Stardust (Natalie Cole album)

Stardust is a studio album by American singer Natalie Cole, released on September 24, 1996. Cole won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for the song "When I Fall in Love", a duet with Nat King Cole, at the 39th Grammy Awards.^[6]

Stardust
Studio album by Natalie Cole
Released	September 24, 1996
Recorded	June–September 1996
Studio	Ocean Way Recording, Capitol Studios, Conway Studios and LeGonks West (Hollywood, CA); Record Plant (Los Angeles, CA); Chartmaker Studios (Malibu, CA); The Hit Factory and Sony Music Studios (New York, NY); The Shire (Bedford, NY); Wisseloord Studios (Hilversum, Netherlands)
Genre	Traditional pop[1]
Length	78:30
Label	Elektra
Producer	George Duke David Foster Phil Ramone Natalie Cole (also exec.)
Natalie Cole chronology
Holly & Ivy (1994) Stardust (1996) Snowfall on the Sahara (1999)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Billboard	(favorable)[3]
Cash Box	(favorable)[4]
Entertainment Weekly	B−[5]

The song also won the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement with Accompanying Vocal(s) for arrangers Alan Broadbent and David Foster.^[7] The album was nominated for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance.

Track listing

Unless otherwise noted, Information is based on the album's Liner Notes^[8]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"There's a Lull in My Life"	Mack Gordon Harry Revel	Phil Ramone	5:22
2.	"Stardust"	Hoagy Carmichael Mitchell Parish	David Foster	4:40
3.	"Let's Face the Music and Dance"	Irving Berlin	Ramone	2:16
4.	"Teach Me Tonight"	Sammy Cahn Gene de Paul	George Duke	3:16
5.	"When I Fall in Love" (duet with Nat King Cole)	Edward Heyman Victor Young	Foster	4:12
6.	"What a Diff'rence a Day Made"	Stanley Adams María Méndez Grever	Ramone	3:16
7.	"Love Letters"	Heyman Young	Duke	4:49
8.	"He Was Too Good to Me"	Lorenz Hart Richard Rodgers	Ramone	5:07
9.	"Dindi" (Portuguese)	Ray Gilbert Antônio Carlos Jobim	Ramone	4:36
10.	"Two for the Blues"	Neal Hefti Jon Hendricks	Duke	4:22
11.	"If Love Ain't There"	Johnny Burke	Ramone	3:25
12.	"To Whom It May Concern"	Nat King Cole Charlotte Hawkins	Foster	3:27
13.	"Where Can I Go Without You?"	Young Peggy Lee	Ramone	4:23
14.	"Ahmad's Blues"	Ahmad Jamal Bobby Williams	Duke	4:13
15.	"Pick Yourself Up"	Dorothy Fields Jerome Kern	Ramone	3:31
16.	"If You Could See Me Now"	Tadd Dameron Carl Sigman	Duke	4:42
17.	"Like a Lover"	Alan and Marilyn Bergman Nelson Motta	Natalie Cole Duke	5:17
18.	"This Morning It Was Summer"	Bob Haymes	Foster	3:24
19.	"When I Fall in Love" (Spanish Version)	Heyman Young	Foster	4:12
Total length:				78:30

Notes

• Nat King Cole's "Let's Face the Music and Dance" originally recorded on November 21, 1961^[9]
• Nat King Cole's "When I Fall in Love" originally recorded on December 28, 1956^[10]
• Portuguese lyrics on "Dindi" written by Louis Oliveira
• Additional lyrics on "Two for the Blues" written by Natalie Cole
• Additional Portuguese lyrics on by Dori Caymmi, Dorival Caymmi and Natalie Cole

Personnel

Information is based on the album's Liner Notes^[8]

