Masterjam

1979 studio album by Rufus & Chaka

Masterjam

Studio album by

Rufus & Chaka

Released

November 1979

Recorded

1979

Genre

Smooth soul^[1]

Length

39:31

Label

MCA
MCA 5103

Producer

Quincy Jones

Rufus chronology

Numbers
(1979)

Masterjam (with Chaka Khan)
(1979)

Party 'Til You're Broke
(1981)

Chaka Khan chronology

Chaka
(1978)

Masterjam (with Rufus)
(1979)

Naughty
(1980)

Singles from Masterjam

"Do You Love What You Feel"
Released: October 13, 1979
"Any Love"
Released: February 3, 1980
"I'm Dancing for Your Love"
Released: May 15, 1980

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
Christgau's Record Guide	B−^[3]
Record Mirror	^[4]
Rolling Stone	(not rated)^[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	^[6]
Smash Hits	6/10^[7]

Masterjam is the platinum-selling eighth studio album by funk band Rufus (and their fifth album featuring singer Chaka Khan). Released in 1979, it was their debut on the MCA Records label following their purchase and dissolution of ABC Records.

History

Produced by Quincy Jones, Masterjam was the band's fourth album to top Billboard's R&B Albums chart, and also reached number 14 on thePop chart. The album includes the singles "Do You Love What You Feel", their fourth #1 hit on the R&B Singles chart and also #30 on Pop, "Any Love" (US R&B #24, 1980) and "I'm Dancing for Your Love" (US R&B #43, 1980). In 1979, Chaka Khan found solo success with the release of the album, Chaka, and its parent single, "I'm Every Woman", which became her signature song years before "I Feel for You".

However, Khan wanted to remain a member of her long-standing band Rufus, a group she had joined in 1972. Since their 1973 debut, Khan had led on most of the group's songs. While Ron Stockert, an earlier member, had added vocals to the debut and their follow-up, Rags to Rufus, Stockert left after complaining of their label's focus on Khan, and Tony Maiden would begin to lead on more songs as the seventies drew to a close, Khan's presence continued to boost the group.

For their first album with MCA Records, which had absorbed ABC Records a year before, the group enlisted Jones to help them with the record (Khan had recorded with Jones the year before for his album Sounds...and Stuff Like That!!). The group, while still with Khan, was now starting to record without her, while Khan was starting to express a view of going solo for good while still performing with the group onstage. Despite this, the album became a success upon its release. Following Masterjam Chaka Khan recorded her second solo album Naughty and Rufus Party 'Til You're Broke, released in 1980 and 1981 respectively. Khan reunited with the band again in 1981 for the recording of Camouflage.

Jones had also brought in the Seawind Horns for help, as well as the Brothers Johnson for additional percussion help. Rufus even does a funked-up cover of Jones's own "Body Heat".

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Do You Love What You Feel"	Hawk Wolinski	4:27
2.	"Any Love"	Wolinski	4:50
3.	"Heaven Bound"	Bill Meyers, Billy Durham, Lorrin Bates	3:45
4.	"Walk the Rockway"	Tony Maiden	4:04

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
5.	"Live in Me"	Rod Temperton	3:54
6.	"Body Heat"	Quincy Jones, Bruce Fisher, Leon Ware, Stan Richardson	5:45
7.	"I'm Dancing for Your Love"	Wolinski, John Robinson, Patti Austin, Peggy Jones	4:31
8.	"What Am I Missing?"	Chaka Khan, Mark Stevens	4:03
9.	"Masterjam"	Temperton	3:34

Personnel

Chaka Khan – lead vocals, background vocals
Tony Maiden – guitar, vocals
Kevin Murphy – keyboards
John Robinson – drums, additional percussion, hand-clapping
Bobby Watson – bass
David "Hawk" Wolinski – keyboards
Seawind – horns
Jerry Hey, Gary Grant, Larry Hall – trumpet, flugelhorn
Kim Hutchcroft, Larry Williams – saxophone, flute
Bill Reichenbach Jr., Lew McCreary – trombone
Louis Johnson, George Johnson, Richard Heath – percussion, hand-clapping

Production

Quincy Jones – producer
Bruce Swedien – audio engineer, mixing
Jerry Hey, Bill Reichenbach Jr. – string arrangements
Sidney Sharp – strings concertmaster
Rufus – rhythm arrangements
Rod Temperton – rhythm arrangements, vocal arrangements
Chaka Khan, Tony Maiden – vocal arrangements
Ed Caraeff - photography, album design

Charts

Album

Chart (1979)	Peak ^[8]
U.S. Billboard Top LPs	14
U.S. Billboard Top Soul LPs	1

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions
Year	Single	US ^[8]	US R&B ^[8]	US Dance ^[8]
1979	"Do You Love What You Feel"	30	1	5
1980	"Any Love"	102	24	5
1980	"I'm Dancing for Your Love"	—	43	—

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)^[9]	Gold	500,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ Molanphy, Chris (March 25, 2022). "Killing Me Softly Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
^ Elias, Jason. "Masterjam". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: R". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 12, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
^ Sexton, Paul (1 March 1980). "Rufus and Chaka: Masterjam". Record Mirror. p. 17.
^ Shewey, Don. "Masterjam review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 17, 2008. Retrieved 2011-10-16.
^ Gersten, Russell (1983). "Rufus". In Marsh, Dave; Swenson, John (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Record Guide. Random House/Rolling Stone Press. p. 438. ISBN 0394721071.
^ Starr, Red. "Albums". Smash Hits (January 24 – February 6, 1980): 21.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "US Charts > Rufus". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-10-19.
^ "American album certifications – Rufus – Masterjam". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 13, 2024.