Street Talk
Studio album by
Steve Perry
ReleasedApril 1984 (1984-04)
RecordedRecord One (Los Angeles)
GenreAOR
Length39:20
LabelColumbia
ProducerSteve Perry, Bruce Botnick
Steve Perry chronology
Street Talk
(1984) 		For the Love of Strange Medicine
(1994)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[3]
The Village VoiceC[4]

Street Talk is Steve Perry's first solo studio album, released in April 1984.

Street Talk contains Perry's biggest hit as a solo artist, "Oh Sherrie", written for his then-girlfriend Sherrie Swafford.[5] The song hit #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on Billboard's Rock chart, and the accompanying music video (also featuring Swafford) was a hit on MTV. Other singles included "Foolish Heart" (peaked at #18), "She's Mine" (peaked at #21), and "Strung Out" (peaked at #40).

There were a number of nods to Perry's pre-Journey band Alien Project on this album—in fact, that band was originally going to be called Street Talk.[6] In the liner notes, Perry dedicates the album to Richard Michaels (the bassist for Alien Project). Also, drummer Craig Krampf was a member of Alien Project later in the 1970s.

In addition to launching Perry's solo career, the cover photo for Street Talk served as a career launchpad for music photographer John Scarpati, who met Perry during the album's recording sessions at a studio in Sherman Oaks.[7]

Street Talk is certified as 2× Platinum (2,000,000) in sales by the RIAA.[8]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Oh Sherrie"Bill Cuomo, Randy Goodrum, Craig Krampf, Perry3:48
2."I Believe"Goodrum, Duane Hitchings, Krampf, Perry4:12
3."Go Away"Cuomo, Goodrum, Perry4:05
4."Foolish Heart"Goodrum, Perry3:39
5."It's Only Love"Goodrum, Perry3:47
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."She's Mine"Goodrum, Perry4:26
2."You Should Be Happy"Goodrum, Perry3:20
3."Running Alone"John Bettis, Hitchings, Krampf, Perry4:05
4."Captured by the Moment"Cuomo, Goodrum, Perry3:47
5."Strung Out"Krampf, Perry, Billy Steele3:51
2006 CD reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."My My My" ('Alien Project' demo)Perry, Krampf, Richard Michaels Haddad, Steve DeLacey2:24
12."Harmony" ('Alien Project' demo)Perry3:58
13."Makes No Difference" ('Alien Project' demo)Perry, Krampf, Haddad, DeLacey4:53
14."Don't Tell Me Why You're Leaving" (B-side to Oh Sherrie)Perry, Danny Kortchmar, Krampf3:13
15."If Only for the Moment, Girl" (Originally released on We Are the World (1985))Perry, Goodrum4:09

Charts

Chart (1984) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] 79
United Kingdom (Official Charts Company) 59
United States (Billboard 200)[10] 12

Personnel

Production

References

  1. ^ Allmusic review
  2. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 494. ISBN 0195313739.
  3. ^ DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; George-Warren, Holly, eds. (1992). The Rolling Stone Album Guide (3rd ed.). Random House. p. 541. ISBN 0679737294.
  4. ^ Christgau, Robert (May 28, 1985). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  5. ^ Steve Perry talks about the recording of "Oh Sherrie" and Street Talk singles.
  6. ^ Steve Perry discusses the Alien Project story and Street Talk.
  7. ^ Platania, Mike (30 September 2019). "Back in the spotlight: Retired rock photographer adds some shine to Short Pump side gig". Richmond BizSense. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  8. ^ "Recording Industry Association of America". RIAA. Archived from the original on 2007-06-26. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
  9. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 232. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. ^ "Steve Perry - Chart History - Billboard 200". billboard. billboard.com. Archived from the original on September 14, 2018. Retrieved October 16, 2018.

External links

Steve Perry
Authority control databases
Categories