''Serious Slammin is the thirteenth studio album by the

Pointer Sisters The Pointer Sisters are an American pop and R&B singing group from Oakland, California, that achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. Their repertoire has included such diverse genres as pop, jazz, electronic music, bebop, blu ...

, released in 1988 by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

History

''Serious Slammin'' is the Pointer Sisters' 14th album in 15 years; it is the last record, to date, that the group made with longtime producer

Richard Perry Richard Van Perry (born June 18, 1942) is an American record producer. He began as a performer in his adolescence while attending Poly Prep, his high school in Brooklyn. After graduating from college he rose through the late 1960s and early 1970 ...

. Its first single, "He Turned Me Out" (also featured in the 1988 film '' Action Jackson''), reached the R&B top 40. A second single, the ballad "I'm in Love", also reached the R&B chart. Other songs of note include "Moonlight Dancing" (written by

Diane Warren Diane Eve Warren (born September 7, 1956) is an American songwriter. She has received several awards including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three ''Billboard'' Music Awards and an Honorary Academy Award. War ...

and later covered by

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received numerous accolades, including four Golden Gl ...

), fan favorite "I Will Be There" and the title track, which was later covered by George Clinton. ''Serious Slammin is the Pointers' last album to chart on the Billboard Top 200 albums tally; it failed to make an entry on Billboard's R&B albums chart.

Track listing

#"Serious Slammin'" (Gregg Crockett, Lelan Zales) - 4:28 #"Shut Up and Dance" (

Glen Ballard Basil Glen Ballard Jr. (born May 1, 1953) is an American songwriter, lyricist, and record producer. He is best known for co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's 1995 album ''Jagged Little Pill'', which won Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album ...

Siedah Garrett Deborah Christine "Siedah" Garrett (born June 24, 1960) is an American singer and songwriter who has written songs and performed backing vocals for many recording artists in the music industry, such as Michael Jackson, the Pointer Sisters, Brand N ...

) - 4:16 #"Moonlight Dancing" (

) - 4:52 #"He Turned Me Out" (

LeMel Humes Lemuel “LeMel” Humes is an American songwriter/composer, musician, singer, and producer. He is perhaps best-known for his longstanding songwriting and production relationship with R&B/soul singer Miki Howard, particularly his work on her e ...

, Marylee Kortes) - 4:12 #"Flirtatious" (

Jeff Pescetto Jeffrey "Jeff" Pescetto (born November 21, 1954) is an American musical artist who is most notable for collaborating with David Foster on the 1990 recreation of John Farnham's Australian single, " You're the Voice". Pescetto lent the vocals to F ...

, Tony Haynes) - 4:26 #"My Life" (Remix) (Adele Bertei, David P. Bryant,

Sandra Bernhard Sandra Bernhard (born June 6, 1955) is an American actress, singer, comedian and author. She first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy, where she often critiqued celebrity culture and political figures. She is perhaps ...

) - 4:49 #"I'm in Love" (

Jonathan Butler Jonathan Kenneth Butler (born 10 October 1961) is a South African singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music is often classified as R&B, jazz fusion or worship music. Biography Born and raised in Athlone, Cape Town, South Africa, during A ...

, Simon May) - 4:16 #"Pride" (Jimmy Lang,

Matthew Wilder Matthew Wilder ( Weiner; January 24, 1953) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. In early 1984, his single "Break My Stride" hit No. 2 on the ''Cash Box'' chart and No. 5 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. He also wrote th ...

) - 3:47 #"Uh-Uh" (Jeanette Hawes,

Ricky Lawson William Riser III (November 8, 1954 – December 23, 2013), better known as Ricky Lawson, was an American drummer and composer. A native of Detroit, Michigan, he worked extensively as a session musician, collaborating with Stevie Wonder, Mich ...

, Robert Barnes, Anthony T. Coleman) - 4:17 #"I Will Be There" (

Eddie Schwartz Edward Sydney Schwartz C.M. (born December 22, 1949) is a Canadian musician who had moderate success as a recording artist in the early 1980s before becoming a successful songwriter and record producer in the late 1980s and the 1990s. Songs he ...

David Tyson David Michael Tyson is a Canadian rock music producer and songwriter. He is best known for co-writing Alannah Myles' 1990 #1 hit " Black Velvet" (with Christopher Ward) and producing her debut album. He also co-wrote three hit songs (with Dean ...

) - 4:47

Personnel

The Pointer Sisters * Anita Pointer – vocals * June Pointer – vocals * Ruth Pointer – vocals Musicians *

Isaias Gamboa Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', " God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "th ...

– acoustic piano solo (1), synthesizers (1), guitar (1), alternate bass (1), trombone (1), additional synthesizers (4) * Gregg Crockett – additional synthesizers (1), guitar (1, 4), bass (1), drums (1), synth bass (3) * John Bokowski – additional synthesizers (1, 2), synth horns (2), drums (2), synthesizers (3, 4), percussion (3, 4), keyboards (4), horns (4) * Lelan Zales – additional synthesizers (1) *

– clavinet (2), synthesizers (2), bass (2), synth bass (2) * Paul Fox – additional keyboards (3), drum and percussion programming (3), synthesizers (6), drums (6) *

Guy Roche Guy Roche is a record producer and songwriter who is best known for the hit singles he has co-written/co-produced for Christina Aguilera, which are " What a Girl Wants", " I Turn to You", and " Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)". He also co-w ...

