Song:Chuck E.'s In Love
Album:Rickie Lee Jones/Pirates
Chuck E.'s In Love was a top five hit in 1979. It was the only big hit for singer songwriter Rickie Lee Jones. She's still around so it was enough to sustain a forty year career. She was born Feb. 8, 1954 in Chicago but she grew up in Phoenix and Olympia, WA. Her grandparents were in vaudeville. After Rickie Lee was thrown out of high school, she got her GED and moved to Huntington Beach, CA on her 18th birthday. She started performing in local coffee houses. After Rickie Lee began a relationship with Tom Waits in 1977, she came to the attention of former Little Feat leader Lowell George. He recorded her song Easy Money on his 1978 album Thanks I'll Eat It Here. And that led to her demo coming to the attention of Warner Bros. Exec Lenny Waronker. He signed her and produced the 1979 debut album Rickie Lee Jones with Randy Newman's producer Russ Titleman. Chuck E.'s In Love reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified Platinum. The song is about her musician friend Chuck E. Weiss and the time he disappeared. The cream of LA studio musicians appeared on the album along with special guests Dr. John, Michael McDonald and Randy Newman. Johnny Mandel wrote the arrangements. Rickie Lee was nominated for four Grammys and she won for Best New Artist. Rickie Lee Jones is available as a budget CD. But Warners has released it with Rickie Lee's second album Pirates as a twofer. Rickie Lee split with Waits in 1979. Most of Pirates and her songs for Francis Ford Coppola's 1982 film One From The Heart are about that breakup. Though Rickie Lee has never repeated the commercial success of Chuck E.'s In Love, she has continued to record her jazz influenced songs. She took a four year break after leaving Warners in 1984. She has since recorded for Geffen, Reprise, Artemis, V2 and Fantasy. She released her latest CD Kicks in June in her own label. Rickie Lee Jones is currently on a European tour. Here's the video for Chuck E.'s In Love by Rickie Lee Jones.
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