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 [1]
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. ^{[2] [3]} 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. ^[4] Eargasm was Taylor's first album for Columbia Records, after many years spent recording for Stax. ^[5]

The album peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200; it spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Soul Albums chart, ^{[6] [7]} and peaked at No. 41 in Canada. ^[8] Taylor's most commercially successful album, Eargasm achieved gold status in 1980 and platinum status in 2001. ^{[9] [10] [11]} The album's second single, "Somebody's Gettin' It", was also a hit. ^[12]

The album helped Taylor earn the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's award for the 1976 "Entertainer of the Year". ^[13]

Production and marketing

The album was produced by Don Davis. ^[14] Recorded in Dallas and Memphis, the backing musicians included Bernie Worrell and Bootsy Collins. ^[15]

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. ^{[16] [17]}

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[18]
Robert Christgau	C+ [19]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[20]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[21]

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'." ^[19]

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". ^[18] 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." ^[21]

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." ^[15] 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." ^[22] 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." ^[23]

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