Silk Degrees

Performer: Boz Scaggs
Artist: Plas Johnson; David Paich; David Hungate; Jeff Porcaro; Jim Horn; Fred Tackett; Les Dudek; Bud Shank; Tom Scott
Producer: Joe Wissert
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Personnel: Boz Scaggs (vocals); Fred Tackett, Louie Shelton (guitars); Les Dudek (slide guitar); Plas Johnson (tenor saxophone, horns); Bud Shank (saxophones, horns); Chuck Findley (horns, flugelhorn); Jim Horn, Tom Scott, Dick Hyde, Paul Hubinon, Vincent deRosa (horns); David Paich (keyboards, synthesizer); David Hungate (bass); Jeff Porcaro (drums, percussion); Carolyn Willis, Marty McCall, Jim Gilstrap, Augie Johnson, Maxine Green, Pepper Swenson (background vocals). Recorded at Davlen Sound Studios and Hollywood Sound Studios, Los Angeles, California. Personnel: Louie Shelton, Fred Tackett (guitar); Chuck Findley, Dick Hyde, Jim Horn, Plas Johnson , Tom Scott, Vincent DeRosa, Paul Hubinon, Bud Shank (horns); David Paich (keyboards); David Hungate (bass guitar); Jeff Porcaro (drum). Boz Scaggs's 1976 breakthrough, SILK DEGREES, was not only his biggest-selling album, it was also one of his best. Here Scaggs collaborated with keyboardist and bandleader David Paich, who would soon form the hugely successful band Toto with this record's drummer, Jeff Porcaro. In Paich, Scaggs found a foil who added just enough pop gloss to make his blues- and R&B-tinged material palatable to the masses. Crucially, though, the pair keeps Scaggs's remarkable voice at the center of things, never going too far overboard with the studio polish. As a result, hit singles "Lowdown" and, particularly, the horn-spiked R&B of "Lido Shuffle" still sound fresh, while the ballads remain soulful. A year or so later, Rita Coolidge would take one of those ballads, "We're All Alone," into the Billboard Top Ten with her own version.

Mojo (Publisher) (p.130) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he record is solid the whole way through, luxuriating in a range of styles from R&B to reggae to rock."

Boz Scaggs first found success as a member of Steve Miller's late-'60s band, but became better known for his R&B-flavored pop records in the '70s. His hit album SILK DEGREES featured several future members of Toto and included classic-rock radio staples like "Lido Shuffle" and "Lowdown." Later, he delved into a more blues-based sound that looked back to his early musical roots.

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