STUCK IN THE VINYL AGAIN - ALAN O' DAY - APPETIZERS

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Good morning record junkies and welcome back to the Thursday edition of Stuck In The Vinyl Again. On this day in 1977, singer-songwriter Alan O' Day held the #1 chart position, with his soon to be million selling single, "Undercover Angel". The song sat there a full week. It's parent album and O'Day's sophomore LP, Appetizers,  was released in 1977 on the Pacific label and produced by Michael Omartian and Steve Barri. It peaked at #109 on the Billboard 200. In addition to the sucess of "Undercover Angel", the record also featured another popular track from him, "Started Out Dancing, Ended Up Making Love", which landed at #73 on the Hot 100. In keeping with the record's motif, the back cover is set up like a restaurant menu with descriptions of each item. I have never heard of Alan when we bought the album, but it seems I'm a sucker for a cover that features vinyl, and the picture of a waiter serving 45s on a platter was just too much temptation to resist.

A1 Soldier Of Fortune 3:24

A2 Satisfied 3:40

A3 Started Out Dancing, Ended Up Making Love
Arranged By [Rhythm Track] – Dean Parks 3:36

A4 Gifts
Arranged By [Rhythm Track] – Dean Parks 3:42

A5 Slot Machine 3:57

B1 Undercover Angel 3:24

B2 Do Me Wrong, But Do Me 3:20

B3 Catch My Breath 3:26

B4 Angie Baby 3:58

B5 Caress Me Pretty Music 3:44

Arranged By – Michael Omartian

Backing Vocals – Alan O'Day, Carol Parks, Jim Haas, Michael Omartian

Bass – Lee Sklar, Scott Edwards

Concertmaster [Strings] – Sid Sharp

Design, Photography By – Jimmy Wachtel

Drums – Jeff Porcaro

French Horn – Barbara Korn, David Duke

Guitar – Dean Parks, Jay Graydon

Horns – Fred Seldon, Jim Horn, Steve Madaio, Tony Terran

Keyboards – Alan O'Day, Michael Omartian

Percussion – Steve Barri, Victor Feldman

Producer – Michael Omartian (tracks: A1, B1), Steve Barri

Written-By – Alan O'Day

O'Day, who passed away in 2013, age 73, from brain cancer, had an interesting career and is considered a one hit wonder. He is part of an exclusive club of songwriters who penned a #1 hit for themselves and another, being that he also wrote Helen Reddy's #1 song, "Angie Baby" (his version is included here) , another Gold selling single. In addition to those he also scribed hits for the Righteous Brothers'  ( "Rock and Roll Heaven"), Cher ("Train of Thought") and  Bobby Sherman ("The Drum"). Heck, he even co wrote the theme song for Jim Henson's animated CBS cartoon, the Muppet Babies.

Fans of Paul Simon, Joey Scarbury, and Neil Sedaka will enjoy this pleasurable brand of humorous blue eyed soul and adult contemporary pop.