Jody Watley (album)

Jody Watley
Jody Watley
Studio album by Jody Watley
Released	February 23, 1987
Recorded	1986
Genre	Pop; R&B;
Length	46:24
Label	MCA
Producer	André Cymone; Bernard Edwards; Patrick Leonard; David Z.;
Jody Watley chronology
Singles from Jody Watley
	"Looking for a New Love"; Released: January 6, 1987; "Still a Thrill"; Released: April 27, 1987; "Don't You Want Me"; Released: August 10, 1987; "Some Kind of Lover"; Released: January 4, 1988; "Most of All"; Released: April 18, 1988;

Jody Watley is the debut studio album by American singer Jody Watley, released on February 23, 1987, by MCA Records. Although Watley had already found success as a part of the trio Shalamar, the impact of this album made her a cultural style icon in contemporary R&B, pop and dance music. Its success culminated in Watley winning a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1988 against fellow artists Breakfast Club, Cutting Crew, Terence Trent D'Arby and Swing Out Sister. The album also produced three top-ten singles on the US Billboard Hot 100: "Looking for a New Love" (#2), "Don't You Want Me" (#6) and "Some Kind of Lover" (#10). The album has sold two million copies in the United States and over four million copies worldwide.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Robert Christgau	C+ ^[2]
Rolling Stone	(positive) ^[3]

Track listing

All tracks are written by André Cymone and Jody Watley, except where noted

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Looking for a New Love"		André Cymone David Z	5:06
2.	"Still a Thrill"		Cymone David Z	4:48
3.	"Some Kind of Lover"		Cymone David Z	4:08
4.	"For the Girls"		Cymone David Z	3:51
5.	"Love Injection"	David Paul Bryant Paul Gurvitz	Bernard Edwards	3:45
6.	"Don't You Want Me"	Franne Golde David Paul Bryant Jody Watley	Bernard Edwards	4:10
7.	"Do it To The Beat"		Cymone David Z	4:45
8.	"Most of All"	Gardner Cole Patrick Leonard	Patrick Leonard	4:28
9.	"Learn to Say No" (Duet with George Michael)	Richard "Dimples" Fields George Michael	Bernard Edwards	3:35
10.	"Looking for a New Love" (Extended Club Version)		Louil Silas Jr.	7:28
Total length:				46:24

CD bonus track – Track 10. "Looking for a New Love" (Extended Club Version)

Personnel

Jody Watley – lead vocals, backing vocals
André Cymone – all instruments (1-4, 7, 8, 10)
Jeff Bova – keyboards (5, 6, 9)
Patrick Leonard – synthesizers (8), drum programming (8)
Terrence Elliot – guitars (5, 6, 9)
Eddie Martinez – guitars (5, 6, 9)
John "LBJ" Staehely – guitars (5, 6, 9)
Bruce Gaitsch – guitars (8)
Bernard Edwards – bass (5, 6, 9)
Tony Thompson – drums (5, 6, 9)
Larry Schneider – saxophone (2, 3)
Roy Galloway – backing vocals (5, 6, 9)
Fonzi Thornton – backing vocals (5, 6, 9)
Gardner Cole – backing vocals (8)
Tampa Lann – backing vocals (8)
George Michael – lead vocals (9)

Production

Producers – André Cymone (tracks 1-4, 7, 8, 10); Patrick Leonard (track 8); Bernard Edwards (tracks 5, 6, 9); David Z (tracks 1-4, 7, 8, 10).
Engineers – Josh Abbey, Darren Chadwick, Bridget Daly, Jon Ingoldsby, Glenn Kurtz, Csaba Petocz, Chris Porter and Erik Zobler.
Assistant engineer – Scott Church (tracks 5, 6, 9)
Mixing – André Cymone (track 9); Coke Johnson (tracks 1-4, 7, 8, 10); Michael Verdick (track 8); David Z. (tracks 1-4, 7, 8, 10).
Remixing – Taavi Mote and Louis Silas, Jr. (tracks 1, 10)
Mix assistant – Michael Blum (track 8)
Art direction and design – Lynn Robb
Cover art concept and hair stylist – Jody Watley
Photography – Victoria Pearson
Make-up – Beth Katz

Awards and nominations

1987 - American Music Award Nomination for R&B/Soul Single of the Year [Looking For A New Love]
1988 - Grammy Award for Best New Artist
1988 - Soul Train Award Nomination for Album of the Year
1988 - Soul Train Award Nomination for Single of the Year [Looking For A New Love]
1988 - Soul Train Award Nomination for Best Music Video [Looking For A New Love]
1988 - MTV Video Music Award Nomination for Female Video of the Year [Some Kind Of Lover]
1988 - MTV Video Music Award Nomination for Best New Artist Video of the Year [Some Kind Of Lover]
1988 - Billboard Music Award for Top Dance / Club Play Artist of the Year

