Word Up! (album)

Word Up!
Word Up!
Studio album by Cameo
Released	September 9, 1986
Recorded	1985–1986
Studio	Quad Recording; Counter Point; Power Station; Sound Ideas (New York City);
Genre	Funk
Length	34:46
Label	Atlanta Artists
Producer	Larry Blackmon
Cameo chronology
Singles from Word Up!
	"Word Up!"; Released: July 1986; "Candy"; Released: October 21, 1986; "Back and Forth"; Released: February 24, 1987; "She's Mine"; Released: June 1987;

Word Up! is the 13th studio album by American funk group Cameo, released in 1986.^[3] The album reached number 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, number 8 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart, and was certified Platinum by the RIAA for sales of over 1 million copies. It took Cameo to their highest level of popularity, and solidified them as one of the most successful bands of the 1980s.^[4] The album includes three of their biggest hit singles, "Word Up!", "Candy", and "Back and Forth".

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
The Village Voice	B^[2]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Word Up!"	Larry Blackmon Tomi Jenkins	4:21
2.	"Candy"	Blackmon Jenkins	5:39
3.	"Back and Forth"	Kevin Kendrick Nathan Leftenant Blackmon Jenkins	6:33
4.	"Don't Be Lonely"	Blackmon Jenkins Kendrick Willie Morris	5:19
5.	"She's Mine"	Blackmon Leftenant Antonio Matthews Ray Malloy	4:37
6.	"Fast, Fierce & Funny"	Blackmon Jenkins Leftenant	4:09
7.	"You Can Have the World"	Blackmon Jenkins Leftenant	4:38

Tracks 1–3, 6 and 7 published by All Seeing Eye Music-Better Days Music.
Tracks 4 and 5 published by All Seeing Eye Music-Better Days Music-Better Nights Music.

Personnel

Cameo

Larry Blackmon – lead vocals, bass guitar, drums, percussion, backing vocals
Tomi Jenkins – lead vocals, backing vocals
Nathan Leftenant – backing vocals

Additional musicians

Kevin Kendrick – keyboards
Charlie Singleton – guitar, backing vocals
Stanley Clarke, Aaron Mills – bass guitar
Michael Burnett – bass guitar, backing vocals
Bernard Wright, Eric Rehl, Kenni Hairston, Kevin Kendrick, Merv de Peyer – keyboards
Duduka Fonseca, Giovanni Hidalgo, Steve Thornton – percussion
Melvin Wells – saxophone, backing vocals
Michael Brecker – tenor saxophone (solo on "Candy", "Don't Be Lonely" and "She's Mine")
Randy Brecker – trumpet
Arno Hecht – tenor saxophone
Crispin Cioe – alto saxophone, baritone saxophone
Robert Funk – trombone
Paul Litteral – trumpet
Sammy Merendino – drum programming
Pat Buchanan – guitars
Peter Scherer – Synclavier programming
Willie Morris – backing vocals

Critical reception

Accolades

Word Up! was ranked number 5 among the "Albums of the Year" by NME.^[5]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1986)	Peak position
Australian Albums Chart^[6]	75
Canadian Albums Chart	72
Dutch Albums Chart^[7]	48
German Albums Chart	34
New Zealand Albums Chart^[8]	13
Switzerland Albums Chart^[9]	30
UK Albums Chart^[10]	7
US Billboard 200^[11]	8
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums^[11]	1

Certifications

Certifications for *Word Up!*
Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)^[12]	Gold	100,000^{^}
United States (RIAA)^[13]	Platinum	1,000,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ ^a ^b AllMusic review
^ Christgau, Robert (December 30, 1986). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
^ Henderson, Alex. "Cameo: Word Up! > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
^ O'Donnell, David (December 11, 2008). "One of the most successful bands of the 80s". BBC. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
^ "Albums and Tracks of the Year". NME. 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Charts Book 1970—1992. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
^ "Discografie Cameo - dutchcharts.nl".
^ "charts.nz - Discography Cameo". charts.nz. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
^ "Cameo - hitparade.ch". hitparade.ch. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
^ "CAMEO - full Official Chart History - Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Word Up! - Cameo". Billboard. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
^ "British album certifications – Cameo – Word Up". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
^ "American album certifications – Cameo – Word Up". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 26, 2018.

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[AM-1] AllMusic review

[2] Christgau, Robert (December 30, 1986). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved July 12, 2016.

[AMG-3] Henderson, Alex. "Cameo: Word Up! > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 28 March 2010.

[4] O'Donnell, David (December 11, 2008). "One of the most successful bands of the 80s". BBC. Retrieved March 28, 2010.

[5] "Albums and Tracks of the Year". NME. 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2018.

[kent-6] Kent, David (1993). Australian Charts Book 1970—1992. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.

[7] "Discografie Cameo - dutchcharts.nl".

[8] "charts.nz - Discography Cameo". charts.nz. Retrieved December 26, 2018.

[9] "Cameo - hitparade.ch". hitparade.ch. Retrieved December 26, 2018.

[10] "CAMEO - full Official Chart History - Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved December 25, 2018.

[chart-11] "Word Up! - Cameo". Billboard. Retrieved March 28, 2010.

[United_KingdomCameoWord_UpalbumCertRef-12] "British album certifications – Cameo – Word Up". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 25, 2018.

[United_StatesCameoWord_UpalbumCertRef-13] "American album certifications – Cameo – Word Up". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 26, 2018.

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