• Natalie Cole – lead vocals, vocal arrangements (5, 7, 14), backing vocals (7, 10), music arrangements (17)
• Terry Trotter – acoustic piano (1, 4, 5, 12, 13, 16-18), Fender Rhodes (1, 13), keyboards (12, 18)
• Michael Lang – acoustic piano (2)
• Rob Mounsey – acoustic piano (3, 6, 8, 9, 11, 15), additional keyboards (3), keyboards (6, 8, 9, 11, 15), music arrangements (6, 8, 9, 15)
• Nat King Cole – Hammond B3 organ solo (3), lead vocals (5)
• George Duke – acoustic piano (7), keyboards (7, 10), music arrangements (7, 10, 17), vibraphone (10), horn arrangements (10), vocals arrangements (14)
• Bob James – keyboards (14), acoustic piano solo (14), music arrangements (14)
• John Chiodini – guitar (1, 2, 4, 5, 12, 13, 16-18), acoustic guitar (7)
• John Pizzarelli – guitar (3, 6, 8, 9, 11)
• Paul Jackson Jr. – electric guitar (7, 10)
• Lee Ritenour – guitar solo (14)
• Jim Hughart – bass guitar (1, 4, 13, 16), music arrangements (16)
• Chuck Domanico – bass guitar (2, 5)
• David Finck – bass guitar (3, 6, 8, 9, 11, 15)
• Reggie Hamilton – bass guitar (7, 10)
• Chuck Berghofer – bass guitar (12, 18)
• Nathan East – bass guitar (14, 17)
• Harold Jones – drums (1, 4, 13, 16)
• Ralph Penland – drums (2)
• Chris Parker – drums (3, 6, 8, 9, 11, 15)
• John Guerin – drums (5, 12, 18)
• John Robinson – drums (7, 10)
• Harvey Mason – drums (14)
• Bashiri Johnson – percussion (6, 9, 15)
• Paulinho da Costa – percussion (7, 17)
• Rafael Padilla – percussion (14)
• Dan Higgins – saxophone solo (5)
• Everette Harp – alto saxophone solo (10)
• Michael Brecker – saxophone solo (15)
• Jon Clarke – oboe solo (5)
• George Bohanon – trombone solo (4)
• Wynton Marsalis – trumpet solo (8)
• Toots Thielemans – harmonica solo (7, 9)
• Alan Broadbent – music arrangements (1-3, 5, 11, 13)
• John Clayton – music arrangements (4)
• David Foster – music arrangements (5), vocals arrangements (5)
• Gordon Jenkins – original^[10] music arrangements (5)
• Clare Fischer – strings arrangements (7, 17)
• Jerry Hey – horns arrangements (10, 14)
• Johnny Mandel – music arrangements (12, 18)
• Charles Floyd – music arrangements (16)
• Janis Siegel – backing and harmony vocals (10)

Production

• Executive Producer – Natalie Cole
• Producers – Phil Ramone (Tracks 1, 3, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13 & 15); David Foster (Tracks 2, 5, 12 & 18); George Duke (Tracks 4, 7, 10, 14, 16 & 17); Natalie Cole (Track 17).
• Production Assistants – Simon Ramone (Tracks 1, 3, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13 & 15); Corrine Duke (Tracks 4, 7, 10, 14 & 16, 17).
• Instrumental (Track) Recording – Al Schmitt (Tracks 1, 5, 12, 13 & 18); Elliot Scheiner (Tracks 3, 6, 8, 9, 11 & 15); Erik Zobler (Tracks 4, 7, 10, 14, 16 & 17); Dave Reitzas (Track 5).
• Vocal Recording – Al Schmitt (Tracks 1, 5, 13 & 18); Elliot Scheiner (Tracks 1, 3, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13 & 15); Dave Reitzas (Tracks 2, 4, 5, 12, 14, 17 & 18); Erik Zobler (Tracks 4, 7, 10, 14 & 16).
• Additional Engineering – Felipe Elgueta, Wayne Holmes, Henk Korff, John Patterson and Patrick Ulenberg.
• Assistant Engineers – Jeffrey Demorris, Peter Doell, Koji Ejawa, Rob Frank, Barry Goldberg, John Hendrickson, Glenn Marchese, Eddie Miller, Charlie Paakkari, Rail Rogut and Robbes Stieglitz.
• Mixed by Al Schmitt at Bill Schnee Studio (Hollywood, CA).
• Orchestra and Big Band Contractors – Debbie Datz, Jill Dell'Abate, Bill Hughes, Morris Repass and Patti Zimmitti.
• Project Coordinator – Shari Sutcliffe
• Album Concept – Natalie Cole
• Art Direction – Gabrielle Raumberger
• Design – Emily Rich
• Photography – Rocky Schenck
• Management – Dan Cleary
• Personal Assistant – Benita Hill Johnson
• Hair – Janet Zeitoun
• Make-up – Tara Posey
• Stylist – Cecille Parker
• Linguists – Dori Caymmi, Helena Caymmi, David Romano, Roberta Taurello and Veronique Triquet.
• Liner Notes – Dick La Palm

Charts

Chart (1996)[11]	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA Charts)[12]	33
U.S. Billboard 200	20
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums	11

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[13]	Platinum	1,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Carpenter, Bill (January 1, 1997). "Natalie Cole". In Bogdanov, Vladimir; Erlewine, Michael; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas; Unterberger, Richie; Woodstra, Chris (eds.). AllMusic Guide to Rock. San Francisco: Miller Freeman, Inc. p. 202.
2. AllMusic review
3. Verna, Paul (1996-09-28). "Reviews & Previews: Albums" (PDF). Billboard. p. 85. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
4. Darzin, Daina (1996-10-19). "Pop Albums" (PDF). Cash Box. p. 9. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
5. Entertainment Weekly review
6. "The 39th Annual Grammy Awards Winners List". Grammy Awards. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
7. "The 39th Annual Grammy Awards Winners List". Grammy Awards. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
8. Cole, Natalie. "Stardust" (Album Notes). Elektra. 1996.
9. Nat King Cole with Billy May's Orchestra. "Nat King Cole Discography: November 21, 1961 (Los Angeles, CA)". Jazz Disco. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
10. Nat King Cole with Gordon Jenkins' Orchestra. "Nat King Cole Discography: December 28, 1956 (Los Angeles, CA)". Jazz Disco. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
11. "Stardust > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
12. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 63.
13. "American album certifications – Natalie Cole – Stardust". Recording Industry Association of America.