The Dana Owens Album

2004 studio album by Queen Latifah

The Dana Owens Album

Studio album by

Queen Latifah

Released| September 28, 2004
Recorded| 2003–2004
Studio| Avatar Studios, Nervous Music, NuNoise Studio, Right Track Recording
(New York City, New York)
Capitol Studios, Conway Studios, Henson Recording Studios, Record Plant Studios
(Los Angeles, California)
O'Henry Studios
(Burbank, California)
Genre|

* Jazz
* soul
* R&B

Length| 68:12
Label|

* Flavor Unit
* Creative Battery
* AEG Live
* A&M

Producer|

* Ron Fair
* Tal Herzberg
* Arif Mardin
* Joe Mardin
* Mervyn Warren

Queen Latifah chronology
| She's a Queen: A Collection of Hits
(2002)  | The Dana Owens Album
(2004)  | Trav'lin' Light
(2007)

|
|

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [1]
Robert Christgau| [2]
Rolling Stone| [3]

The Dana Owens Album is the fifth studio album by American hip hop artist Queen Latifah. The album was released on September 28, 2004, through A&M Records.[1] The album marks a departure from her previous hip-hop releases, and is composed of jazz, soul, and R&B covers of songs by artists such as Al Green, Bill Withers, and Screamin' Jay Hawkins, among others. The album reached No. 16 on the Billboard 200 and No. 11 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[4][5]

## Overview

[edit]

The Dana Owens Album is a cover album of jazz and R&B songs entitled after Latifah's birth name, Dana Elaine Owens.[1] Unlike Latifah's previous hip hop/R&B-oriented albums, this album showcases a jazz vocal performance.

The LP earned a Grammy nomination in 2005 in the category of Best Jazz Vocal Album.[6] The album has also been certified gold in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[7]

## Track listing

[edit]

1. "Baby Get Lost" (Leonard Feather) – 3:42
2. "I Put a Spell on You" (Screamin' Jay Hawkins) – 3:08
3. "Simply Beautiful" (Al Green) – 4:11
4. "The Same Love That Made Me Laugh" (Bill Withers) – 3:53
5. "Moody's Mood for Love" (James Moody, Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh) – 3:59
6. "Close Your Eyes" (Bernice Petkere) – 2:55
7. "California Dreamin'" (John Phillips, Michelle Phillips) – 3:42
8. "Hard Times" (Stony Browder, August Darnell) – 5:21
9. "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" (Gail Fisher, Vincent Levy, Joe Zawinul) – 3:27
10. "Hello Stranger" (Barbara Lewis) – 3:00
11. "If I Had You" (Jimmy Campbell, Reginald Connelly, Ted Shapiro) – 4:04
12. "Lush Life" (Billy Strayhorn) – 4:25

## Personnel

[edit]

### Main personnel

[edit]

* Queen Latifah - vocals
* Bryant Breyers - trombone
* Pete Christlieb - saxophone
* Vinnie Colaiuta - drums
* Luis Conte - percussion
* Jim Cox - Fender Rhodes, piano, Wurlitzer
* Charles Davis - trumpet
* Peter Erskine - drums
* Brandon Fields - saxophone
* John Goux - guitar
* Gary Grant - horn, trumpet
* Dan Higgins - horn, saxophone
* Larry Lunetta - trumpet
* Richard Taylor "Dick" Nash - trombone
* David "Fathead" Newman - vocals
* Bruce Otto - trombone
* Joel Peskin - saxophone
* Mervyn Warren - piano, scat

### Guest artists

[edit]

* Al Green - vocals
* Herbie Hancock - piano
* James Moody - alto saxophone

### Session musicians

[edit]

