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Eargasm
Studio album by Johnnie Taylor
Released	March 1976
Studio	United Sound Systems, Detroit; Muscle Shoals Sound Studios; Sundance Studios, Dallas
Genre	R&B, soul
Length	34:45
Label	Columbia
Producer	Don Davis
Johnnie Taylor chronology
Super Taylor (1974) Eargasm (1976) Rated Extraordinaire (1977)

Eargasm is an album by the American R&B singer Johnnie Taylor, released in March 1976 on Columbia Records. The album contains "Disco Lady", which was a No. 1 pop hit for four weeks, and achieved the first platinum certification for a single, with two million copies sold. Eargasm was Taylor's first album for Columbia Records, after many years spent recording for Stax.

The album peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200; it spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Soul Albums chart, and peaked at No. 41 in Canada. Taylor's most commercially successful album, Eargasm achieved gold status in 1980 and platinum status in 2001. The album's second single, "Somebody's Gettin' It", was also a hit.

The album helped Taylor earn the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's award for the 1976 "Entertainer of the Year".

Production and marketing

The album was produced by Don Davis. Recorded in Dallas and Memphis, the backing musicians included Bernie Worrell and Bootsy Collins.

The scholar Houston Baker contends that "Disco Lady" was among the first R&B singles to be advertised to white record buyers; this was part of a 1970s practice of major labels signing veteran black musicians, and then focusing on crossover hits rather than career growth.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Robert Christgau	C+
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
The Rolling Stone Album Guide

Robert Christgau thought that "Taylor's commitment to the traditional soul style remains unimpeachable even when he accedes to material as modish as the likable but lightweight 'Disco Lady'."

AllMusic deemed "Disco Lady" "the song of year", writing that "the rest of the album was standard soul, but this was overlooked in the rush". The Rolling Stone Album Guide determined that "the songwriting is nowhere near as punchy or pointed as on the Stax records; however, Taylor throws down some heavy gospel-style testimony."

The Dallas Observer, reviewing the album's 1999 rerelease on compact disc, called it "a wonderful record ... full of la-de-de, la-da-dum-da choruses and it-don't-hurt-me verses; the man could sing about infidelity and made it signify even among the most faithful." The Fort Worth Star-Telegram concluded that "Taylor had the good sense to mix strings with the sort of horn-based soul that made him a star on Stax in the '60s and come up with a Memphis/Detroit/Philadelphia hybrid." Music Week wrote that "the album is full of classy urban ballads and tidy midtempo grooves, with only 'It Don't Hurt Me Like It Used To' in true disco tempo."

Track listing

Personnel

• Johnnie Taylor – lead vocals
• Bruce Nazarian, Don Davis, Emmett Smith, Glen Goins, Jimmy Johnson – guitar
• David Hood, Michael Henderson, Bootsy Collins – bass
• Barry Beckett, Bernie Worrell, George Rountree, Melvin Griffin, Rudy Robinson – keyboards
• Jerry Jones, Richard "Pistol" Allen, Roger Hawkins, Zachary Slatter – drums
• Carl Austin and the Detroit Fisher Theatre Strings – strings, horns
• Eli Fontaine – alto saxophone
• Brandye – backing vocals
• Bobby Eaton – backing vocals arrangements
• Bernie Worrell, David Van De Pitte, Don Davis, Wade Marcus, Rudy Robinson, Sonny Sanders – arrangements

Charts

Certifications

References

1. Popoff, Martin (September 8, 2009). Goldmine Record Album Price Guide. Penguin. ISBN 9781440229169 – via Google Books.
2. "Johnnie Taylor Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
3. Aletti, Vince (2009). The Disco Files 1973-78: New York's Underground, Week by Week. DJhistory.com. p. 171.
4. "Johnnie Taylor; Singer Had Hit With 'Disco Lady'". Los Angeles Times. June 2, 2000.
5. "Johnnie Taylor, 62; Soul Singer Had Hit With 'Disco Lady'". The New York Times. June 18, 2000 – via NYTimes.com.
6. ^ "Billboard 200: Week of April 24, 1976". Billboard. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
7. Mayfield, Geoff (Jun 17, 2000). "Remembered". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 25. p. 108.
8. "RPM Top 100 Albums – June 5, 1976" (PDF).
9. Wells, Chris (15 June 2000). "Obituary: Johnnie Taylor". The Guardian. p. 1.26.
10. "Gold Record Albums". Ebony. 35 (4): 92. Feb 1980.
11. Pesselnick, Jill (Dec 22, 2001). "Platinum Albums". Billboard. Vol. 113, no. 51. p. 52.
12. Spencer, Leigh (5 June 2000). "Johnnie Taylor". The Independent. Obituaries. p. 6.
13. "SCLC: Presidential Candidates Don't Know About Poor". Jet. 50 (24): 21. Sep 2, 1976.
14. "Johnnie Taylor Finishes New Album, Sets '76 Concert Tour". Chicago Metro News. December 13, 1975. p. 17.
15. ^ Wilonsky, Robert. "Mr. Somebody". Dallas Observer.
16. Echols, Alice (2010). Hot Stuff: Disco and the Remaking of American Culture. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 23.
17. Ward, Brian (1998). Just My Soul Responding: Rhythm and Blues, Black Consciousness, and Race Relations. University of California Press. p. 423.
18. ^ "Eargasm – Johnnie Taylor | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
19. ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: Johnnie Taylor". www.robertchristgau.com.
20. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 8. Muze. p. 65.
21. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 694.
22. Ferman, Dave (April 23, 1999). "Johnnie Taylor, Eargasm, Columbia". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Star Time. p. 19.
23. "Johnnie Taylor Eargasm". Music Week: 51. Jan 18, 2013.
24. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4129a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
25. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: Week of April 17, 1976". Billboard. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
26. "American album certifications – Johnnie Taylor – Eargasm". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 24 October 2023.

• 1976 albums
• Albums arranged by Wade Marcus
• Albums produced by Don Davis (record producer)
• Columbia Records albums