Tag: Too Sexy

Sheila E. – The Belle Of St. Mark (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

“The Belle of St. Mark” is a song recorded by singer/percussionist Sheila E. The song was released in November 1984 in the United States and in the Netherlands, and in February 1985 in other markets. It peaked at #34 on the Billboard Hot 100 and in December 1984 and #68 on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles Charts in 1985. It reached the top 10 in the Netherlands and New Zealand as well as the top 20 in Australia, the UK, and Ireland, and was an NME “Single of the Week”.

The song’s lyrics tell of an androgynous “frail but passionate creature”, referred to as “he” throughout, but called the feminine “Belle”. The song implies the Belle is French (viz. the lyrics, “His Paris hair, it blows in the warm Parisian air / That blows whenever his Paris hair is there”) but St. Mark is commonly known as a location in Venice, Italy, although it may be a reference to St Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery namesake of St. Mark’s Place in the East Village, Manhattan.

SIDE A:
The Belle Of St. Mark (Dance Remix) 7:40
Producer [Directed By] – Sheila E., The Starr * Company
Remix [Remixed By] – David Tickle

SIDE B:
Too Sexy 5:06
Producer [Produced By], Arranged By – Sheila E.

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1984 The Belle Of St. Mark U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #34
1984 The Belle Of St. Mark U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs #68

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Warner Bros. Records ‎– 0-20285, Warner Bros. Records ‎– 9 20285-0 A
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Maxi-Single, 45 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Funk / Soul
Style: Funk

CREDITS:
Written-By – Sheila E.

NOTES:
Special version from the LP “In The Glamorous Life”

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
DAC/Phono Pre-amp:
Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning:
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans:
Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

Username: btg
Password: burningtheground

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