Come Get To This

***Come Get to This*** is the 31st studio album by American singer Nancy Wilson, released by Capitol Records on June 11, 1975. Wilson teamed up with producers and brothers, Billy and Gene Page, who previously worked on her album *All In Love Is Fair* (1974). The album was recorded at The Sound Factory in Los Angeles, California, within a three month period, from November 1974 to February 1975. *Come Get To This* included musicians such as Ray Parker Jr. and members of The Crusaders, along with songs written by Marvin Gaye, Leon Ware & Pam Sawyer, and Gene & Billy Page. Musically, *Come Get to This* is primarily a R&B record, with elements of pop, jazz, soul, funk and disco.

The album debuted at number one on the *Billboard* Top LPs & Tapes chart, becoming the second album to do so and making Wilson the first American act to achieve this feat, selling over two million copies in its first week. It remained at the number one position for 18 non-consecutive weeks, while also peaking at number one in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom. *Come Get to This* produced four *Billboard* Hot 100 number ones, "Like A Circle Never Stops", "Houdini of the Midnite Hour", "If I Ever Lose This Heaven", "All My Love Comes Down" and top-ten hits, "Boogeyin' All the Way" and "This Time Last Summer".

*Come Get to This* became the third of Wilson's six albums and second consecutive album to produce five or more *Billboard* Hot 100 top-tens. It was the best-selling album in the United States of 1975 and the world's best-selling album that year. The album opened to mixed reviews, with some criticizing Wilson for almost 'abandoning' her jazz roots and trying being "trendy" or "hip". However, at the turn of the new millennium, reviews of the album have been more favorable, The album has been noted as one of the most sampled records of all-time, particularly in hip-hop music. Numerous publications has since listed *Come Get to This* to be one of the 'greatest' and most influential albums of all-time

In 1976, the album was nominated for Album Of The Year, while winning Song Of The Year for "Like A Circle Never Stops" and Record Of The Year for "Houdini of the Midnite Hour" at the 18th Annual Grammy Awards. *Come Get to This* was certified 20× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in June 2022 and has sold over 41 million copies to date. *Come Get to This* was inducted into Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004 and in 2007, the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry of "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant recordings".

## Background and recording

Following the massive success of *All In Love Is Fair*, Capitol Records was eager to get Wilson to record another album. Wilson discussed the process of *Come Get to This* in a 1975 interview with *Rolling Stone* magazine.

> *"When Capitol Records approached me and they were like, "Nancy, we want you to record another album." I initially felt that it didn't make sense to release another album at the time, especially when the success of All In Love Is Fair hit bigger than any album I released up to that point. But then I thought about how I had more time to record, since I was no longer doing heavy touring. I then followed up with them and told that I would move forward with the project."*
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*Come Get to This* was recorded within a three month period, from November 1974 to February 1975. Wilson decided that she wanted producers, Billy and Gene Page, who served as producers as her predecessor to work on the project with her. Despite Wilson not writing or composing any of the material, she was still heavily involved with the album's musical direction. Five of the album's tracks were originals, mostly written and composed by Billy and Gene Page.

Musicians described the recording sessions to be very relaxed and enjoyable. During the recording sessions, Wilson was pregnant, so this also played a huge part into why the recording sessions were more laidback. In between sessions, Wilson spent a lot of time listening to Marvin Gaye's 1973 blockbuster hit album, *Let's Get It On*. She stated how one of her favorite tracks from the album was "Come Get to This", which decided to cover and title her album after the track. Wilson also mentioned that *Let's Get It On* heavily inspired the musical shift for *Come Get to This*.

### Music and lyrics

Musically, Wilson wanted to stay within the R&B route, but she wanted to incorporate various elements of pop, as well as funk and disco within the project. She also desired that album to have a more 'grandiose' feel to it, with placing huge emphasis on the strings and brass instruments. The record is also more percussion-heavy, compared to many of her predecessors. Wilson also chose to go in a different vocal direction, with her vocal stylings being more 'laidback' and picked all the song for the album, as Gene Page said in a *Billboard* interview in 1975.

One the album's first chosen songs to record was "If I Ever Lose This Heaven", a song by written by Leon Ware and Pam Sawyer and was featured of Quincy Jones's 1975 hit album *Body Heat.* Wilson suggested that adding call-and-response phrases in between her sung verses would make her rendition of the song more distinct from Jones's version. Despite Wilson incorporating R&B and soul in her version, "If I Ever Lose This Heaven" still maintains some jazz-influence, similarly to the earlier works of Wilson.

"Houdini of the Midnite Hour" was one of the original tracks written by the Page brothers. Its title was influenced by Hungarian-American magician Harry Houdini. The lyrics is about sex and how she wants her partner to 'wave his magical wand' in the midnight hour. "Houdini of the Midnite Hour" was composed during a jam session. Gene Page described it the experience in Billboard interview, "We were all just messing around and having a good time. The song just came about naturally and I felt that it would've a great song song for Nancy to record. 'Houdini' was a crucial shrift for her as an artist and her career." "Houdini of the Midnite Hour" was been noted to be some of the first mainstream disco songs.

