Chirpin'

Chirpin' is an album by the American musical group the Persuasions, released in 1977. It was rereleased in 1990, following the success of the PBS documentary Spike Lee & Company: Do It a Cappella.

Production

The album was produced by David Dashev. After two albums that contained instrumental accompaniment, Chiripin' was a return to an a capella style, albeit without member Jayotis Washington.

Critical reception

The Richmond Times-Dispatch praised the "rich, gutsy and romantic harmonies," and considered Chirpin' the group's best album.

Greil Marcus, in The Village Voice, wrote of "Willie and Laura Mae Jones": "'That was another place, and another time,' runs the last line of Tony Joe White’s chorus; as the Persuasions sing it, it is full of dignity, close to bitter, and empty of regret. I don’t know that I have heard new black music this strong since the days that followed Sly Stone’s There’s a Riot Goin’ On." He later listed the album as one of the ten best of the 1970s.

Track listing

Side 1

1. "Papa Oom Mow Mow" (Al Frazier, Carl White, Turner Wilson, John Harris) – 2:18
2. "Willie and Laura Mae Jones" (Tony Joe White) – 3:15
3. "Moonlight and Music" (Leroy Fann) – 3:00
4. "Johnny Porter" (Bobby Ray Appleberry, Bill Cuomo) – 4:34
5. "Looking for an Echo" (Richard Reicheg) – 4:11

Side 2

1. "Women and Drinkin'" (Jerry Lawson, David Dashev) – 6:53
2. "Sixty Minute Man" (Billy Ward) – 2:00
3. "Win Your Love (For Me)" (Sam Cooke) – 3:32
4. "It's Gonna Rain Again" (Charles Johnson) – 2:22
5. "To Be Loved" (Tyran Carlo, Gwen Gordy Fuqua, Berry Gordy)– 2:32

Details

• Produced by David Dashev.
• Recorded and mixed at The Hit Factory, New York.
• Engineered by Michael Getlin.
• Released in 1977 by Elektra.