Rock Me Tonight is the platinum selling 1985 debut album from American R&B/Soul singer Freddie Jackson. Released on April 28, 1985, the album yielded four top–10 singles on the U.S. R&B chart, with the first two, "You Are My Lady" and "Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake)", reaching number one. The latter two, "Love Is Just a Touch Away" and "He'll Never Love You", peaked at Nos. 9 and 8, respectively. The album contains a cover of the Billie Holiday classic "Good Morning Heartache". The success of Rock Me Tonight garnered Jackson a Grammy Award nomination in 1986 for Best New Artist, losing out to Sade. Rock Me Tonight went on to top the R&B Albums chart for 14 nonconsecutive weeks, and peaked inside the Top 10 on the Billboard 200.

Rock Me Tonight
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 28, 1985
RecordedJanuary–March 1985 at Digital By Dickinson (Bloomfield, NJ); Celestial Sound Studios and Unique Recording Studios (New York, NY).
Genre
Length41:26
LabelCapitol
Producer
Freddie Jackson chronology
Rock Me Tonight
(1985)
Just Like the First Time
(1986)
Singles from Rock Me Tonight
  1. "Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake)"
    Released: April 2, 1985
  2. "You Are My Lady"
    Released: August 13, 1985
  3. "He'll Never Love You (Like I Do)"
    Released: 1985
  4. "Love Is Just a Touch Away"
    Released: 1986
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Track listing

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  1. "He'll Never Love You (Like I Do)" (Keith Diamond, Barry Eastmond) – 4:43
  2. "Love Is Just a Touch Away" (Freddie Jackson, Barry Eastmond) – 5:19
  3. "I Wanna Say I Love You" (Freddie Jackson, Barry Eastmond) – 4:40
  4. "You Are My Lady" (Barry Eastmond) – 4:44
  5. "Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake)" (Paul Laurence) – 7:12
  6. "Sing a Song of Love" (Barry Eastmond) – 5:02
  7. "Calling" (Keith Diamond, Barry Eastmond) – 5:30
  8. "Good Morning Heartache" (Ervin Drake, Dan Fisher, Irene Higginbotham) – 4:28

Personnel

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  • Freddie Jackson – lead vocals, backing vocals
  • Barry Eastmond – keyboards, synthesizers, Roland TR-808 drum programming
  • Eric Rehl – synthesizers
  • Paul Laurence – keyboards (5), Kurzweil synthesizer (5), Yamaha DX7 (4-5), Oberheim DMX drum programming (4-5), backing vocals (5)
  • Robert Aries – keyboards (8), Kurzweil synthesizer (8), drum programming (8)
  • Ira Siegel – acoustic guitar, guitar
  • Fareed Abdul-Haqq – guitar
  • Clarence Brice – guitar
  • Mike "Dino" Campbell – guitar
  • Thomas J. Flammia – guitar
  • Wayne Brathwaite – bass
  • Timmy Allen – bass (5)
  • Bernard Davis – drums
  • Richard Rodriguez – drums
  • Joel Rosenblatt – drums
  • Terry Silverlight – drums
  • Buddy Williams – drums
  • Bashiri Johnson – percussion
  • Steve Kroon – percussion
  • V. Jeffrey Smith – saxophone
  • Stanley Turrentine – sax solo (5)
  • Janice Dempsey – backing vocals
  • Dolly Eastmond – backing vocals
  • Danny Madden – backing vocals
  • Cindy Mizelle – backing vocals
  • Melba Moore – backing vocals
  • B.J. Nelson – backing vocals
  • Lillo Thomas – backing vocals
  • Audrey Wheeler – backing vocals
  • Reggie King – backing vocals (5)

Production

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  • Producers – Barry Eastmond (Tracks 1-4, 6 & 7); Paul Laurence (Track 5); Robert Aries (Track 8).
  • Executive Producers – Beau Huggins and Varnell Johnson
  • Production Coordination – Zack Vaz
  • Engineers – Ron Banks (Tracks 1-4, 6 & 7); Carl Beatty and Steve Goldman (Track 5); Frank Heller, Peter Robbins and Bob Rose (Track 8).
  • Second Engineer – Joe Marno (Track 5)
  • Assistant Engineers – Dean Cochren, Larry DeCarmine, Cathy Goode, Frank Heller and Kurt Upper (Tracks 1-4, 6 & 7); Mike Nicolette (Track 8).
  • Track 5 mixed by Steve Goldman at Right Track Recording (New York, NY).
  • Track 8 mixed by Peter Robbins at Unique Recording Studios.
  • Mastered by Jack Skinner at Sterling Sound (New York, NY) and Eddy Schreyer at Capitol Mastering (Hollywood, CA).
  • Art Direction – Roy Kohara
  • Design – Roland Young
  • Photography – Chris Callis
  • Administrator – Anne Thomas
  • Management – Hush Productions

Charts

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Singles

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Year Single Chart positions[7]
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 US
R&B
1985 "Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake)" 18 1
"You Are My Lady" 12 1
"He'll Never Love You (Like I Do)" 25 8
1986 "Love Is Just A Touch Away" - 9

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Lytle, Craig. Freddie Jackson: Rock Me Tonight > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  2. ^ "Freddie Jackson Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  3. ^ "Freddie Jackson Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  4. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 150. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  5. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1985". Billboard. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  6. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1985". Billboard. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  7. ^ "Freddie Jackson US singles chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
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