1987 Bruce Willis – The Return of Bruno

Alan Pasqua, Bruce Willis, Buzzy Feiten, Dann Huff, Gary Grant, Greg Phillinganes, Jeff Lorber, Jerry Hey, Michael Boddicker, Neil Stubenhaus, Phillip Ingram, Rick Marotta

The Return Of Bruno is the debut album by actor Bruce Willis. Released by Motown in 1987, this album is an eclectic gathering of R&B music sung by Willis, with backing musicians including Booker T. Jones, The Pointer Sisters, and The Temptations. It is a companion piece to an HBO special of the same name, which aired shortly after the album’s release. A re-issue was distributed by Razor & Tie in 1997.

The album peaked at #14 on the US Billboard 200 album chart. Leadoff single “Respect Yourself,” a duet with June Pointer featuring background vocals by the Pointer Sisters, was a hit. It peaked at #5 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and number 7 on the UK Singles Chart. Follow-up singles “Young Blood” and “Under the Boardwalk” did not fare nearly as well, peaking at #68 and #59, in the US respectively. Though “Under the Boardwalk” fared poorly in the US, in the UK it was a different matter, as the single reached #2 in the charts and became the UK’s 12th best-selling single of 1987.

Tracks

1 Comin’ Right Up (Brock Walsh) 03:29
2 Respect Yourself (Luther Ingram; Mack Rice) 03:53
3 Down In Hollywood (Ry Cooder; Tim Drummond) 05:19
4 Young Blood (Mike Stoller; Jerry Leiber) 04:08
5 Under The Boardwalk (Artie Resnick; Kenny Young) 03:03
6 Secret Agent Man / James Bond Is Back (John Barry; PF Sloan; Steve Barri) 04:47
7 Jackpot (Bruno’s Bop) (Bruce Willis; Robert Kraft) 04:11
8 Fun Time (Allen Toussaint) 03:36
9 Lose Myself (Larry John McNally; Jon Lind) 03:57
10 Flirting With Disaster (Brock Walsh; Jeff Lorber) 04:28

Biography

Bruce Willis

Musicians

Harmonica	Bruce Willis
Vocals	Bruce Willis

Other Musicians

1 Comin’ Right Up

Bass	David Chamberlain
Drums	Marty Fera
Guitar	Danny Grenier
Guitar	Duane Sciacqua
Keyboards	Alan Pasqua
Keyboards	Steve Thoma
Sax	Christ Mostert
Sax	Greg Smith
Trumpet	Jerry Hey
Trumpet	Gary Grant
Percussion	Mike Fisher
Background Vocals	Siedah Garrett

2 Respect Yourself

Bass	David Chamberlain
Bass	Jeff Steele
Drums	Marty Fera
Guitar	Danny Grenier
Guitar	Duane Sciacqua
Keyboards	Greg Phillinganes
Keyboards	Michael Boddicker
Keyboards	Steve Thoma
Sax	Christ Mostert
Sax	Greg Smith
Trumpet	Jerry Hey
Trumpet	Gary Grant
Percussion	Mike Fisher
Background Vocals	Lynn Davis

3 Down In Hollywood

Bass	David Chamberlain
Drums	Marty Fera
Guitar	Danny Grenier
Guitar	Duane Sciacqua
Keyboards	Alan Pasqua
Keyboards	Steve Thoma
Sax	Christ Mostert
Sax	Greg Smith
Percussion	Mike Fisher
Background Vocals	Danny Grenier
Background Vocals	Darryl Phinnessee
Background Vocals	David Chamberlain
Background Vocals	Lynn Davis
Background Vocals	Phillip Ingram
Background Vocals	Rob Trow
Background Vocals	Siedah Garrett

4 Young Blood

Bass	David Chamberlain
Drums	Marty Fera
Guitar	Danny Grenier
Guitar	Duane Sciacqua
Keyboards	Steve Thoma
Sax	Christ Mostert
Sax	Greg Smith
Background Vocals	Danny Grenier
Background Vocals	Duane Sciacqua
Background Vocals	Steve Thoma

