Let's Hear It for the Boy (album)

Let's Hear It for the Boy is an album by American recording artist Deniece Williams released in 1984 on Columbia Records.[1] The album reached No. 10 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart and No. 26 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Let's Hear It for the Boy
Studio album by Deniece Williams
Released	April 1984
Recorded	1983–1984
Studio	The Complex, Los Angeles, California; LeGonks West, West Hollywood, California; Soundcastle, Santa Monica, California
Genre	R&B, soul, funk, dance
Length	40:53
Label	Columbia, CBS
Producer	Deniece Williams, George Duke
Deniece Williams chronology
I'm So Proud (1983) Let's Hear It for the Boy (1984) Hot on the Trail (1984)
Singles from Let's Hear It for the Boy
"Let's Hear It for the Boy" Released: April 13, 1984 "Next Love" Released: 1984 "Black Butterfly" Released: 1984

Production

Deniece Williams produced six of the album's tracks while George Duke produced the remaining four.[2] The production of the album was completed in early May 1984 before the album was released a few weeks later.[3]

Singles

The album's title track reached No. 1 in the US on the Billboard Hot 100, Hot Soul Singles, and Dance Club Play charts.[4][5][6] On the UK Pop Singles chart, it peaked at No. 2.[7] The song was written for the 1984 feature film Footloose and appears on its soundtrack. It was certified Platinum by the RIAA.

Other tracks from the album released as singles include, "Next Love", which reached No. 17 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart,[8] and "Black Butterfly", which reached No. 22 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart.[9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Baltimore Sun	[10]
Boston Globe	unrated[11]
Los Angeles Times	unrated[12]
New York Daily News	unrated[13]
Stereo Review	unrated[14]

Stereo Review described Williams' performance upon the LP as "a delight" with "fine vocalizing".[14]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Let's Hear It for the Boy"	Dean Pitchford Tom Snow	George Duke	4:20
2.	"I Want You"	Deniece Williams Peter Couch	Williams	2:50
3.	"Picking Up the Pieces"	Williams Couch	Williams	4:40
4.	"Black Butterfly"	Barry Mann Cynthia Weil	Duke	4:25
5.	"Next Love"	Williams Duke	Duke	4:23

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Haunting Me"	Williams George Merrill Shannon Rubicam	Duke	4:57
2.	"Don't Tell Me We Have Nothing"	Merrill Rubicam	Williams	4:00
3.	"Blind Dating"	Williams Michele Val Jean Robert Brookins	Williams	3:39
4.	"Wrapped Up"	Andrew Barrett George McMahon	Williams	3:39
5.	"Whiter Than Snow"	Traditional	Williams	3:44

Personnel

Musical

• Deniece Williams – lead vocals, arrangements (2), backing vocals (1, 3, 6–10)
• Paul Jackson Jr. – guitar (1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9)
• Jeff Baxter – guitar (3, 7, 8, 9)
• Michael Sembello – guitar (4, 6)
• Nathan East – bass (3, 4, 7, 8, 9)
• Fred Washington – bass (5)
• Ricky Lawson – drums (3, 4, 5, 7, 8)
• Ricky Nelson – drums (9)
• Paulinho Da Costa – percussion (1, 3)
• Sheila E. – percussion (5)
• John Robinson – tom toms (6)
• George Duke – LinnDrum programming (1, 6), Memorymoog (1, 5), Prophet 5 (1, 4), Moog bass (1), keyboards (2), Rhodes (5), synthesizer (6), vocoder (6), special effects (6)
• Leon Pendarvis – synthesizer (3, 8, 9), arrangements (3, 7, 8, 9)
• Kevin Grady – synthesizer (3, 8, 9)
• Russell Ferrante – acoustic piano (3, 4, 8, 9), Rhodes (4)
• Jerry Peters – organ (10), arrangements (10)
• Ronnie Laws – tenor saxophone (2)
• Richard Elliot – lyricon (4)
• Hubert Laws – flute (5)
• George Del Barrio – string arrangements (2)
• George Merrill – backing vocals (1, 3, 5–9), LinnDrum programming (6), Roland Jupiter 8 (6), arrangements (6)
• Shannon Rubicam – backing vocals (1, 3, 5–9)
• Oren Waters – backing vocals (3, 9)
• Roosevelt Christmas III – backing vocals (5, 6)

Production

• Larkin Arnold – executive producer
• Bridget Bergman – make-up
• Nancy Donald – art direction
• George Duke – producer (1, 4, 5 & 6)
• Murray Dvorkin – mix assistant (1)
• D.W. Enterprises – management
• Mitch Gibson – second engineer (4)
• Bernie Grundman – mastering at Bernie Grundman Mastering (Hollywood, California).
• Mick Guzauski – engineer (2–10)
• Constance Guzman – production assistant
• Tony Lane – art direction
• Margaret MacFarlane – photography
• Tom Perry – engineer (1–10)
• Nick Spigel – second engineer (1)
• Tommy Vicari – engineer (1–10), mixing (1–10)
• Deniece Williams – producer (2, 3, 7–10)

Chart performance

Year	Chart	Peak position
1984	US Billboard Top 200 Albums[15]	26
	US Billboard Top Black Albums[16]	10
	Dutch Albums [17]	17
	German Albums	59

References

1. Deniece Williams: Let's Hear It For The Boy. Columbia Records. 1984.
2. Matthews, Carl (June 2, 1984). "Sounds: Deniece Williams". The Afro-American. Baltimore. p. 11. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
3. "Rolling Stones plan to do video, concert in L.A. during Olympics". The Ledger. May 3, 1984. p. 2A. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
4. "Deniece Williams: Let's Hear It for the Boy (Hot 100)". Billboard.
5. "Deniece Williams: Let's Hear It for the Boy (Hot Soul Songs)". Billboard.
6. "Deniece Williams: Let's Hear It for the Boy (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard.
7. "Deniece Williams: Let's Hear It for the Boy". Official Charts.
8. "Deniece Williams: Next Love (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard.
9. "Deniece Williams: Black Butterfly (Hot Soul Songs)". Billboard.
10. Considine, J.D. (June 10, 1984). Soundtracks show how well hip-hop music will prosper in the mainstream. Baltimore Sun. p. 121.
11. Morse, Steve (May 28, 1984). Deniece Williams: Let's Hear It For The Boy. Boston Globe. p. 100.
12. Johnson, Connie (June 10, 1984). Deniece Williams: Let's Hear It For The Boy. Los Angeles Times. p. 383.
13. Wyatt, Hugh (June 22, 1984). Tracing the origins of black music. New York Daily News. p. 140.
14. Deniece Williams: Let's Hear It For The Boy (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. 49. Stereo Review. September 1984. p. 97.
15. "Deniece Williams: Let's Hear It for the Boy (Top R&B Albums)". Billboard.
16. "Deniece Williams: Let's Hear It for the Boy (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
17. "Deniece Williams: Let's Hear It for the Boy". dutchcharts.nl. Dutch Charts.