Wake Up Everybody is an album released by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes on the Philadelphia International record label in November 1975. It was produced by Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff. This would be the last album to include Teddy Pendergrass before he left the group for a solo career.
| Wake Up Everybody | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 29, 1975 | |||
| Studio | Sigma Sound, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |||
| Genre | R&B | |||
| Length | 39:01 | |||
| Label | Philadelphia International PZ 33808 | |||
| Producer | Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff | |||
| Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B+[2] |
The album features the hit singles "Wake Up Everybody" and "Tell the World How I Feel About 'Cha Baby". "Don't Leave Me This Way", which would be reinterpreted two years later by Thelma Houston, was a hit on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at #5. The lead vocal on the closing album track, "Searching for a Love", was performed virtually solo by Sharon Paige, who also performed duet duties with Pendergrass and Melvin on the song "You Know How to Make Me Feel So Good."
The album was remastered and reissued with a bonus track, a Tom Moulton remixed version of "Don't Leave Me This Way", in 2008 by Legacy Recordings.
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by John Whitehead, Gene McFadden and Victor Carstarphen, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Wake Up Everybody" | 7:30 | |
| 2. | "Keep on Lovin' You" | 3:40 | |
| 3. | "You Know How to Make Me Feel So Good" | Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff | 5:17 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4. | "Don't Leave Me This Way" | Gamble, Huff, Cary Gilbert | 6:08 |
| 5. | "Tell the World How I Feel About 'Cha Baby" | 5:54 | |
| 6. | "To Be Free to Be Who We Are" | 5:09 | |
| 7. | "I'm Searching for a Love" | Gamble, Huff | 5:23 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 8. | "Don't Leave Me This Way" (A Tom Moulton Mix) | 7:05 |
Personnel
edit- Harold Melvin, Teddy Pendergrass, Bernard Wilson, Lawrence Brown, Jerry Cummings – vocals
- Sharon Paige – female vocalist on "You Know How to Make Me Feel So Good" and "I'm Searching for a Love"
- MFSB – music
- Edward Soyka – illustrations, artwork
Charts
edit| Chart (1975) | Peak [3] |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top LPs | 9 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Soul LPs | 1 |
- Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [3] |
US R&B [3] |
US Dance [3] |
UK [4] | ||
| 1975 | "Wake Up Everybody (Part 1)" | 12 | 1 | — | 23 |
| 1976 | "Tell the World How I Feel About 'Cha Baby" | 94 | 7 | 4 | — |
| 1977 | "Don't Leave Me This Way" | — | — | — | 5 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Lytle, Craig. Wake Up Everybody review at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-10-16.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: M". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 7, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ a b c d "US Charts > Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes". Allmusic. Retrieved 2013-04-21.
- ^ "UK Charts > Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2013-04-21.
External links
edit- Wake Up Everybody at Discogs (list of releases)