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1987)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)^[4]	94
South African Albums (RISA)^[5]	7
Canada Top Albums/CDs^[6]	17
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[7]	23
UK Albums (OCC)^[8]	62
US Billboard 200^[9]	10
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[10]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1987)	Position
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)^[11]	64
US Billboard 200^[12]	41
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[13]	10

Chart (1988)	Position
US Billboard 200^[14]	35
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[15]	21

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1987	"Looking for a New Love"	Dance Club Songs (Billboard)	1
		Dance/Electronic Singles Sales (Billboard)	1
		Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)	1
		Billboard Hot 100	2
	"Still a Thrill"	Dance Club Songs (Billboard)	8
		Dance/Electronic Singles Sales (Billboard)	14
		Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)	3
		Billboard Hot 100	56
	"Don't You Want Me"	Dance Club Songs (Billboard)	3
		Dance/Electronic Singles Sales (Billboard)	3
		Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)	3
		Billboard Hot 100	6
	"Some Kind of Lover"	Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)	3
1988		Dance Club Songs (Billboard)	1
		Dance/Electronic Singles Sales (Billboard)	1
		Billboard Hot 100	10
	"Most of All"	Dance Club Songs (Billboard)	8
		Dance/Electronic Singles Sales (Billboard)	17
		Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)	11
		Billboard Hot 100	60

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)^[16]	Gold	50,000^{^}
United States (RIAA)^[17]	Platinum	1,000,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ Promis, Jose. Jody Watley review at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-12-13.
^ Christgau, Robert. "Jody Watley review". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2011-12-13.
^ Aletti, Vince (May 21, 1987). "Jody Watley: Jody Watley : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2008-02-22. Retrieved 2013-06-01.
^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St. Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 334. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid 1983 and 19 June 1988.
^ "South African Divas Albums". Geo Cities. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
^ "CAN Charts > Jody Watley". RPM. Retrieved 2011-11-14.
^ "NZ Charts > Jody Watley". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 2011-11-14.
^ "JODY WATLEY - full Official Chart History - Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
^ "JODY WATLEY - Billboard Chart History". www.billboard.com. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
^ "JODY WATLEY - Billboard Chart History". www.billboard.com. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
^ "Top 100 Albums of 1987". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
^ "Billboard Pop Albums - 1987". Retrieved 2011-12-14.
^ "Billboard Black Albums - 1987". Archived from the original on 2012-07-23. Retrieved 2011-12-14.
^ "Billboard Pop Albums - 1988". Archived from the original on 2012-07-22. Retrieved 2011-12-14.
^ "Billboard Black Albums - 1988". Archived from the original on 2012-07-22. Retrieved 2011-12-14.
^ "Canadian album certifications – Jody Watley – Jody Watley". Music Canada. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
^ "American album certifications – Jody Watley – Jody Watley". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 7, 2020.

External links

Jody Watley at Discogs

[1] Promis, Jose. Jody Watley review at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-12-13.

[christgau-2] Christgau, Robert. "Jody Watley review". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2011-12-13.

[rollingstone-3] Aletti, Vince (May 21, 1987). "Jody Watley: Jody Watley : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2008-02-22. Retrieved 2013-06-01.

[4] Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St. Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 334. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid 1983 and 19 June 1988.

[South_African-5] "South African Divas Albums". Geo Cities. Retrieved April 11, 2019.

[can-6] "CAN Charts > Jody Watley". RPM. Retrieved 2011-11-14.

[nz-7] "NZ Charts > Jody Watley". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 2011-11-14.

[8] "JODY WATLEY - full Official Chart History - Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 14 December 2017.

[9] "JODY WATLEY - Billboard Chart History". www.billboard.com. Retrieved 14 December 2017.

[10] "JODY WATLEY - Billboard Chart History". www.billboard.com. Retrieved 14 December 2017.

[11] "Top 100 Albums of 1987". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 27, 2022.

[12] "Billboard Pop Albums - 1987". Retrieved 2011-12-14.

[13] "Billboard Black Albums - 1987". Archived from the original on 2012-07-23. Retrieved 2011-12-14.

[14] "Billboard Pop Albums - 1988". Archived from the original on 2012-07-22. Retrieved 2011-12-14.

[15] "Billboard Black Albums - 1988". Archived from the original on 2012-07-22. Retrieved 2011-12-14.

[CanadaJody_WatleyJody_WatleyalbumCertRef-16] "Canadian album certifications – Jody Watley – Jody Watley". Music Canada. Retrieved April 7, 2020.

[United_StatesJody_WatleyJody_WatleyalbumCertRef-17] "American album certifications – Jody Watley – Jody Watley". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 7, 2020.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]