''Identify Yourself'' is the thirteenth album by American R&B group

the O'Jays The O'Jays are an American Rhythm and blues, R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in summer 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appea ...

, released on the

Philadelphia International Records Philadelphia International Records was an American record label based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1971 by songwriting and production duo Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, along with their longtime collaborator Thom Bell. The ...

label in 1979. It was recorded at

Sigma Sound Studios Sigma Sound Studios was an American independent recording studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded in 1968 by recording engineer Joseph Tarsia. Located at 212 North 12th Street in Philadelphia, Sigma Sound is closely associated with Philade ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, with four tracks produced by

Kenny Gamble Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production duo credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as P ...

and

Leon Huff Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production duo credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as P ...

, three by group members

Eddie Levert Edward Willis Levert (born June 16, 1942) is an American singer best known as the lead vocalist of The O'Jays. He is the father of sons Gerald (1966–2006) and Sean Levert (1968–2008) and daughter Ryan Levert (2002–2024) and Maria Bi ...

and Walter Williams and one by the esteemed Philadelphia producer and composer

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 ...

. The album reached No. 3 on the US R&B albums chart and No. 16 on the pop albums chart, and was certified platinum for sales of over one million copies sold. Two singles from the album reached the top ten on the

R&B singles 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 po ...

chart in the United States: "Sing a Happy Song" (No. 7) and "Forever Mine" (No. 4); the latter peaking at No. 28 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and the group's last single to reach the pop top 50.

Critical reception

The ''

Bay State Banner ''The Bay State Banner'' is a weekly newspaper primarily geared toward the readership interests of the African-American community in Boston, Massachusetts. Distributed free of charge, it was founded in 1965 by Melvin B. Miller, who remained the ...

'' wrote that Eddie Levert "transforms 'Forever Mine' into an awesome, engrossing and soulful summation of great love music, just as Smokey Robinson does on 'Cruising'."

Track listing

All songs written by

Kenneth Gamble Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production duo credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as P ...

and

, except where noted.

Side one

#"Sing a Happy Song" – 5:03 #"Get On Out and Party" (Walter Williams, Terry Stubbs, Leroy Simmons, Mike Jackson) – 5:04 #"Identify" – 4:56 #"So Nice I Tried It Twice" (Williams, Jackson, Willie Ross) – 5:50

Side two

#"Hurry Up and Come Back" (

, Jackson, Williams) – 5:09 #"Forever Mine" – 6:10 #"I Want You Here with Me" – 5:28 #"One in a Million (Girl)" (

, Joseph Ericksen) – 3:55

Personnel

, Walter Williams,

Sammy Strain Samuel Strain Jr. (born December 9, 1939) is an American retired R&B vocalist, known for his time as a member of Little Anthony and the Imperials (1961–1972; 1992–2004) and The O'Jays (1976–1992). He holds the unusual distinction of being ...

– vocals *Don Renaldo –

horns Horns or The Horns may refer to: * Plural of Horn (anatomy) * Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells * The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain * Horns (novel), ''Horns'' (novel), a dar ...

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

*Roland Chambers, Dennis Harris, Anthony Bell,

Bobby Eli Bobby Eli (born Eli Tatarsky; March 2, 1946 – August 17, 2023) was an American musician, arranger, composer and record producer from Philadelphia. He was a founding member and lead guitarist of Philadelphia studio band MFSB. Overview Bobby ...

– guitar *Quinton Joseph,

Leon "Ndugu" Chancler Leon "Ndugu" Chancler ( ; July 1, 1952 – February 3, 2018) was an American pop, funk, and jazz drummer. He was also a composer, producer, and university professor. Biography Early life Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, on July 1, 1952, Leon Cha ...

, Charles Collins – drums *James Williams, Willie Ross,

Bob Babbitt Robert Andrew Kreinar (November 26, 1937 – July 16, 2012), known as Bob Babbitt, was an American bassist, most famous for his work as a member of Motown Records' studio band, the Funk Brothers, from 1966 to 1972, as well as his tenure as ...

– bass guitar *

James Mtume James Forman (January 3, 1946 – January 9, 2022), known professionally as Mtume or James Mtume, was an American jazz and R&B musician, songwriter, record producer, activist, and radio personality. He came to prominence as a jazz musician, wo ...

, David Cruse – percussion *

, Mike Jackson,

– keyboards *Lenny Pakula, Dunn Pearson – organ *Ed Shea –

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion instrument, percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a Membranophone, membrane called a drumhead, ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Singles

*"Sing a Happy Song" (US R&B No. 7, UK No. 39) *"I Want You Here with Me" (US R&B No. 49) *"Forever Mine" (US R&B No. 4, US Pop No. 28) *"Hurry Up and Come Back"

References

{{Authority control 1979 albums The O'Jays albums Philadelphia International Records albums Albums produced by Kenneth Gamble Albums produced by Leon Huff Albums produced by Thom Bell Albums recorded at Sigma Sound Studios