Songs such as "All My Love Comes Down", "Like a Circle Never Stops:"

## Commercial Performance

The release of the album was highly anticipated, with album pre-orders exceeding over 700,000 copies a week. *Come Get to This* debuted atop of the *Billboard 200* on the chart week of June 21, 1975, with sales ranging nearly two million in its first week. Wilson became the first American act to debut atop of the *Billboard* 200 and the second act overall, after Elton John. During its first month of release, the album sold over seven million copies. By the end of 1975, *Come Get to This* exceeded global sales of 16 million becoming Wilson’s second best-selling album up until that point. In 1976, the album was certified seven-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) becoming one of the highest-certified albums in the United States at the time. After Wilson's death in 2018, *Come Get to This* had a resurgence of sales and chart performance, entering the *Billboard* 200 at number 11. In June 2022, *Come Get to This* was certified 20× Platinum, with the inclusion of sales and streaming.

*Come Get to This* debuted to similar performance internationally, peaking at number one in numerous territories including the Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom. The album remained at the number one spot on the UK Albums Chart for six non-consecutive weeks and remained in the chart's top-ten for 24 non-consecutive weeks. As of 2021, *Come Get to This* has sold over 41 million copies worldwide, making it Wilson's third best-selling album and holding the spot as world's seventh best-selling album.

## Reception and legacy

Professional ratings
 AllMusic

After the release, reviews of the album were mostly positive, but were met with some criticism. A fair share of critics believed Wilson was trying to distance herself from her traditional jazz stylings by heading in amore contemporary R&B and disco direction. In a *Rolling Stone* review, a critic said that Wilson's musical shift 'is somewhat inauthentic and calculated, as an attempt to keep her popularity afloat'. However, the same critic did note that 'the album is filled with filled with catchy tunes that will make you wanna dance a night long', with him also noting that tracks, "Houdini of the Midnite Hour, "Like A Circle Never Stops", "Boogeyin' All the Way" and All My Love Comes Down" are 'the album's highlights'.

The album was heavily compared to Wilson's predecessor, *All In Love Is Fair. Billboard* noted that "*Come Get to This* is a great album, but falls a little short from its predecessor *All In Love Is Fair,* which is a bit more cohesive." As time went on, *Come Get to This* has been recognized as one of Wilson's greatest works to date. Critics and alike note that *Come Get to This* further helped propel Wilson as 'the biggest star in the world' during the time of its release. In 2004, *Come Get to This* was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and in 2007, it was inducted into the National Library of Congress.

### Influence on hip-hop

*Come Get to This* has often been one of the most sampled pieces of music in hip-hop in recent years.

## Track listing

### Side 1

1. "Come Get to This" (Marvin Gaye) – 3:00
2. "All My Love Comes Down" (Billy Page, Gene Page) – 4:03
3. "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" (James Taylor) – 3:21
4. "If I Ever Lose This Heaven" (Leon Ware, Pam Sawyer) – 4:35
5. "Happy Tears" (Page, Page) – 4:06

### Side 2

1. "Houdini of the Midnite Hour (Page, Page) – 3:27
2. "This Time Last Summer" (Jimmy Webb) – 4:00
3. "He Called Me Baby" (Harlan Howard) – 3:51
4. "Like A Circle Never Stops" (Page, Page) – 3:30
5. "Boogeyin' All The Way" (Page, Page) – 3:22

## Personnel

From the original liner notes:

* Nancy Wilson – vocals
* Wilton Felder – bass
* Eddie Greene – drums
* Joe Sample – keyboards
* Bobbye Hall – congas
* Gary Coleman – percussionist
* Ray Parker Jr. – guitar
* Don Peake – guitar
* Melvin Ragin – guitar
* David T. Walker – guitar
* Mike Melvoin – Yamaha
* Michel Rubini – arp
* George Bohanon – trombone solo
* Bud Brisbois – trumpet solo
* Gene Cirpiano – English horn soloist
* William Green – oboe soloist
* Dick Hyde – baritone horn soloist
* Ernie Watts – tenor saxophone and flute solos
* Marti McCall – background vocals
* Jackie Ward – background vocals
* Carolyn Willis – background vocals
* Jim Gilstrap – background vocals
* Augie Johnson – background vocals
* John Lehman – background vocals

### Technical personnel

* Gene Page – producer, arrnager, conductor
* Billy Page – producer, background vocals arranger
* Larkin Arnold – executive producer
* Olivia Page – production coordinator
* David Hassinger – recording engineer
* Roy Kohara – art director
* David Alexander – photographer

## Charts

### Year-end charts

 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)
 UK Albums Chart (OCC)
 US *Billboard* 200
 Chart (1976)
 UK Albums Chart (OCC)
 US *Billboard* Top R&B Albums[89] | 3