Eargasm

Eargasm is an album by the American R&B singer Johnnie Taylor, released in 1976.[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
Johnnie Taylor
Released1976
GenreR&B, soul
LabelColumbia Records[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] Taylor's most commercially successful album, Eargasm achieved gold status in 1980 and platinum status in 2001.[8][9][10] The album's second single, "Somebody's Gettin' It", was also a hit.[11]

The album helped Taylor earn the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's award for the 1976 "Entertainer of the Year".[12]

Production and marketing

The album was produced by Don Davis.[13] Recorded in Dallas and Memphis, the backing musicians included Bernie Worrell and Bootsy Collins.[14]

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.[15][16]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[17]
Robert ChristgauC+[18]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[19]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[20]

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'."[18]

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."[17] 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."[20]

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."[14] 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."[21] 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."[22]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Disco Lady"4:25
2."Please Don't Stop (That Song From Playing)"2:55
3."Don't Touch Her Body (If You Can't Touch Her Mind)"3:13
4."I'm Gonna Keep On Loving You"4:00
5."You're the Best in the World"3:18
6."Running Out of Lies"4:50
7."Somebody's Gettin' It"4:01
8."It Don't Hurt Me Like It Used To"3:13
9."Pick Up the Pieces"4:50

References
  1. Popoff, Martin (September 8, 2009). "Goldmine Record Album Price Guide". Penguin – 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'". June 18, 2000 – via NYTimes.com.
  6. "Johnnie Taylor". Billboard.
  7. Mayfield, Geoff (Jun 17, 2000). "Remembered". Billboard. 112 (25): 108.
  8. Wells, Chris (15 June 2000). "Obituary: Johnnie Taylor". The Guardian. p. 1.26.
  9. "Gold Record Albums". Ebony. 35 (4): 92. Feb 1980.
  10. Pesselnick, Jill (Dec 22, 2001). "PLATINUM ALBUMS". Billboard. 113 (51): 52.
  11. Spencer, Leigh (5 June 2000). "Johnnie Taylor". The Independent. Obituaries. p. 6.
  12. "SCLC: Presidential Candidates Don't Know About Poor". Jet. 50 (24): 21. Sep 2, 1976.
  13. "Johnnie Taylor Finishes New Album, Sets '76 Concert Tour". Chicago Metro News. December 13, 1975. p. 17.
  14. Wilonsky, Robert. "Mr. Somebody". Dallas Observer.
  15. Echols, Alice (2010). Hot Stuff: Disco and the Remaking of American Culture. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 23.
  16. Ward, Brian (1998). Just My Soul Responding: Rhythm and Blues, Black Consciousness, and Race Relations. University of California Press. p. 423.
  17. "Eargasm - Johnnie Taylor | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  18. "Robert Christgau: CG: Johnnie Taylor". www.robertchristgau.com.
  19. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 8. MUZE. p. 65.
  20. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 694.
  21. Ferman, Dave (April 23, 1999). "Johnnie Taylor, Eargasm, Columbia". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Star Time. p. 19.
  22. "JOHNNIE TAYLOR Eargasm". Music Week: 51. Jan 18, 2013.
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