Eargasm is an album by the American R&B singer Johnnie Taylor, released in March 1976 on Columbia Records.[2][3] The album contains "Disco Lady", which was a No. 1 pop hit for four weeks, and achieved the first platinum certification for a single, with two million copies sold.[4] Eargasm was Taylor's first album for Columbia Records, after many years spent recording for Stax.[5]

Eargasm
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 1976
StudioUnited Sound Systems, Detroit; Muscle Shoals Sound Studios; Sundance Studios, Dallas
GenreR&B, soul
Length34:45
LabelColumbia[1]
ProducerDon Davis
Johnnie Taylor chronology
Super Taylor
(1974)
Eargasm
(1976)
Rated Extraordinaire
(1977)

The album peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200; it spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Soul Albums chart,[6][7] and peaked at No. 41 in Canada.[8] Taylor's most commercially successful album, Eargasm achieved gold status in 1980 and platinum status in 2001.[9][10][11] The album's second single, "Somebody's Gettin' It", was also a hit.[12]

The album helped Taylor earn the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's award for the 1976 "Entertainer of the Year".[13]

Production and marketing

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The album was produced by Don Davis.[14] Recorded in Dallas and Memphis, the backing musicians included Bernie Worrell and Bootsy Collins.[15]

The scholar Houston Baker contends that "Disco Lady" was among the first R&B singles to be advertised to white record buyers; this was part of a 1970s practice of major labels signing veteran black musicians, and then focusing on crossover hits rather than career growth.[16][17]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [18]
Robert ChristgauC+[19]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music     [20]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide     [21]

Robert Christgau thought that "Taylor's commitment to the traditional soul style remains unimpeachable even when he accedes to material as modish as the likable but lightweight 'Disco Lady'."[19]

AllMusic deemed "Disco Lady" "the song of year", writing that "the rest of the album was standard soul, but this was overlooked in the rush".[18] The Rolling Stone Album Guide determined that "the songwriting is nowhere near as punchy or pointed as on the Stax records; however, Taylor throws down some heavy gospel-style testimony."[21]

The Dallas Observer, reviewing the album's 1999 rerelease on compact disc, called it "a wonderful record ... full of la-de-de, la-da-dum-da choruses and it-don't-hurt-me verses; the man could sing about infidelity and made it signify even among the most faithful."[15] The Fort Worth Star-Telegram concluded that "Taylor had the good sense to mix strings with the sort of horn-based soul that made him a star on Stax in the '60s and come up with a Memphis/Detroit/Philadelphia hybrid."[22] Music Week wrote that "the album is full of classy urban ballads and tidy midtempo grooves, with only 'It Don't Hurt Me Like It Used To' in true disco tempo."[23]

Track listing

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Eargasm track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Disco Lady"Albert James Vance, Don Davis, Harvey Scales4:25
2."Please Don't Stop (That Song from Playing)"Don Davis2:55
3."Don't Touch Her Body (If You Can't Touch Her Mind)"Don Davis3:13
4."I'm Gonna Keep On Loving You"Don Davis, Richard Morris4:00
5."You're the Best in the World"Norma Toney3:18
6."Running Out of Lies"Perry Jordan4:50
7."Somebody's Gettin' It"Chico Jones, Clarence Coulter, Don Davis4:01
8."It Don't Hurt Me Like It Used To"Herbert Ross, Perry Jordan3:13
9."Pick Up the Pieces"Don Davis, Fred Briggs, Kent Barker4:50
Total length:34:45

Personnel

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Charts

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Chart performance for Eargasm
Chart (1976) Peak
position
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[24] 41
US Billboard 200[6] 5
US Soul Albums (Billboard)[25] 1

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[26] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ Popoff, Martin (September 8, 2009). Goldmine Record Album Price Guide. Penguin. ISBN 9781440229169 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ "Johnnie Taylor Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ^ Aletti, Vince (2009). The Disco Files 1973-78: New York's Underground, Week by Week. DJhistory.com. p. 171.
  4. ^ "Johnnie Taylor; Singer Had Hit With 'Disco Lady'". Los Angeles Times. June 2, 2000.
  5. ^ "Johnnie Taylor, 62; Soul Singer Had Hit With 'Disco Lady'". The New York Times. June 18, 2000 – via NYTimes.com.
  6. ^ a b "Billboard 200: Week of April 24, 1976". Billboard. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  7. ^ Mayfield, Geoff (Jun 17, 2000). "Remembered". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 25. p. 108.
  8. ^ "RPM Top 100 Albums – June 5, 1976" (PDF).
  9. ^ Wells, Chris (15 June 2000). "Obituary: Johnnie Taylor". The Guardian. p. 1.26.
  10. ^ "Gold Record Albums". Ebony. 35 (4): 92. Feb 1980.
  11. ^ Pesselnick, Jill (Dec 22, 2001). "Platinum Albums". Billboard. Vol. 113, no. 51. p. 52.
  12. ^ Spencer, Leigh (5 June 2000). "Johnnie Taylor". The Independent. Obituaries. p. 6.
  13. ^ "SCLC: Presidential Candidates Don't Know About Poor". Jet. 50 (24): 21. Sep 2, 1976.
  14. ^ "Johnnie Taylor Finishes New Album, Sets '76 Concert Tour". Chicago Metro News. December 13, 1975. p. 17.
  15. ^ a b Wilonsky, Robert. "Mr. Somebody". Dallas Observer.
  16. ^ Echols, Alice (2010). Hot Stuff: Disco and the Remaking of American Culture. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 23.
  17. ^ Ward, Brian (1998). Just My Soul Responding: Rhythm and Blues, Black Consciousness, and Race Relations. University of California Press. p. 423.
  18. ^ a b "Eargasm – Johnnie Taylor | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
  19. ^ a b "Robert Christgau: CG: Johnnie Taylor". www.robertchristgau.com.
  20. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 8. Muze. p. 65.
  21. ^ a b The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 694.
  22. ^ Ferman, Dave (April 23, 1999). "Johnnie Taylor, Eargasm, Columbia". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Star Time. p. 19.
  23. ^ "Johnnie Taylor Eargasm". Music Week: 51. Jan 18, 2013.
  24. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4129a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  25. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: Week of April 17, 1976". Billboard. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  26. ^ "American album certifications – Johnnie Taylor – Eargasm". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 24 October 2023.