5 Under The Boardwalk

Bass	Neil Stubenhaus
Guitar	James Harrah
Percussion	Mike Fisher
Background Vocals	The Temptations

6 Secret Agent Man / James Bond Is Back

Bass	Neil Stubenhaus
Drums	Rick Marotta
Guitar	Dann Huff
Keyboards	Alan Pasqua
Organ	Booker T Jones
Sax	Joel Peskin
Percussion	Mike Fisher
Background Vocals	Alexis England
Background Vocals	Bruce Di Mattia
Background Vocals	Darryl Phinnessee
Background Vocals	Jan Gorman
Background Vocals	John Vigran
Background Vocals	Jolie Levine
Background Vocals	Jon Lind
Background Vocals	Phillip Ingram
Background Vocals	Rob Trow
Background Vocals	Robert Kraft
Background Vocals	Shari Dub

7 Jackpot (Bruno’s Bop)

Bass	David Chamberlain
Drums	Marty Fera
Guitar	Danny Grenier
Guitar	Duane Sciacqua
Keyboards	Steve Thoma
Sax	Christ Mostert
Sax	Greg Smith

8 Fun Time

Bass	David Chamberlain
Drums	Marty Fera
Guitar	Danny Grenier
Guitar	Duane Sciacqua
Keyboards	Chris Mostert
Keyboards	Greg Smith
Sax	Christ Mostert
Sax	Greg Smith
Vocals	Bruce Willis
Percussion	Mike Fisher
Background Vocals	Darryl Phinnessee
Background Vocals	Lynn Davis
Background Vocals	Phillip Ingram
Background Vocals	Rob Trow
Background Vocals	Siedah Garrett
Background Vocals	Tim Stone

9 Lose Myself

Bass	David Chamberlain
Drums	Marty Fera
Guitar	Buzzy Feiten
Guitar	Danny Grenier
Guitar	Duane Sciacqua
Keyboards	Alan Pasqua
Sax	Christ Mostert
Sax	Greg Smith
Percussion	Mike Fisher
Background Vocals	Fred Mulvey
Background Vocals	Rob Trow
Background Vocals	Tim Stone

10 Flirting With Disaster

Drums	Wendell Dhowell
Drums (programming)	Brock Walsh
Drums (programming)	Jeff Lorber
Guitar	Dann Huff
Keyboards	Jeff Lorber
Keyboards	Steve Thoma
Background Vocals	Lynn Davis
Background Vocals	Phillip Ingram
Background Vocals	Siedah Garrett
Background Vocals	Brock Walsh

Liner Notes

Producer – Robert Kraft
Producer (Assistant) – Jan Gorman
Arranged By – Chris Mostert, Danny Grenier, Dave Chamberlain, Duane Sciacqua, Greg Smith, Marty Fera, Steve Thoma (Tracks 2, 3, 4, 7, 8)
Arranged By – Robert Kraft (Tracks 2, 5, 6, 7)
Arranged By – Bruce Willis (Tracks 7)
Arranged By – Brock Walsh, Jeff Lorber (Track 10)
Arranged By (Brass) – Jerry Hey (Tracks 1, 2)
Arranged By (Rhythm) – Brock Walsh (Track 1)
Arranged By (Strings) – Hoogle D’Howell (Track 5)
Coordinator – Jolie Levine
Effects (SFX) – Ken Johnson
Effects (SFX) – Robert Kraft (Track 5)
Effects (SFX) – George Budd (Track 6)
Engineer – John Vigran
Engineer (Assistant) – Cliff Kane, David Eaton, Julie Last, Michael C Ross, Ron DaSilva
Mastered By – Bernie Grundman
Mixed By – Daniel Lazerus
Technician – David Benson

Art Direction – Johnny Lee
Design – Andy Engel
Photography – David Alexander

Recorded At Cherokee Studios
Recorded At Bill Schnee Studios
Recorded At Weddington Studios
Recorded At Image Recording Studios
Recorded At Ocean Way Recording
Mastered At Bernie Grundman Mastering
Phonographic Copyright Motown Record Corporation
Copyright Motown Record Corporation