Lalah Hathaway (album)

Lalah Hathaway is the debut studio album by American singer Lalah Hathaway. It was released by Virgin Records on June 29, 1990 in the United States.

Promotion
The album's first single was "Heaven Knows", produced by Derek Bramble. The follow-up single was "Baby Don't Cry", produced by Angela Winbush. The third single was "Somethin'". Virgin also released Night and Day, an EP available only in Japan. The disc featured two versions of the song "Night and Day" as well as two songs taken from the Lalah Hathaway album. Promotional music videos were shot for the singles "Heaven Knows", "Baby Don't Cry", and "Somethin'".

Critical reception
AllMusic editor Alex Henderson rated the album four out of five stars. He found that "the material on this CD ranges from excellent to routine, depending on who's writing and/or producing a particular song. Hathaway doesn't always have fantastic material to work with, but when she does, the results are quite memorable."

Track listing
Notes
 * undefined signifies additional producers

Personnel

 * Lalah Hathaway – all vocals (1, 4, 6-10), lead vocals (2, 3, 5), backing vocals (3, 5)
 * Randy Kerber – keyboards (1)
 * Larry Williams – synthesizers (1, 7)
 * Derek Bramble – keyboards (2), bass (2), drum programming (2)
 * Monty Seward – keyboards (2)
 * Angela Winbush – keyboards (3, 8), synthesizers (3, 8), drum programming (3, 8), backing vocals (3, 8), arrangements (3, 8)
 * Jeff Lorber – additional synthesizers (3), additional programming (3, 8), flutes (8), strings (8)
 * Russell Ferrante – keyboards (4, 7)
 * Craig T. Cooper – all instruments (5, 10), arrangements (5, 10)
 * Gary Taylor – keyboards (6), Oberheim DMX programming (6), arrangements (6)
 * Marc Hugenberger – synthesizers (6)
 * Larry Steelman – synthesizers (8)
 * Chuckii Booker – all instruments (9), arrangements (9)
 * Dean Parks – guitars (4)
 * Michael Thompson – guitars (6)
 * Donald Griffin – guitars (7)
 * Neil Stubenhaus – bass (1, 7)
 * Jimmy Haslip – bass (4)
 * Jeff Porcaro – drums (1)
 * Will Kennedy – drums (4, 7)
 * Luis Conte – percussion (4)
 * Marc Russo – saxophone (1, 4, 7)
 * Sam Riney – saxophone (8)
 * Andre Fischer – arrangements (1, 4, 7), drums (6), percussion (6), additional arrangements (6, 8), additional keyboards (8), additional synthesizers (8), additional drum programming (8)
 * Jerry Hey – arrangements (1, 4, 7)
 * Jean McClain – backing vocals (2)
 * Deborah Cooper – backing vocals (5)
 * Natalie Cole – backing vocals (uncredited, 7)

The "Gowin' On" Handclappers (Track 5)
 * Antoinette Brown, Robbie Casey, Deborah Cooper, Jai Diamond, Gerald Farwell, Robert "Bullet" Harris, Cat Miller, Kirtland, Maria A. Manning, Kelvin McKisic and Denise Stewart
 * For Real (Josina Elder, Phaenicia Grant, Shiro Stokes and Wendi Williams)

Production

 * John Brown – executive producer
 * Marsha Burns – production coordinator (2)
 * Melanie Nissen – art direction
 * Tracy Veal – design
 * Jean Paul Mann – front cover photography
 * David Roth – inside photography
 * Celestine Cloutier – wardrobe stylist
 * Victor Joseph – wardrobe stylist
 * Tara Posey – make-up
 * Hillery Johnson & Associates – management

Technical
 * Dan Hersch – mastering at DigiPrep (Hollywood, California)
 * Al Schmitt – engineer (1, 4), mixing (1, 4, 7), recording (7)
 * Jeff Balding – engineer (2), mixing (2)
 * Mitch Gibson – recording (3)
 * Dennis Stefani – recording (3)
 * Jeff Lorenzen – mixing (3)
 * Robert Biles – engineer (5, 10), mixing (5, 10)
 * Craig T. Cooper – engineer (5), mixing (5)
 * Jeff Woodruff – engineer (6, 8), mixing (6, 8)
 * Rob Seifert – recording (9)
 * Craig Burbidge – mixing (9)
 * Mike Mancini – additional engineer (2)
 * Richard McKernon – additional engineer (4)
 * Doug Rider – additional engineer (4)
 * Steve Sykes – additional engineer (4)
 * Kyle Bess – assistant engineer (2)
 * Steve Harrison – assistant engineer (2)
 * James Johnson – assistant engineer (2)
 * Darren Prindle – assistant engineer (5)
 * Anthony Jeffries – assistant engineer (9)
 * Mike Scotella – assistant engineer (9)
 * Karen Shellenberger – assistant engineer (10)
 * Al Singleton – assistant engineer (10)