The Right Stuff (album)

This article is about the Vanessa Williams album. For other uses, see The Right Stuff (disambiguation).

The Right Stuff is the debut studio album by American singer and actress Vanessa Williams. It was released on June 6, 1988, by Wing Records. It includes the singles "The Right Stuff", "(He's Got) The Look", "Dreamin'", and "Darlin' I". The album and its singles were well received by both the urban and pop markets. It was eventually certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales in excess of 500,000 and earned Williams three Grammy Award nominations.

The Right Stuff
Studio album by Vanessa Williams
Released	June 6, 1988 (1988-06-06)
Recorded	1986–1987
Studio	Jam Power (Los Angeles)[a] O'Henry Sound (Burbank, California)[b] The Rock House (Los Angeles)[c] Westlake (West Hollywood, California)[d] B&D (Los Angeles)[c] Music Grinder (Hollywood, California)[c] Sigma Sound (Philadelphia)[e] The Music Palace (West Hempstead, New York)[f] Countdown (Miami)[g] Ameraycan (North Hollywood, California)[h] Ocean Way Recording (Los Angeles)[i] Smoke Tree (Chatsworth, California)[j] Red Zone (Burbank, California)[j] Studio Masters (Los Angeles)[j] WindSong Digital[j] Evergreen (Burbank, California)[k]
Genre	Pop R&B[1]
Length	49:54
Label	Wing
Producer	Amir Bayyan David Paul Bryant Lewis A. Martinee Donald Robinson Larry Robinson Darryl Ross Rex Salas
Vanessa Williams chronology
The Right Stuff (1988) The Comfort Zone (1991)
Singles from The Right Stuff
"The Right Stuff" Released: February 1, 1988 "(He's Got) The Look" Released: April 12, 1988 "Dreamin'" Released: August 16, 1988 "Darlin' I" Released: January 20, 1989

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]

Singles

The album's first and second singles, "The Right Stuff" and "He's Got the Look", hit top 10 on Billboard's Hot R&B Songs; "The Right Stuff" peaked within the top five at number four and number one on the US Dance Songs chart. The third single, "Dreamin'", was a pop hit, becoming Williams's first top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 8, and her first number one single on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.^[3] "Darlin' I" was the forth and final single, earning her a third top 10 R&B hit and top ten on the Hot Adult Contemporary chart.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"The Right Stuff"	Rex Salas Kipper Jones	Salas	4:18
2.	"Be a Man"	Larry Robinson Jones Patrice Rushen	L. Robinson	4:57
3.	"Dreamin'"	Lisa Montgomery Geneva Paschal	Donald Robinson	5:25
4.	"If You Really Love Him"	Salas Chuckii Booker	Salas	5:24
5.	"(He's Got) The Look"	Adil Bayyan Amir Bayyan Wesley Thomas Jr.	Amir Bayyan	4:11
6.	"I'll Be the One"	Johnny Elkins Mike Greene	Lewis A. Martineé	4:05
7.	"Security"	Salas Jones	Salas	4:38
8.	"Darlin' I"	Salas Kenny Harris	Salas	4:07
9.	"Am I Too Much?"	David Paul Bryant Darryl Ross	Bryant Ross	4:08
10.	"Can This Be Real?"	Dan Serafini	Salas	5:15
11.	"Whatever Happens"	Bill Withers Larry Carlton	Salas	3:26

Personnel

• Produced by Amir-Salaam Bayyan, David Paul Bryant, Lewis A. Martineé, Donald Robinson, Larry Robinson, Darryl Ross, Rex Salas
• Additional [background] vocals: Chuckii Booker, Johnny Gill (track 1), Niki Haris (tracks 2, 7, 10), Rachelle Ferrell (track 3), Kipper Jones (tracks 1, 2, 8)
• Engineers: Mike Bona, David Bianco, Gerry Brown, Craig Burbridge, Peter Dlugokencky, Michael Frenke, Lewis A. Martinee, Allen Scott Plotkin, Paul Scott, Steve Shepherd, Mike Tarsia, Steve Van Arden, Erik Zobler, Jared Held
• Assistant engineers: Sabrina Burchanek, Cliff Jones, Bob Loftus, Gill Morales, Adam Silverman, Dennis Stefani, John VanNest
• Mixing: Rick Alonso, David Bianco, Lewis A. Martinee, Donald Robinson, Mike Tarsia, Erik Zobler, Jared Held
• Remixing: Rod Hui
• Mix assistant: Steve Holroyd
• Editing and post-production: Ed Eckstine, Eric "Vietnam" Sadler, Christopher Shaw, Hank Shocklee, Bill Stephney

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for The Right Stuff Chart (1988) Peak position Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[4] 45 US Billboard 200[5] 38 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[6] 18

Year-end charts 1988 year-end chart performance for The Right Stuff Chart (1988) Position US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[7] 66 1989 year-end chart performance for The Right Stuff Chart (1989) Position US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[8] 32

Certifications

Certifications for The Right Stuff

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[9]	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Notes

1. Basic tracks and overdubs on tracks 1 and 7
2. Overdubs on tracks 1, 7 and 10; tracks 4 and 11
3. Track 2
4. Track 2; Vanessa Williams' vocals and trombone solo on track 5
5. Track 3
6. Track 5
7. Track 6
8. Overdubs on track 7
9. Basic tracks on tracks 8 and 10
10. Track 9
11. Overdubs on track 10

References

1. Cass, Robert (June 2, 2009). "CD Review: Vanessa Williams, "The Real Thing"". Pop Dose. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
2. AllMusic review
3. "Vanessa Williams Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
4. "Dutchcharts.nl – Vanessa Williams – The Right Stuff" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
5. "Vanessa Williams Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
6. "Vanessa Williams Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
7. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1988". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
8. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1989". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 26, 2020. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
9. "American album certifications – Vanessa Williams – The Right Stuff". Recording Industry Association of America. March 28, 1989. Retrieved April 14, 2018.