Silk Degrees is the seventh studio album by American musician Boz Scaggs, released on February 18, 1976, by Columbia Records. The album peaked at No. 2 and spent 115 weeks on the Billboard 200. It has been certified five times platinum album by the RIAA (RIAA) and remains Scaggs's best selling album.
Silk Degrees spawned four singles. "It's Over" (No. 38), "Lowdown" (No. 3) and "Lido Shuffle" (No. 11) made the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, while "What Can I Say" peaked at No. 42.
Production
The album was recorded at Davlen Sound Studios and Hollywood Sound Recorders in Los Angeles. Among the accompanying musicians,
David Paich,
Jeff Porcaro, and
David Hungate became members of Toto, while
Fred Tackett became a member of
Little Feat. The album marked Scaggs's commercial zenith, a mix of
pop rock ("Jump Street" and "
Lido Shuffle"), soul ("What Can I Say" and "Lowdown"), and ballads ("Harbor Lights" and "We're All Alone", which became a hit for
Rita Coolidge). Scaggs wrote "Jump Street" 10 minutes before recording it, only having a rough idea of the lyrics. He stated he'd scream out words that "worked phonetically".
Title and cover art
Scaggs recalled that the album's title "was just something I had scribbled on the side of a page. The last thing I do after I record an album is name it.
Silk Degrees doesn't mean anything specifically. It's just an image I couldn't get out of my head."
The front cover photograph was by Moshe Brakha of Scaggs at Casino Point, Avalon, California.
Release and reception
"Lowdown" reached the top 5 on the club play, black, disco, and pop charts and also did respectably on the AC chart, with its peak at number 3 on the pop chart. The song is an airplay staple to this day, particularly on AC,
oldies, and
smooth jazz radio stations. "It's Over", "What Can I Say", and "
Lido Shuffle" reached numbers 38, 42 and 11, respectively, on the pop chart. At the Grammy Awards of 1977, "Lowdown" won the
Grammy Award for Best R&B Song. Scaggs also received nominations for Album of the Year, Best LP Package, Best Pop Vocal by a Male, and Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Male for "Lowdown" and Joe Wissert received a nomination for Producer of the Year.
Reviewing for The Village Voice in 1976, Robert Christgau praised the album as "white soul with a sense of humor that isn't consumed in self-parody."
On February 27, 2007, Silk Degrees was reissued by Legacy Records with three bonus tracks recorded live at the Greek Theatre on August 15, 1976.
Track listing
Personnel
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Boz Scaggs – lead vocals, guitars, backing vocals (4, 5, 7, 8)
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David Paich – arrangements, acoustic piano (1–4, 7–10), Clavinet (2), Fender Rhodes piano (5–8), Moog synthesizer (5, 6, 9), ARP synthesizer (6), Minimoog (6, 8, 9), Hammond organ (6, 9), Wurlitzer electric piano (7, 8), harpsichord (7)
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Fred Tackett – guitars
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Les Dudek – slide guitar (3)
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Louis Shelton – guitars, slide guitar (8), acoustic guitar (10)
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David Hungate – bass
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Jeff Porcaro – drums, percussion (4), timbales (8)
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Joe Porcaro – percussion (1, 3)
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Plas Johnson – tenor saxophone solo (1), saxophone (8)
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Jim Horn – tenor saxophone (4)
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Bud Shank – saxophone (8)
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Chuck Findley – flugelhorn solo (5)
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Sid Sharp – string conductor and concertmaster
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Vincent DeRosa, Jim Horn, Paul Hubinon, Dick Hyde, Plas Johnson, Tom Scott and Bud Shank – horns
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Jim Gilstrap – backing vocals (1, 6),
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Augie Johnson – backing vocals (1, 6)
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First Call – backing vocals (1, 6)
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Carolyn Willis – backing vocals (1, 6)
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Maxine Green – backing vocals (4, 7, 8)
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Pepper Swenson – backing vocals (4)
Production personnel
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Joe Wissert – production
-
Tom Perry – engineering
-
Doug Sax – mastering at The Mastering Lab (Los Angeles, CA).
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Ron Caro – design
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Nancy Donald – design
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Moshe Brakha – photography
Charts
Weekly charts
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) | 1 |
Canadian Albums ( RPM) | 2 |
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Year-end charts
Canadian Albums ( RPM) | 17 |
US Billboard Albums[ ("Talent in Action" supplement)] | 17 |
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Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[Kent (1993). p. 429.] | 1 |
Canadian Albums ( RPM) | 70 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) | 28 |
US Billboard Albums | 8 |
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Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[Kent (1993). p. 430.] | 20 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) | 17 |
Certifications
External links