* Nico Abondolo - string bass
* Robert Adcock - cello
* Eun Mee Ahn - violin
* Richard Altenbach - violin
* Jerry Barnes - bass
* Sherrod Barnes - guitar
* Robert Becker - viola
* Emily Bernstein - clarinet
* Gary Bias - saxophone
* Charlie Bisharat - violin
* Tom Boyd - oboe
* Jacqueline Brand - violin
* Denyse Buffum - viola
* Bob Burns, Jr. - trumpet
* Darius Campo - violin
* Roberto Cani - violin
* Tim Carmon - organ
* Lily Ho Chen - violin
* Ronald Clark - violin
* Jon Clarke - English horn
* Durell Coleman - backing vocals
* Larry Corbett - cello
* Brian Dembow - viola
* Joel Derouin - violin
* Yvette Devereaux - violin
* Bruce Dukov - violin
* Arni Egilsson - string bass
* Stephen Erdody - cello
* Charles Everett - violin
* Marlow Fisher - viola
* Samuel Formicola - viola
* Matthew Funes - viola
* Armen Garabedian - violin
* Berj Garabedia - violin
* Tom Garvin - piano
* Gordon Gottlieb - percussion
* Endre Granat - violin
* Alan Grunfeld - violin
* Omar Hakim - drums
* Tamara Hatwan - violin
* Jerry Hey - horn
* Paul Jackson, Jr. - guitar
* Patricia Johnson - violin
* Will Kennedy - drums
* Peter Kent - violin
* Robbie Kondor - piano
* Armen Ksadjikian - cello
* Songa Lee - violin
* Natalie Leggett - violin
* Mario de León - violin
* Jay Leonhart - bass
* Phillip Levy - violin
* Dan Little - cello
* David Low - cello
* Rene Mandel - violin
* Andrew Martin - trombone
* Arnold McCuller - backing vocals
* Raul Midón - acoustic guitar, background vocals
* Ricky Minor - bass
* Victoria Miskolczy - viola
* Shedrick Mitchell - organ
* Horia Moroaica - violin
* Ralph Morrison III - violin
* Lewis Nash - drums
* Dan Neufeld - viola
* Robin Olson - violin
* Sid Page - violin
* Sara Parkins - violin
* John Patitucci - bass
* Valerie Pinkston - background vocals
* Katia Popov - violin
* Joe Porcaro - percussion
* William Frank "Bill" Reichenbach Jr. - horn
* Kevin Ricard - percussion
* Emil Richards - vibraphone
* John "J.R." Robinson - drums
* Ralph Rolle - drums
* Gil Romero - violin
* James Ross - viola
* Sheldon Sanov - violin
* David Shamban - cello
* Harry Shirinian - viola
* Jackie Simley - background vocals
* Steve Skinner - vibraphone
* Pamela Sklar - bass flute
* Neil Stubenhaus - bass
* Cecilia Tsan - cello
* Mari Tsumura - violin
* Louise di Tullio - flute
* Michael Valerio - bass
* Josefina Vergara - violin
* Frank Vignola - guitar
* Ian Walker - string bass
* Larry E. Williams - Saxophone
* Lloyd Williams - background vocals
* Reggie C. Young - trombone

## Charts

[edit]

### Weekly charts

[edit]

Weekly chart performance for The Dana Owens Album | Chart (2004)  | Peak
position

|

Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[8] | 159
Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[9] | 35
US Billboard 200[10] | 16
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[11] | 11

### Year-end charts

[edit]

Year-end chart performance for The Dana Owens Album | Chart (2005)  | Position

|

US Billboard 200[12] | 187
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[13] | 65

### Singles

[edit]

Chart performance of singles from The Dana Owens Album Single  | Chart (2005)  | Peak
position

|
|

"Simply Beautiful"  | US Billboard Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles | 15

## Certifications

[edit]

Certifications for The Dana Owens Album Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

United States (RIAA)[14] | Gold  | 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Kellman, Andy. "Queen Latifah: The Dana Owens Album". Allmusic. Retrieved December 11, 2009.
2. ^ Christgau, Robert. "CG: Queen Latifah". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
3. ^ Blashill, Pat (October 28, 2004). "Queen Latifah: The Dana Owens Album : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 26, 2006. Retrieved December 11, 2009.
4. ^ "Queen Latifah: The Dana Owens Album (Billboard 200)". billboard.com.
5. ^ "Queen Latifah: The Dana Owens Album (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". billboard.com.
6. ^ "Queen Latifah". Grammy.com.
7. ^ "Queen Latifah: The Dana Owens Album". riaa.com.
8. ^ "Albums : Top 100". Jam!. October 14, 2004. Archived from the original on December 10, 2004. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
9. ^ "R&B : Top 50". Jam!. October 7, 2004. Archived from the original on October 10, 2004. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
10. ^ "Queen Latifah Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
11. ^ "Queen Latifah Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
12. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2005". Billboard. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
13. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2005". Billboard. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
14. ^ "American album certifications – Queen Latifah – The Dana Owens Album". Recording Industry Association of America.

## External links

[edit]

* "Queen Latifah: The Dana Owens Album". discogs.com. 2004.

* v
* t
* e

Queen Latifah

* Awards and nominations
* Discography

Studio albums|

* All Hail the Queen (1989)
* Nature of a Sista' (1991)
* Black Reign (1993)
* Order in the Court (1998)
* The Dana Owens Album (2004)
* Trav'lin' Light (2007)
* Persona (2009)

Compilation albums|

* She's a Queen: A Collection of Hits (2002)

Singles|

* "U.N.I.T.Y."
* "Just Another Day..."
* "Black Hand Side"
* "It's Alright"
* "Paper"
* "Bananas (Who You Gonna Call?)"
* "Go Head"

Other songs|

* "Satisfied"

Related articles|

* The Queen Latifah Show
* Sugar Water Festival
* Flavor Unit
* Flavor Unit Entertainment

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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