The Honeydrippers: Volume One

The Honeydrippers: Volume One
EP by The Honeydrippers
Released	24 September 1984
Recorded	March 1984, Atlantic Studios, New York, NY; overdubs at Marcus Studios, London
Genre	Rock & roll, jump blues, rhythm & blues
Length	17:56
Label	Es Paranza/Atlantic Records 90265
Producer	Nugetre & The Fabulous Brill Brothers (Robert Plant & Phil Carson)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

The Honeydrippers: Volume One is an EP released on 24 September 1984, by a band led by rock singer Robert Plant. The project originated when Atlantic Records president Ahmet Ertegün wanted to record an album of his favourite songs from the 1950s. Plant was chosen because Ertegün had seen his pick-up band the Honeydrippers performing 1950s standards. Included in the band were Chic front man Nile Rodgers, and former Yardbirds guitarists Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page—the latter was also Plant's former band mate in Led Zeppelin.^[2]

To Plant's horror,^[2] "Sea of Love" became his biggest-selling single. According to Plant, the original single was "Rockin' at Midnight," with "Sea of Love" as the "B" side. The single was eventually "flipped" because radio stations were playing "Sea of Love" far more than "Rockin' at Midnight". Plant feared his career would be ruined by this, and that people would think of him now as a "crooner", instead of the rock and roll singer he'd always been.^[2] As a result, when he would be asked about The Honeydrippers in years to come, Plant would refer to The Honeydrippers as having been "put to sleep."^[2] "Rockin at Midnight" is a remake of the 1949 recording by Roy Brown, the song's author, who wrote it as an answer record to his 1947 composition and recording, "Good Rockin' Tonight".

The album was re-released in a remastered edition in 2007 as part of a Robert Plant remaster series, with the live version of "Rockin' at Midnight" (previously released on the 12-inch single version of the studio recording) included as a bonus track. Plant and Ertegün discussed the possibility of doing another Honeydrippers album, but with the latter’s death in December 2006, the plan was shelved permanently.^[2]

Track listing

1984 vinyl edition Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"I Get a Thrill"	Rudy Toombs	2:37
2.	"Sea of Love"	George Khoury, Phil Phillips	3:01
3.	"I Got a Woman"	Ray Charles, Renald Richard	2:55

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Young Boy Blues"	Doc Pomus, Phil Spector	3:28
2.	"Rockin' at Midnight"	Roy Brown	5:55

2007 remaster bonus tracks

• "Rockin' at Midnight" (live in Birmingham NEC, September 8, 1985) – 4:14

1984 Compact disc edition
Same track listing and order as the vinyl release.

Chart positions

Album

Chart (1984)	Peak Position
US Billboard 200[3]	5
Swedish Albums Chart[4]	44
UK Albums Chart[5]	56
Canadian RPM Top 100 Chart[6]	1
US Billboard Top R&B Albums[7]	67
German Albums Chart[8]	40

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1984	"Rockin' at Midnight"	US Billboard Top Rock Tracks[9]	8
1985	"Rockin' at Midnight"	US Billboard Hot 100[10]	25
1985	"Rockin' at Midnight"	US Cash Box Top 100 Singles[11]	28
1985	"Rockin' at Midnight"	Canadian RPM Top 100 Chart[12]	18
1985	"Rockin' at Midnight"	US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs[13]	24
1984	"Sea of Love"	US Billboard Top Rock Tracks Chart[14]	11
1984	"Sea of Love"	US Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks[15]	1
1984	"Sea of Love"	Canadian RPM Top 100 Chart[16]	1
1985	"Sea of Love"	US Billboard Hot 100[17]	3
1985	"Sea of Love"	Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Chart[18]	1
1985	"Sea of Love"	US Cash Box Top 100 Singles[19]	3
1985	"Sea of Love"	Dutch Singles Chart[20]	25
1985	"Sea of Love"	Irish Singles Chart[21]	29
1985	"Sea of Love"	German Singles Chart[22]	48
1985	"Sea of Love"	UK Singles Chart[23]	56
1985	"Sea of Love"	Swiss Singles Chart[24]	25

Sales certifications

Country	Sales	Certification
United States (RIAA)	1,000,000+	Platinum[25]
Canada (CRIA)	300,000+	3x Platinum[26]

Personnel

• Robert Plant - vocals
• Jeff Beck - guitars ("I Got a Woman," and "Rockin' at Midnight")
• Jimmy Page - guitars ( "Sea of Love" and "I Get a Thrill" )
• Nile Rodgers - rhythm guitar
• Paul Shaffer - piano
• Dave Weckl - drums
• Wayne Pedziwiatr (a.k.a. Pedzwatwater) - bass
• Keith Evans - saxophone ("Rockin' at Midnight")

Bonus track personnel

• Robert Plant - vocals
• Robbie Blunt - guitar
• Paul Martinez - bass
• Jezz Woodroffe - keyboards
• Richie Hayward - drums

The King Bees (a.k.a. The Uptown Horns) - horns

• Crispin Cioe: alto saxophone, baritone saxophone
• Bob Funk: trombone
• Arno Hecht: tenor saxophone
• Paul Litteral: trumpet

The Queen Bees - backing vocals

• Ula Hedwig
• Chrissie Faith
• Millie Whiteside

Production

• Producers: Nugetre (Ahmet Ertegün) and the Fabulous Brill Brothers (Robert Plant & Phil Carson)

Additional notes

Catalogue: (US) Es Paranza 90220, (UK) Es Paranza 79-0220-1

References

1. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r9485
2. Huey, Steve (2011). "The Honeydrippers: biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
3. "The Billboard 200 - 31 November 1984". Billboard. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
4. "Top 60 Albums - 7 December 1984". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
5. "Top 100 Albums - 8 December 1984". chartstats.com. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
6. "RPM Albums Chart - 22 December 1984". RPM. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
7. "Top R&B Albums - 5 January 1985". Billboard. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
8. "Top 100 Albums - 4 February 1985". charts-surfer.de. Archived from the original on 2009-01-08. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
9. "Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks - 27 October 1984". Billboard. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
10. "Hot 100 Chart - 23 February 1985". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 27, 2014. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
11. "Top 100 Singles - 2 March 1985". Cash Box. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
12. "RPM Singles Chart - 2 March 1985". RPM. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
13. "Hot Dance Club Play - 2 May 1985". Billboard. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
14. "Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks - 24 November 1984". Billboard. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
15. "Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks - 15 December 1984". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 1, 2014. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
16. "RPM Singles Chart - 22 December 1984". RPM. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
17. "Hot 100 Chart - 5 January 1985". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 28, 2013. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
18. "RPM Adult Contemporary Chart - 5 January 1985". RPM. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
19. "Top 100 Singles - 12 January 1985". Cash Box. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
20. "Top 100 Singles - 26 January 1985". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
21. "Top 50 Singles - 3 February 1985". irishcharts.ie. Archived from the original on 2009-06-03. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
22. "Top 100 Singles - 4 February 1985". charts-surfer.de. Archived from the original on 2009-01-08. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
23. "Top 100 Singles - 9 February 1985". chartstats.com. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
24. "Top 100 Singles - 17 February 1985". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
25. "RIAA.org Volume I - 13 December 1984". RIAA. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
26. "CRIA THE HONEYDRIPPERS VOL. 1–1 April 1985". CRIA. Archived from the original on 2010-05-01. Retrieved 2009-01-19.