Bop Till You Drop is Ry Cooder's eighth album, released in 1979. The album was the first digitally recorded major-label album in popular music. Bop Till You Drop was recorded on a digital 32-track machine built by 3M.
The album consists almost entirely of covers of earlier rhythm and blues and rock and roll classics, including Elvis Presley's "Little Sister" and the 1965 Fontella Bass-Bobby McClure hit "Don't Mess Up a Good Thing", on which Cooder duetted with soul star Chaka Khan. Khan also performed on the only original track on the album, "Down in Hollywood".
Reception
Writing about the lead track, "Go Home Girl", Mojo magazine described Cooder's portrayal of the broken-hearted singer attempting to act stoic as worthy of an Academy Award and High Fidelity magazine described the "Mexican-style" guitar part as "splendid," and also praised Tim Drummond's diversified bass guitar lines.
The digital recording
There was considerable interest in the new technology of digital recording of this trailblazing album. Some reviewers perceived that, (even though the album was on vinyl, CDs not as yet invented), there was something "different" about the new sound. Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Brett Hartenbach said:
Cooder and his excellent band, which includes the rhythm section of Tim Drummond and Jim Keltner along with guitarist David Lindley, understand the material and are more than capable of laying down a decent groove, but something must have gotten lost in translation from what was played to what came across on the recording. There's a thinness to the tracks that undermines the performances, which according to Cooder is due to the digital recording.
Track listing
Personnel
Musicians
- Jimmy Adams – backing vocals (3, 7)
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Ronnie Barron – organ (5), guitar (8)
- Ry Cooder – guitars, mandolin, lead vocals, backing vocals, producer
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Tim Drummond – bass guitar
- Cliff Givens – backing vocals (3)
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Rev. Patrick Henderson – organ (2)
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Milt Holland – percussion, drums
- Bill Johnson – backing vocals (3)
- Herman Johnson – backing vocals (1, 9)
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Jim Keltner – drums
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Chaka Khan – vocals (5, 8)
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Bobby King – vocals (5, 9), backing vocals (1, 2, 3, 7)
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David Lindley – guitar, mandolin
- Randy Lorenzo – backing vocals (2)
- George "Biggie" McFadden – backing vocals (7)
- Simon Pico Payne – backing vocals (3)
- Greg Prestopino – backing vocals (3)
Technical
- Loyd Clifft – assistant engineer
- David Alexander – photography
- Vicki Fortson – production coordination
- Lee Herschberg – engineer
- David Kraai – technical support
- Penny Ringwood – production coordination
- Mike Salisbury – design
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Certifications
