Big Fun (Shalamar album)

Big Fun
Big Fun
Studio album by Shalamar
Released	August 30, 1979
Recorded	1979 at Studio Masters, Los Angeles, CA, Jack Clement Studios, Nashville, TN
Genre	Pop, disco, R&B
Length	37:07
Label	SOLAR
Producer	Leon Sylvers III
Shalamar chronology

Big Fun is the third album by the American musical group Shalamar, released in 1979 through SOLAR Records.^[1] Big Fun was produced by Leon Sylvers III and is the first album to feature what is considered the 'classic' Shalamar line-up (Jeffrey Daniel, Howard Hewett and Jody Watley), with Hewett having replaced Gerald Brown. The album features the group's most successful hit on the Hot 100 pop chart, "The Second Time Around".

Big Fun has been certified Gold in the United States for sales of over 500,000. It peaked at #4 on the R&B chart and #23 on the Billboard chart (Shalamar's highest-placing album on this chart). In the UK it reached #45.

In 2002, Big Fun was re-released by Sanctuary Records in the United Kingdom in a two-for-one CD format with Shalamar's following album Three for Love.

The song "I Owe You One" was sampled in Raw Man's "Beautiful", and Le Knight Club's "Mosquito".

Reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	^[1]

The New York Times called the album "a very eclectic blend of pop hooks and light disco with funk trimmings."^[2] AllMusic rated the album four out of five stars.^[3] Writer Colin Larkin rated it three out of five.^[4]

The album sold 625,000+ units as of July 1982. Its single "The Second Time Around" sold around 1.8 million units.^[5]

Track listing[edit]

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Right Time for Us"	Leon Sylvers III, Dick Griffey	5:53
2.	"Take Me to the River"	Renaldo Benson, Lawrence Payton	4:57
3.	"Right in the Socket"	Kevin Spencer, Leon Sylvers III, Dick Griffey	6:51

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
4.	"The Second Time Around"	Leon Sylvers III, William Shelby	7:05
5.	"I Owe You One"	Joey Gallo, Leon Sylvers III	5:11
6.	"Let's Find the Time for Love"	Kevin Spencer, Leon Sylvers III	4:36
7.	"Girl"	Kossi Gardner	5:24

Personnel[edit]

Shalamar[edit]

Jody Watley, Jeffrey Daniel, Howard Hewett: lead and backing vocals

Musical Personnel[edit]

Kevin Spencer: keyboards, clavinet
William Shelby: keyboards, clavinet, Fender Rhodes
Kossi Gardner: keyboards, Fender Rhodes, Hammond organ
"Gip" Nobels, Gene Dozier, Joey Gallo, John Barnes, Ron Artists: keyboards
Ernest Biles, James Davis: bass
Leon Sylvers III: bass, percussion
Ernest Reed, Fred Rheimert, Steve Shockley: guitars
Freeman Brown, Gerald Thompson, Wardell Potts: drums
Greg "Popeye" Dawkins: congas
Fred Lewis: percussion
Christine Ermacoff, Edgar Lustgarten, Harry Shlutz, Marie Fera: cellos
Brian Leanord, David Johnson, Jerry Vinci, Ilkka Talvi, Irma Newman, Norman Carr, Norman Leonard, Reginald Hill, Ronald Fulsom, Sheldon Sanou: violins

Charts[edit]

Weekly charts[edit]

Chart (1979–1980)	Peak position
US Billboard 200^[6]	23
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[7]	4

Year-end charts[edit]

Chart (1980)	Position
US Billboard 200^[8]	56
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[9]	6

Single[edit]

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1979	I Owe You One	Hot Soul Singles	60
1980	The Second Time Around	Billboard Hot 100	8
1980	The Second Time Around	Hot Soul Singles	1
1980	Right in the Socket	Hot Soul Singles	22

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 628, 629.
^ Holden, Stephen (23 Mar 1980). "Solar Could Be the Motown of the 80's". The New York Times. p. D25.
^ Henderson, Alex. "Shalamar – Big Fun". AllMusic. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
^ Larkin, Colin (2002). "Shalamar". The Virgin Encyclopedia of 70s Music. p. 395. ISBN 9781852279479. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
^ Gayle, Stephen (July 1982). "Solar Empire Strikes Gold". Black Enterprise. p. 40. Retrieved December 14, 2017 – via Google Books.
^ "Shalamar, TLP". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
^ "Shalamar, BLP". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1980". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1980". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2021.

External links[edit]

Shalamar-Big Fun at Discogs

[RS-1] The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 628, 629.

[2] Holden, Stephen (23 Mar 1980). "Solar Could Be the Motown of the 80's". The New York Times. p. D25.

[allmusic-3] Henderson, Alex. "Shalamar – Big Fun". AllMusic. Retrieved December 25, 2014.

[4] Larkin, Colin (2002). "Shalamar". The Virgin Encyclopedia of 70s Music. p. 395. ISBN 9781852279479. Retrieved December 14, 2017.

[5] Gayle, Stephen (July 1982). "Solar Empire Strikes Gold". Black Enterprise. p. 40. Retrieved December 14, 2017 – via Google Books.

[6] "Shalamar, TLP". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2021.

[7] "Shalamar, BLP". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2021.

[8] "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1980". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2021.

[9] "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1980". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2021.

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v t e Shalamar
Howard Hewett Jeffrey Daniel Carolyn Griffey Jody Watley Gary Mumford Gerald Brown Delisa Davis Micki Free Sidney Justin
Studio albums	Uptown Festival Disco Gardens Big Fun Three for Love Go for It Friends The Look Heartbreak Circumstantial Evidence Wake Up
Singles	"Uptown Festival" "Ooh Baby, Baby" "The Second Time Around" "This Is for the Lover in You" "A Night to Remember" "I Can Make You Feel Good" "There It Is" "Dancing in the Sheets"
Related articles	Discography Soul Train Records SOLAR Records