Street Player
listening to the Rufus & Chaka Khan album, 45 years onward
on today’s things i collected, we’re traveling back to the late 1970s for a look at this week in music history. the focus is Street Player by Rufus & Chaka Khan, released 45 years ago on January 17, 1978.
this is one of two albums by Rufus & Chaka Khan in my collection, as i also have Ask Rufus from 1977 on vinyl. while both of the albums were released in January of their respective years, the story surrounding Street Player is just a bit more compelling to tell.
for starters: Street Player was released the same year that Chaka Khan would later make her solo debut. the Chicago-based band Rufus had struggled with a few lineup changes since their inception, but they seemed to have found their stride after Khan (born Yvette Marie Stevens) joined as their lead singer in 1972. by the time Street Player came out, it had already been glaringly obvious how much of a star Khan was on her own.
for instance, Ask Rufus was certified platinum three months after it came out and all the prior albums since she’d joined had went gold. not only was Khan captivating in sound, but she had a distinct, Afro-Bohemian look1. breathtakingly beautiful and exuding a confident stage prowess, it’s no surprise that the marketing of the band began to center around her (to the chagrin of other members). i mean, the writing was already on the wall when the band officially changed their name (multiple times) to highlight the singer’s contribution, going from just Rufus to Rufus featuring Chaka Khan and eventually to Rufus & Chaka Khan over the course of a few short years.
as talented as all the musicians in this ensemble were, the efforts of the band Rufus (minus Khan) seem to have gotten a bit lost to history — majority of the music outlets i researched in preparation for this piece honed in on how commercially disappointing the band’s music was without Khan’s presence. in fact, most of their hits including “Tell Me Something Good”, “Ain’t Nobody”2, and “Sweet Thing” come from her tenure.
the album Street Player opens with applause in its high-energy title track. this song is followed by “Stay”— one of Khan’s most notable hits (you’ll instantly recognize the harmonizing in the intro anytime, anywhere this song comes on and if you know it, you’ll likely sing along).
composed by Khan herself, this is definitely one of those songs that gets even better with age and it’s exemplary of how her talent (not just the singing, but her way with words) catapulted her into stardom. following this standout track, the rest of the album is fairly enjoyable with decent variety. there are lovelorn ballads like “Best of Your Heart”, solid grooves like “Turn” and “Blue Love”, as well as the neatly placed instrumental “Take Time.”
Rufus was always funky, but on tracks like “Destiny” towards the album's closing, they switched it up with a nice dose of jazz and a heavy cabaret vibe. plus, the theme and aesthetic of the album are very theatrical. the drama nerd in me lives for musical moments like this.3
overall, this is a hearty, soulful album — it’s bright and engaging in all the right places. Street Player will absolutely makes you feel *something good* in the moment and at just 40 minutes, it doesn’t linger for too long.
one of my greatest online hits to date was getting an IG like from thee Chaka Khan herself on a comment i’d made about her being an icon. it was a photo of her looking fly in her younger days, but she is the moment at any age.
this was technically released after she had officially left the group, but it was a brand new single on a live collaborative album Stompin’ at the Savoy that they released together in 1983.
i remember telling an acquaintance a couple of years ago that i’d love to recreate this album cover photo and i still feel this way.