– synthesizers (3) * Bob Mithoff – synthesizers (4), drum programming (4) *

– synth bass (4) * Pat Caddick – keyboards (5) *

Gregg Karukas Gregg Karukas (born 1956) is a smooth jazz pianist from Maryland who first gained notice in Washington, D.C., then moved to Los Angeles in 1983. He backed Melissa Manchester before he co-founded the Rippingtons in 1985. He experimented with dr ...

– keyboards (5) * David P. Bryant – synthesizers (6), drums (6) *

Jeff Lorber Jeffrey H. Lorber (born November 4, 1952) is an American keyboardist, composer, and record producer. After six previous nominations, Lorber won his first Grammy Award on January 28, 2018 for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for ''Prototype' ...

–

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...

(7), synth bass (7), drum machine (7) * Tony Coleman – clavinet (8), synthesizers (9), drums (9) * Jim Lang – synthesizers (8), synth bass (8), drum machine (8) *

– organ (8), additional synthesizers (8) * Richie Pagliari – keyboards (10) * Ricky Timas – keyboards (10), bass (10), drums (10) * Basil Fung – guitar (2) *

Paul Jackson Jr. Paul Milton Jackson Jr. (born December 30, 1959) is an American fusion/urban jazz composer, arranger, producer and guitarist. He was born and raised in Los Angeles. Jackson knew by the age of fifteen that he wanted to become a professional mus ...

– guitar (3, 6) *

Roland Bautista Roland Bautista (May 30, 1951 – February 29, 2012) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Bautista was best known for his work with Earth, Wind & Fire. He also worked with such artists as Ronnie Laws, The Crusaders, George Duke and ...

– guitar (9) *

– bass (9) *

– drums (5) * Peter Rafelson – percussion (4), guitar (7, 10), Rhodes (10), synthesizers (10), additional drums (10), effects (10) * David Majal Li – saxophone (7) *

– additional backing vocals (6)

Production

* Producer – Richard Perry * Associate Producers – James Reese (Tracks 1-4); Norman Whitfield, Jr. (Tracks 1, 2); Glen Ballard (Track 2); John Bokowski (Track 3); Jeff Pescetto (Track 5); David P. Bryant and Paul Fox (Track 6); Jeff Lorber (Track 7); Jim Lang and Matthew Wilder (Track 8); Tony Coleman and Ricky Lawson (Track 9); Ricky Timas (Track 10). * Additional Production on Track 6 – Michael Barbiero and Steve Thompson * Vocals recorded by Michael Brooks * Tracking Engineers – Francis Buckley (Tracks 1 & 2); Bob Mithoff (Track 4). * Recording Engineers – Glen Holguin (Tracks 5 & 8); Francis Buckley (Track 6); Jeff Lorber (Track 7); Robert Brown (Track 9); Ted Blaidsell (Track 10). * Additional Engineers – Michael Brooks, Robert Brown, Francis Buckley, Glen Holguin, Jeff Lorber, Ross Stein and Norman Whitfield, Jr. * Assistant Engineers – Bryan Arnett, Ken Felton, Cliff Jones, Robin Laine, Kraig Miller, Richard Platt and Jay Willis. * Recorded at Studio 55, Studio Masters and Skip Saylor Recording (Los Angeles, CA); JHL Studios (Pacific Palisades, CA); Mithoff Studio; Rafelson Recording. * Mixing – Norman Whitfield, Jr. (Tracks 3 & 4); John Potoker (Tracks 5, 7, 9 & 10);

Mick Guzauski Nathan "Mick" Guzauski is an American multi-platinum mixing engineer and sound engineer. His work spans a wide range of styles, including jazz, R&B, Latin, rock, pop, easy listening, funk and hip hop. He won a 2002 Latin Grammy for Thalía ...

(Track 8). * Remixing on Track 6 – Michael Barbiero and Steve Thompson * Remixed at Studio 55,

Record Plant The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blon ...

and

Conway Studios Conway may refer to: Places United States * Conway, Arkansas * Conway County, Arkansas * Lake Conway, Arkansas * Conway, Florida * Conway, Iowa * Conway, Kansas * Conway, Louisiana * Conway, Massachusetts * Conway, Michigan * Conway To ...

(Los Angeles, CA); Mediasound (New York, NY). * Mastered by

Brian Gardner Brian Knapp Gardner, also known as Brian "Big Bass" Gardner, is an American mastering engineer. He has worked on a number of recordings since the mid-1960s, including classic rock, funk, disco, alternative rock, R&B, hip hop, pop punk and danc ...

Bernie Grundman Mastering Bernie Grundman is an American audio engineer. He is most known for his mastering work and his studio, Bernie Grundman Mastering, which he opened in 1984 in Hollywood. The studio, which includes engineers Chris Bellman, Patricia Sullivan, and ...

(Hollywood, CA). * Production Coordination – Cheryl Henning and Scott Maddox * Production Manager – James C. Tract * A&R Direction – Paul Atkinson and Erik Nuri * Art Direction and Design –

John Kosh John Kosh, known simply as Kosh, is an English art director, album cover designer, graphic artist, and documentary producer/director. He was born in London, England and rose to prominence in the mid-1960s while designing for the Royal Ballet a ...

* Photography –

Herb Ritts Herbert Ritts Jr. (August 13, 1952December 26, 2002) was an American fashion photographer and director known for his photographs of celebrities, models, and other cultural figures throughout the 1980s and 1990s. His work concentrated on black ...

* Management – Gallin Morrey Associates

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1988 albums The Pointer Sisters albums Albums produced by Richard Perry RCA Records albums