1979 The Crusaders – Street Life (US:#36 UK:#5)
“Street Life” is a song by American jazz band The Crusaders, released in 1979 by MCA Records as a single from the album of the same name. The lead vocals were performed by Randy Crawford. The song was a hit in the US, reaching number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100, and in Europe, where it peaked at number 5 on the UK Singles Chart.
The inspiration from the song came from the beginner’s ski slope at Mammoth Mountain in California. Joe Sample said he “‘saw people falling, running into each other… it was absolute chaos. It looked like a boulevard of madness.’ And I said, ‘That’s what street life is.'” Sample teamed up with lyricist Will Jennings, who said that “the lyric, all that came right off of Hollywood Boulevard”.
Sample first met Crawford when he played on her debut album Everything Must Change in 1976. After having good reviews about her song, but not being commercially successful, Crawford was then asked by Sample to sing the vocals for the song. As a result of this, the Crusaders produced her fourth album Now We May Begin, which became very successful.
Album
Street Life is a studio album by the American jazz band The Crusaders. It was a top 20 album on three Billboard charts and represents the peak of the band’s commercial popularity. The title track, featuring singer Randy Crawford, was a Top 40 pop single (No. 36) and became the group’s most successful entry on […]
Muscians
| Bass | Wilton Felder |
| Drums | Stix Hooper |
| Guitar | Arthur Adams |
| Guitar | Billy Rogers |
| Guitar | Roland Bautista |
| Keyboards | Joe Sample |
| Sax | Jerome Richardson |
| Sax | William Green |
| Sax | Wilton Felder |
| Trombone | Garnett Brown |
| Trumpet | Robert Bryant Jr |
| Trumpet | Bobby Bryant |
| Trumpet | Oscar Brashear |
| Percussion | Stix Hooper |
| Percussion | Paulinho Da Costa |
| Vocals | Randy Crawford |
Produced By
Stix Hooper
Joe Sample
Wilton Felder
Songwriters
Joe Sample
Will Jennings
Charts
US:#36
UK:# 5