1976 single by Boz Scaggs
"Lowdown" is a song originally recorded in 1976 by Boz Scaggs from his album Silk Degrees. The song was co-written by Scaggs and keyboardist David Paich. Paich, along with fellow "Lowdown" session musicians bassist David Hungate and drummer Jeff Porcaro, would later go on to form the band Toto.
Release and reaction
Initially, Silk Degrees received a lukewarm commercial response and, similarly, the first single released from the album, "It's Over" barely cracked the top 40 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart, peaking at #38. One day, however, a Cleveland R&B radio DJ began playing "Lowdown" straight off the album. That was at a time when DJs had much more say in what was played on their programs.[5] Public response was very positive and soon Scaggs' record label, Columbia, sent the song to other R&B-oriented radio stations for airplay.
It broke big on Top 40 Pop stations as well, and when it was officially released as a single, it became Scaggs' first major hit, reaching #1 on the Cash Box Top 100 and number three on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. It was also successful on the R&B and Disco Singles charts, peaking at number five on both. The song was also a major hit in Canada, peaking at number two. It was a minor hit in the UK, topping out at #28.
Scaggs is quoted as saying that the success of "Lowdown" was "an accident" and that, even though it was their favorite from Silk Degrees, he and the others involved in the making of the song thought there "wasn't a chance in hell" that it would be released as a single.[5] The single was certified gold by the RIAA for sales of one million copies and would go on to win the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song at the 19th Annual Grammy Awards.
