Real People (album)

For the album by The Real People, see The Real People (album).

1980 studio album by Chic

Real People

Studio album by

Chic

Released| June 30, 1980
Recorded| 1980
Studio| Power Station, New York City
Genre|

* Disco
* funk
* R&B

Length| 37:03
Label| Atlantic
Producer|

* Nile Rodgers
* Bernard Edwards

Chic chronology
| Les Plus Grands Succès De Chic: Chic's Greatest Hits
(1979)  | Real People
(1980)  | Take It Off
(1981)

|
|

Singles from  Real People

1. "Rebels Are We"
Released: July 1980 [1]
2. "Real People"
Released: 1980
3. "26"
Released: 1980

Real People is the fourth studio album by American R&B band Chic, released on Atlantic Records in 1980. It includes the singles "Rebels Are We" (US R&B #8, Pop #61), "Real People" (#51 R&B, #79 Pop), and "26" (issued only in the UK).

The album was one of four written and produced by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers in 1980, the other three being Sister Sledge's Love Somebody Today, Sheila and B. Devotion's King of the World, and Diana Ross' multi-platinum selling album Diana.

The album peaked at #30 on the US Albums chart and #8 on the US R&B chart, a modest commercial success in comparison both to the Diana Ross project and their previous albums, most likely due to the so-called "anti-disco backlash". Though in spite of the backlash, all of the album cuts peaked at #29 on the American dance charts.[2]

Real People was released on CD by Atlantic Records/Warner Music in 1991. It was digitally remastered and reissued by Wounded Bird Records in 2003.

## Critical reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [3]
Christgau's Record Guide| A[4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music| [5]
MusicHound R&B| [6]
Record Mirror| [7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide| [8]
Smash Hits| 8/10[9]
Spin Alternative Record Guide| 9/10[10]
The Village Voice| A−[11]

In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau deemed Real People a better record than Chic's Risqué (1979), even though it lacked a song as great as "Good Times". "Jumpy, scintillating rhythms fuse with elegantly abrasive textures for a funk that's not light but sharp", he wrote. "Plus post-chic words that go with the attention-grabbing heat and invention of Nile Rodgers's postrock guitar."[11] In his year-end list for the Pazz & Jop critics poll, Christgau named it the 15th best album of 1980.[12]

AllMusic's Alex Henderson was less impressed in a retrospective review, calling Real People a satisfactory effort but inessential, highlighted by "Rebels Are We", "I Got Protection", and "Chip Off the Old Block", none of which he said were as good as Chic's past hits.[3]

## Track listing

[edit]

All tracks written by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers.

### Side A

[edit]

1. "Open Up" – 3:52
2. "Real People" – 5:20 Listenⓘ
3. "I Loved You More" – 3:06
4. "I Got Protection" – 6:22

### Side B

[edit]

1. "Rebels Are We" – 4:53 Listenⓘ
2. "Chip Off the Old Block" – 4:56
3. "26" – 3:57 Listenⓘ
4. "You Can't Do It Alone" – 4:39

## Personnel

[edit]

* Luci Martin – lead vocals (A2, A3, B1)
* Alfa Anderson – lead vocals (A4, B2)
* Fonzi Thornton – lead vocals (B4)
* Michelle Cobbs – vocals
* Nile Rodgers – guitar, vocals
* Andy Schwartz – keyboards
* Raymond Jones – keyboards
* Bernard Edwards – bass guitar; lead vocals (B3)
* Tony Thompson – drums
* Sammy Figueroa – percussion
* The Chic Strings:
* Valerie Heywood – strings
* Cheryl Hong – strings
* Karen Milne – strings
* Gene Orloff – concertmaster

## Production

[edit]

* Bernard Edwards – producer for Chic Organization Ltd.
* Nile Rodgers – producer for Chic Organization Ltd.
* Bob Clearmountain – engineer
* Lucy Laurie – assistant engineer
* Jeff Hendrickson – assistant engineer
* Garry Rindfuss – assistant engineer
* Dennis King – mastering
* Bob Defrin – art direction
* Bob Kiss – photography
* All songs recorded and mixed at The Power Station, New York City.
* Mastered at Atlantic Studios, NY.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Chic singles".
2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 57.
3. ^ a b Henderson, Alex. "Real People – Chic". AllMusic. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
4. ^ Christgau, Robert (1990). "Chic: Real People". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. p. 88. ISBN 0-67973-015-X. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
5. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Chic". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
6. ^ Graff, Gary; du Lac, Josh Freedom; McFarlin, Jim, eds. (1998). "Chic". MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. ISBN 1578590264.
7. ^ Gardner, Mike (August 2, 1980). "Chic: Real People / Sheila and B Devotion: Sheila and B Devotion". Record Mirror. p. 15.
8. ^ Coleman, Mark (1992). "Chic". In DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; George-Warren, Holly (eds.). The Rolling Stone Album Guide (3rd ed.). Random House. pp. 129–30\. ISBN 0-679-73729-4.
9. ^ Hillier, Bev (July 24 – August 6, 1980). "Chic: Real People". Smash Hits. Vol. 2, no. 15\. p. 29.
10. ^ Walters, Barry (1995). "Chic". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 81–82\. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
11. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (February 2, 1981). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
12. ^ Christgau, Robert (February 9, 1981). "Pazz & Jop 1980: The Year of the Lollapalooza". The Village Voice. Retrieved July 13, 2016.

* v
* t
* e

Chic

* Bernard Edwards
* Nile Rodgers
* Tony Thompson
* Alfa Anderson
* Luci Martin
* Norma Jean Wright

* Fonzi Thornton
* Michelle Cobbs
* Nathaniel S. Hardy, Jr.
* Omar Hakim
* Robert Sabino
* Sylver Logan Sharp
* Luther Vandross

* Diva Gray
* Robin Clark

Studio albums|

* Chic (1977)
* C'est Chic (1978)
* Risqué (1979)
* Real People (1980)
* Take It Off (1981)
* Soup For One (1982)
* Tongue in Chic (1982)
* Believer (1983)
* Chic-ism (1992)
* It's About Time (2018)

Live albums|

* Live at the Budokan (1999)
* A Night in Amsterdam (2006)

Compilations|

* Les Plus Grands Succès De Chic: Chic's Greatest Hits (1979)
* Freak Out: The Greatest Hits of Chic and Sister Sledge (1988)
* Megachic: Best of Chic (1990)
* Dance, Dance, Dance: The Best of Chic (1991)
* The Best of Chic, Volume 2 (1992)
* Everybody Dance (1995)
* Dance, Dance, Dance & Other Hits (1997)
* The Very Best of Chic & Sister Sledge (1999)
* The Very Best of Chic (2000)
* Good Times: The Very Best of the Hits & the Remixes (Chic & Sister Sledge) (2005)
* The Definitive Groove Collection (2006)
* Up All Night (2013)

Singles|

* "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)"
* "Everybody Dance"
* "Le Freak"
* "I Want Your Love"
* "Good Times"
* "My Forbidden Lover"
* "My Feet Keep Dancing"
* "Rebels Are We"
* "Real People"
* "Stage Fright"
* "Soup for One"
* "Hangin'"
* "Chic Mystique"
* "I'll Be There"

Related articles|

* Discography
* "Rapper's Delight"
* "Lady (Hear Me Tonight)"

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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