"Lowdown" is a song originally recorded in 1976 by Boz Scaggs for his album ''

Silk Degrees ''Silk Degrees'' is the seventh solo album by Boz Scaggs, released on Columbia Records in February 1976. The album peaked at No. 2 and spent 115 weeks on the ''Billboard'' 200. It has been certified five times platinum by the RIAA and remains Sc ...

''. The song was co-written by Scaggs and keyboardist

David Paich David Frank Paich (born June 25, 1954) is an American musician, best known as the co-founder, principal songwriter, keyboardist and singer of the rock band Toto since 1977. He wrote or co-wrote much of Toto's original material, including the ban ...

. Paich, along with fellow "Lowdown" session musicians bassist

David Hungate William David Hungate (born August 5, 1948) is an American bass guitarist noted as a member of the Los Angeles pop-rock band Toto from 1976 to 1982 and again from 2014 to 2015, and the son of judge William L. Hungate. Along with most of his T ...

and drummer

Jeff Porcaro Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (; April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work with the rock band Toto but is one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working on ...

, would later go on to form the band

Toto Toto may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters Pets * Toto (Oz), Toto (''Oz''), a dog in the novel and film ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' * Toto, in Japanese ''The Cat Returns#Plot, The Cat Returns'' Characters of agency * a ...

Release and reaction

Initially, ''

'' received a lukewarm commercial response and, similarly, the first single released from the album, "It's Over" barely cracked the top 40 on the

Billboard Pop Singles The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming i ...

chart, peaking at #38. One day, however, a

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

R&B radio DJ began playing "Lowdown" straight off the album. That was at a time when DJs had much more say in what was played on their programs. Public response was very positive and soon Scaggs' record label,

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

, sent the song to other R&B-oriented radio stations for airplay. It broke big on

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "conte ...

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stations as well, and when it was officially released as a single, it became Scaggs' first major hit, reaching #1 on the Cash Box Top 100 and number three on the

chart. It was also successful on the R&B and Disco Singles charts, peaking at number five on both. The song was also a major hit in Canada, peaking at number two. It was a minor hit in the UK, topping out at #28. Scaggs is quoted as saying that the success of "Lowdown" was "an accident" and that, even though it was their favorite from ''Silk Degrees'', he and the others involved in the making of the song thought there "wasn't a chance in hell" that it would be released as a single. The single was certified gold by the

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for sales of one million copies and would go on to win the

Grammy Award for Best R&B Song The Grammy Award for Best R&B Song (sometimes known as the R&B Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1969. From 1969 to 2000, it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Song. Beyoncé has won it a record four times, while B ...

at the

19th Annual Grammy Awards The 19th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 19, 1977, and were broadcast live on American television ( CBS). It was the seventh and final year Andy Williams hosted the telecast. The ceremony recognized accomplishments by musicians from the ...

Renditions

* In 1996 Scaggs recorded an unplugged jazz version for his '' Fade into Light'' album. * In 2001 saxophonist Jimmy Sommers recorded a

smooth jazz Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s. History Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the 1 ...

arrangement with rapper

Coolio Artis Leon Ivey Jr. (August 1, 1963 – September 28, 2022), known professionally as Coolio, was an American rapper. First rising to fame as a member of the gangsta rap group WC and the Maad Circle, Coolio achieved mainstream success as a sol ...

on background vocals. The song was released on his album ''360 Urban Groove''. * In 2020, the English band Disclosure has sampled ''Lowdown'' in their track ''Expressing What Matters''.

Usage in film

* "Lowdown" plays in a singles bar in the 1977 American crime drama film '' Looking for Mr. Goodbar''. * "Lowdown" is heard in the

David Fincher David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director. His films, mostly psychological thrillers and biographical dramas, have received 40 nominations at the Academy Awards, including three for him as Best Director. Fi ...

2007 American mystery thriller movie ''

Zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. The p ...

'', in the diner scene depicting real life character Robert "Bob" Graysmith telling Inspector Dave Toschi what he knew about the Zodiac Killer.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Personnel

* Boz Scaggs – lead vocals *

–

Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 2014 ...

ARP synthesizer ARP Instruments, Inc. was a Lexington, Massachusetts manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, founded by Alan Robert Pearlman in 1969. It created a popular and commercially successful range of synthesizers throughout the 1970s before de ...

Minimoog The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs ...

Fred Tackett Fred Tackett (born August 30, 1945) is an American songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Originally a session player on guitar, mandolin, and trumpet, he is best known as a member of the band Little Feat. In addition to his work with Little F ...

– guitar *

Louis Shelton William Louis Shelton (born April 6, 1941) is an American guitarist and music producer. Biography During the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s Shelton was a session musician working in recording studios around Hollywood. Among his more notable session wo ...

– guitar *

– bass *

– drums * Carolyn Willis – background vocals * Marty McCall – background vocals *

Jim Gilstrap James Earl Gilstrap (born November 10, 1946)''U.S. Public Records Index'' Vol 1 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010. is an American singer, considered one of the most prolific session musicians in the industry. He is best known for ...

– background vocals * Augie Johnson – background vocals * Joe Wissert – producer

References

External links

* {{authority control 1976 singles 1976 songs Boz Scaggs songs Columbia Records singles Cashbox number-one singles Disco songs Songs written by Boz Scaggs Songs written by David Paich Song recordings produced by Joe Wissert