Bop Till You Drop

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For the Rick Springfield song, see Hard to Hold.
Bop Till You Drop
Studio album by
Ry Cooder
ReleasedJuly 1979[1]
RecordedWarner Brothers Recording Studios, North Hollywood, California
Genre
Length39:56
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerRy Cooder
Ry Cooder chronology
Jazz
(1978) 		Bop Till You Drop
(1979) 		Borderline
(1980)

Bop Till You Drop is Ry Cooder's eighth album, released in 1979. The album was the first digitally recorded major-label album in popular music, recorded on a digital 32-track machine built by 3M.[2][3]

The album consists almost entirely of covers of earlier rhythm and blues and rock and roll classics, including Elvis Presley's "Little Sister" and the 1965 Fontella Bass-Bobby McClure hit "Don't Mess Up a Good Thing", on which Cooder duetted with soul star Chaka Khan. Khan also performed on the only original track on the album, "Down in Hollywood".

Reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Christgau's Record GuideB+[5]
DownBeat[6]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[7]
Rolling Stone(favorable)[8]

Writing about the lead track, "Go Home Girl", Mojo magazine described Cooder's portrayal of the broken-hearted singer attempting to act stoic as worthy of an Academy Award[citation needed] and High Fidelity magazine described the "Mexican-style" guitar part as "splendid," and also praised Tim Drummond's diversified bass guitar lines.[9]

The digital recording[edit]

There was considerable interest in the new technology of digital recording of this trailblazing album. Some reviewers perceived that, (even though the album was on vinyl, CDs not as yet invented), there was something "different" about the new sound. Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Brett Hartenbach said:

Cooder and his excellent band, which includes the rhythm section of Tim Drummond and Jim Keltner along with guitarist David Lindley, understand the material and are more than capable of laying down a decent groove, but something must have gotten lost in translation from what was played to what came across on the recording. There's a thinness to the tracks that undermines the performances, which according to Cooder is due to the digital recording.[4]

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Little Sister"
3:49
2."Go Home, Girl"Arthur Alexander5:10
3."The Very Thing That Makes You Rich (Makes Me Poor)"Sidney Bailey5:32
4."I Think It's Going to Work Out Fine"
4:43
5."Down in Hollywood"
4:14
6."Look at Granny Run Run"
3:09
7."Trouble, You Can't Fool Me"
 
8."Don't Mess Up a Good Thing"Oliver Sain4:08
9."I Can't Win"
  • Lester Johnson
  • Clifton Knight
  • Dave Richardson
4:16

Personnel[edit]

Musicians[edit]

  • Jimmy Adams – backing vocals (3, 7)
  • Ronnie Barron – organ (5), guitar (8)
  • Ry Cooder – guitars, mandolin, lead vocals, backing vocals, producer
  • Tim Drummond – bass guitar
  • Cliff Givens – backing vocals (3)
  • Rev. Patrick Henderson – organ (2)
  • Milt Holland – percussion, drums
  • Bill Johnson – backing vocals (3)
  • Herman Johnson – backing vocals (1, 9)
  • Jim Keltner – drums
  • Chaka Khan – vocals (5, 8)
  • Bobby King – vocals (5, 9), backing vocals (1, 2, 3, 7)
  • David Lindley – guitar, mandolin
  • Randy Lorenzo – backing vocals (2)
  • George "Biggie" McFadden – backing vocals (7)
  • Simon Pico Payne – backing vocals (3)
  • Greg Prestopino – backing vocals (3)

Technical[edit]

  • Loyd Clifft – assistant engineer
  • David Alexander – photography
  • Vicki Fortson – production coordination
  • Lee Herschberg – engineer
  • David Kraai – technical support
  • Penny Ringwood – production coordination
  • Mike Salisbury – design

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[17] Platinum 70,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Black, Johnny (September 2010). "Ry Cooder: Bop Until You Drop Vinyl Icon". Hi-Fi News & Record Review. United Kingdom. Ry Cooder's eighth album, Bop Till You Drop, released at the very end of July 1979...
  2. ^ Roger Nichols. "I Can't Keep Up With All The Formats II". Archived from the original on 2002-10-20. The Ry Cooder Bop Till You Drop album was the first digitally recorded pop album
  3. ^ "1978 3M Digital Audio Mastering System". NewBay Media, LLC. 1 September 2007. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  4. ^ a b AllMusic review
  5. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: C". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor and Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 23, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  6. ^ Zipkin, Michael (February 1980). "Ry Cooder: Bop Till You Drop". DownBeat. Vol. 47, no. 2. p. 30.
  7. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1996. p. 162.
  8. ^ "Ry Cooder: Bop Till You Drop : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. December 5, 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-12-05.
  9. ^ "High Fidelity". High Fidelity Magazine. 1979. Retrieved 2014-04-25.
  10. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 73. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  11. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Ry Cooder – Bop till You Drop" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  12. ^ "Charts.nz – Ry Cooder – Bop till You Drop". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  13. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Ry Cooder – Bop till You Drop". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  14. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Ry Cooder – Bop till You Drop". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  15. ^ "Ry Cooder Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  16. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1980 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  17. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2000 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
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