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...

fame) and David Wolfert and it is her first collaboration with composer and producer

Desmond Child John Charles Barrett (born October 28, 1953), known professionally as Desmond Child, is an American songwriter and record producer. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008. He has been nominated for four Grammy Awards, a Primet ...

. The album was promoted only on ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'' (AB) is an American Music television, music performance and dance television series that aired in various iterations from 1952 to 1989. It was hosted by Dick Clark who also served as the program's Television producer, pr ...

'' and '' Solid Gold''. It failed to chart and was largely ignored by critics. The album was released on CD for the first time in 1989 by "The Entertainment Company",

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

and

CBS Records International CBS Records International was the international arm of the Columbia Records unit of Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. ( CBS) formed in 1961 and launched in 1962. Previously, Columbia Records had licensed other record companies to manufacture a ...

. Later, in 1999, the album was reissued on the

Varèse Sarabande Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, owned by Concord Music Group and distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and cast recording, original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums, as ...

reissue label under license from

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

. The album contains various musical styles: the rock style of '' Black Rose'' on cuts such as "Walk with Me", "The Book of Love", and "Rudy"; a slight new wave sound in " I Paralyze"; some ballads such as "When the Love Is Gone" and "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind?"; and an "old '80s" style on "Back On the Street Again" (a retitled cover of

the Babys The Babys are a British Rock music, rock group best known for their songs "Isn't It Time (The Babys song), Isn't It Time" and "Every Time I Think of You". Both songs were composed by Jack Conrad and Raymond Louis Kennedy, Ray Kennedy, and ea ...

' "

Back on My Feet Again "Back on My Feet Again" is the second single released by the Foundations. It was the follow-up to their hit single "Baby, Now That I've Found You". It was written by Tony Macaulay and John MacLeod and produced by Tony Macaulay. It charted at nu ...

") and "Games", which was recorded by

Lisa Hartman Lisa Hartman Black (born June 1, 1956) is an American actress and singer from Houston, Texas. Hartman gained prominence after her role in the prime time drama ''Knots Landing'' from 1982 to 1986. She recorded four solo albums between 1976 and ...

for her 1982 album ''Letterock''. "

" and "I Paralyze" were released as singles to promote the album, but they were both unsuccessful. "Rudy" was originally recorded by French singer

Dalida Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti (; 17 January 1933 – 3 May 1987), professionally known as Dalida (, ; ), was an Italian naturalized French singer and actress. Leading an international career, Dalida has sold over 140 million records worldwide. Some ...

as "Quand je n'aime plus, je m'en vais". In 1981 Cher recorded a song with

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally by his stage name Meat Loaf, was an American singer and actor. He was known for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. ...

called "

Dead Ringer for Love "Dead Ringer for Love" is a song performed by American rock singer Meat Loaf and American singer-actress Cher from Meat Loaf's second studio album, '' Dead Ringer''. The song was written by Jim Steinman and is one of only two tracks on the album pr ...

" for his album ''

Dead Ringer Dead Ringer or Dead Ringers may refer to: * Dead ringer (idiom) Books * ''The Dead Ringer'', a 1948 mystery novel by Fredric Brown * ''Dead Ringer'', novel in the '' Rosato & Associates'' series Radio, film and television Films * ''Dead ...

''; the song was a hit in the UK, but was left off her album.

Track listing

All tracks produced by David Wolfert except "I Paralyze" by

Personnel

*Cher – lead vocals *Jai Winding – arranger, keyboards *

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 *

Steve Lukather Steven Lee "Luke" Lukather (born October 21, 1957) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to ...

Sid McGinnis Sidney Foster McGinnis (born October 6, 1949) is an American musician and guitarist, best known for his work on the CBS television show ''Late Show with David Letterman'', as part of the CBS Orchestra. He made his first appearance in the ''Late ...

, Carlos Rios, Thom Rotella – guitar *Ralph Schuckett – Hammond organ *Richard Crooks – percussion *

Nathan East Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass guitarist and vocalist. With more than 2,000 recordings, East is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music. East holds a Bachelor of Arts ...

– synthesizer, bass guitar *David Wolfert – synthesizer, guitar, arranger, producer *Ed Walsh – synthesizer *

Michael Boddicker Michael Lehmann Boddicker (born January 19, 1953) is an American film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. He is a three times National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (N.A.R.A.S.) Most Valuable Player "Synthes ...

– synthesizer, vocoder programming *

– guitar, backing vocals *Gary Herbig – saxophone * Steve George – background vocals * Tom Kelly – background vocals *Myrna Mathews – background vocals *Denise Maynelli DeCaro – background vocals, vocal contractor *Marti McCall – background vocals *

Richard Page Richard Lewis Page (born 22 February 1941) is a former Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979, and from 1979 to 2005. Early life Born the so ...

– background vocals Technical *Executive producer:

Charles Koppelman Charles Koppelman (March 30, 1940 – November 25, 2022) was an American musician, music producer, and businessman. He held executive positions at EMI and Steve Madden, and he was Chairman of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. At the time of hi ...

*Producer:

, David Wolfert *Reissue producers: Cary E. Mansfield, Mike Khouri *Reissue liner notes: Mike Khouri *Engineers: Dennis Ferrante, John Arrias *Mixing: Lee Decarlo *Remixing: Dan Hersch *Mastering supervisor, tape research: Bill Inglot *Art direction: Nancy Greenberg *Reissue design: Matt B. *Photography: Harry Langdon

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1982 albums Cher albums Albums produced by John Farrar