The Bus Boys - American Worker

Title: American Worker Artist: The Bus Boys Release Date: 1982 Re-Released On: 4/11/2006 Label: Arista UPCs: 664140956926, 078221803045 Genre: Rock Styles: Rock & Roll, Contemporary Pop/Rock, Album Rock, Bar Band Moods: Confident, Energetic, Rambunctious, Rowdy, Earnest, Fun, Rousing Total Copies: 0 Members Wishing: 0 Number of Discs/SwapaCD Credits: 1

1. American Worker
2. New Shoes
3. Last Forever
4. Opportunity
5. Heart and Soul
6. I Get Lost
7. Soul Surfing
8. Yellow Lights
9. Falling in Love
10. I Believe

Year Type Label Catalog # 2006 CD Arista 9569

No other editions were found for this album.

In 1980, the BusBoys sent shock waves through the music world with their song "KKK," which found members of a mostly African-American band singing that they wanted to "join the Ku Klux Klan and play in a rock & roll band." Of course, no one in the BusBoys really aspired to be a Klansman -- they were actually ridiculing institutional racism and asserting that if African-Americans were good enough to pay taxes and fight in the Vietnam War, they shouldn't be excluded from any part of the American dream, including the white-dominated rock & roll field. Unfortunately, a few simpletons took their lyrics out of context and assumed that the BusBoys were self-hating blacks, but to anyone with half a brain, it was clear where they were coming from. After using shock value and humor to get their anti-racism, pro-working-class message across on their first album, Minimum Wage Rock & Roll, the BusBoys brought an equally sociopolitical agenda to their sophomore effort, American Worker. This likable, if uneven, LP ranges from political offerings like "American Workers," "I Get Lost," and the reggae-influenced "Opportunity" to less provocative, more mainstream pop/rock fare such as "Last Forever" and "Heart and Soul." Regrettably, this 1982 release was the BusBoys' last album on Arista (they wouldn't record another album until the late '80s, when they shifted their focus from rock to synth-funk/urban contemporary). The BusBoys had a lot of potential, and it's unfortunate that they didn't fully live up to it. But despite their imperfections, Minimum Wage Rock & Roll and American Worker are fun albums that deserve credit for taking some risks and making some sociopolitical statements that needed to be made. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide

Name Credits Brian O'Neal Group Member, Piano Chuck Kirkpatrick Vocals (Background) Clive Davis Executive Producer David Ahlert Engineer Gus Lounderman Group Member, Vocals Kevin O'Neal Group Member, Bass Michael Jones Group Member, Synthesizer Peter Solley Producer Steve Felix Drums, Group Member Steve Klein Engineer, Mixing Victor Johnson Guitar, Group Member