Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (album)

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Studio album by Robert Cray
Released	August 8, 1988
Genre	Urban blues[1]
Length	41:28
Label	Mercury
Producer	Bruce Bromberg, Dennis Walker
Robert Cray chronology
Strong Persuader (1986) Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (1988) Midnight Stroll (1990)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Chicago Sun-Times	[1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]
Rolling Stone	[4]
The Village Voice	A–[5]

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, released in 1988, was American blues musician Robert Cray's follow-up to Strong Persuader. It was unable to match the mainstream success of Strong Persuader; peaking at #32 on Billboard 200 and staying on the charts for 60 weeks.^[6]

Track listing

1. "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" (Cray, Dennis Walker) – 3:47
2. "Don't You Even Care?" (Cray) – 3:56
3. "Your Secret's Safe with Me" (Peter Boe, Dennis Walker) – 4:52
4. "I Can't Go Home" (Cray) – 4:23
5. "Night Patrol" (David Amy) – 4:43
6. "Acting This Way" (Peter Boe, Richard Cousins) – 4:26
7. "Gotta Change the Rules" (Cray) – 3:24
8. "Across the Line" (David Amy, Peter Boe, Cray, David Olson) – 4:07
9. "At Last" (Cray, Patsy Sermersheim) – 3:30
10. "Laugh Out Loud" (Dennis Walker) – 4:20

Personnel

• Fidel Bell – assistant engineer
• Peter Boe – keyboards
• Charlie Brocco – mixing assistant
• Richard Cousins – bass
• Robert Cray – guitar, vocals
• Bill Dashiell – engineer
• Deborah Feingold – photography
• Bernie Grundman – mastering
• Jeff Hendrickson – mixing
• Wayne Jackson – trombone, trumpet
• Mike Kloster – assistant engineer
• Andrew Love – tenor saxophone
• The Memphis Horns – arranger, horn, horn arrangements
• Dave Olson – drums
• David Sanborn – alto saxophone on "Acting This Way"
• Chris Thompson – design

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[7]	Gold	50,000^^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[8]	Platinum	15,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[9]	Gold	100,000^^
United States (RIAA)[10]	Gold	500,000^^
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. McLeese, Don (August 15, 1988). "`Dark' proves Cray isn't afraid of risks". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
2. Allmusic Review
3. Larkin, Colin (2011). "Robert Cray". Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0857125958.
4. Rolling Stone Review on cduniverse
5. Christgau, Robert (August 30, 1988). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
6. Billboard.com
7. "Canadian album certifications – Robert Cray – Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark". Music Canada.
8. "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart (29/01/1989)". The Official New Zealand Music Chart. Retrieved 2015-05-08.
9. "British album certifications – Robert Cray – Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
10. "American album certifications – Robert Cray – Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH

External links

• Robert Cray's Don't Be Afraid of the Dark at Allmusic.com