Maps of Music

Back on the Block (1989)

Where the lyrics of Back on the Block take you, and where it was really made.

This album holds the last studio recordings of Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan, two jazz singers.

Key places

Westlake Studios, Los Angeles (1989)

Recording site Westlake Recording Studios — The album's recording credits list Westlake Studios among the studios used. The point is placed at the studio's listed Los Angeles location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Tarpan Studios, San Rafael (1989)

Recording site Tarpan Studios — The album's recording credits list Tarpan Studios among the studios used. The point is placed at the studio's listed San Rafael location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Digital Recorders, Nashville (1989)

Recording site Nashville — The album's recording credits list Digital Recorders among the studios used. The point shows only the city of Nashville, not a specific building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Back on the Block: 1989 studio album by Quincy Jones, released 11 August 1989
• Features musicians and singers from three generations
• Guests include Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Ice-T, Sarah Vaughan, Ray Charles and a 13-year-old Tevin Campbell
• Singles with pop and R&B radio success: 'I'll Be Good to You', 'I Don't Go for That', 'The Secret Garden (Sweet Seduction Suite)' and 'Tomorrow (A Better You, Better Me)'
• 'Setembro', by Gilson Peranzzetta and Ivan Lins, was featured on the soundtrack of the 1991 film Boyz n the Hood

Background

• Ella Fitzgerald and Jones had worked together before on her 1963 album with Count Basie, Ella and Basie!
• Jones had produced three albums with Sarah Vaughan while both worked for Mercury Records
• This album contains the last studio recordings of both singers

Recording

• Bruce Swedien recorded, engineered and mixed the album
• Studios credited for recording: Ocean Way Recording, Record One (Los Angeles), Digital Recorders, Westlake Studios, Lighthouse Recorders, Tarpan Studios and Garden Rake Studio
• Quincy Jones and Rod Temperton produced all tracks; 'Tomorrow (A Better You, Better Me)' was co-produced by Jerry Hey

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · de.wikipedia.org · ja.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Born March 14, 1933 in Chicago; died November 3, 2024 in Los Angeles at age 91.
• American record producer, musician and composer; a career spanning seven decades.
• Received 28 Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Tony Award; seven Academy Award nominations.
• Began as a jazz arranger and conductor in the 1950s, touring with Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie.
• Produced all four million-selling singles for Lesley Gore in the early-to-mid 1960s, including "It's My Party".
• Arranged and conducted for Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and others.
• Scored The Pawnbroker, In the Heat of the Night, The Italian Job and The Color Purple.
• Produced Michael Jackson's Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad.
• Produced and conducted "We Are the World" (1985) to raise famine relief for Ethiopia.
• Founded Qwest Productions and later Qwest TV, a jazz subscription video service.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Richard S. Ginell gave the album 4 out of 5 on AllMusic
• Ginell called it a lavish all-star album, the first album released on Jones's own label
• Ginell wrote that the album was skillfully constructed
• Ginell described Jones as one of the earliest musicians to use rap and the leading figure in linking rap with jazz tradition

Records

• Billboard 200 peak: number 9 on 4 February 1990, Jones's third US top 10 album
• RIAA platinum certification in the United States by January 1990
• Topped the R&B Albums chart for twelve weeks
• Also topped the Contemporary Jazz Albums chart
• At the 33rd Grammy Awards, won seven Grammys, including Album of the Year
• Bruce Swedien won Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical for his work on the album
• German album chart: in the top 100 for 24 weeks, with three weeks at number 5

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · de.wikipedia.org · ja.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• 'Tomorrow (A Better You, Better Me)' began as an instrumental track on the Brothers Johnson's Look Out for #1 set.
• 'Birdland' is a cover of a Joe Zawinul song first released while he was in Weather Report.
• Tevin Campbell was 13 years old when he appeared on the album.
• 'Setembro' is the Brazilian wedding song by Ivan Lins and Gilson Peranzzetta, and it later appeared on the Boyz n the Hood soundtrack.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ja.wikipedia.org

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