How Could It Be

How Could It Be is the debut musical studio album by comedian/actor Eddie Murphy. The album was released on July 20, 1985, on Columbia Records and was produced by Aquil Fudge, with the exception of the hit top ten single "Party All the Time", which was produced by Rick James.

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Robert Christgau	(C-)[3]

How Could It Be
Studio album by Eddie Murphy
Released	July 20, 1985
Recorded	1985[1]
Studio	Wonderland Studios, Joint Recording Studios, Soundworks Studios, Clinton Recording, The Power Station
Genre	R&B
Length	34:53
Label	Columbia
Producer	Rick James Aquil Fudge Stevie Wonder
Eddie Murphy chronology
Eddie Murphy: Comedian (1983) How Could It Be (1985) So Happy (1989)
Singles from How Could It Be
"Party All the Time" Released: May 23, 1985 "How Could It Be" Released: 1985

The album was a commercial success, making it to #26 on the Billboard 200 and #17 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Two singles were released: "Party All the Time", which made it to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the title track, which became a minor R&B hit. This musical studio album was recorded as part of fulfilling a $100,000 bet that Richard Pryor had made with Eddie Murphy that he could not sing. In the album's liner notes, Eddie Murphy wrote the following "To Richard Pryor, my idol, with whom I have a $100,000 bet. No, motherfucker, I didn't forget."[4]

Background

For this album, Murphy enlisted other well-known musicians to help him create his first musical studio album. The record has two Stevie Wonder produced and written tracks, “Do I” and “Everything’s Coming Up Roses.” There are also two songs that Rick James produced and wrote—the title track (a minor R&B hit) and the successful hit, "Party All the Time.”[1]

Murphy wrote three tracks on the album in which he also gets sole writing credit for: “Con Confused”, a disco track, “I, Me, Us, We”, a Parliament worship, and “My God Is Color Blind”, an anti-racism song. Murphy took an experimental approach to test himself in what he could do with music.[1]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Do I"	Stevie Wonder	3:56
2.	"C-O-N Confused"	Murphy	3:41
3.	"How Could It Be" (featuring Crystal Blake)	Frank Hamilton, Rick James, Murphy	4:39
4.	"I Wish (I Could Tell You When)"	David Allen Jones, Murphy	4:28
5.	"Party All the Time" (featuring Rick James)	Rick James, Kevin Johnston	4:12
6.	"I, Me, Us, We"	Murphy	4:41
7.	"My God Is Color Blind"	Murphy	4:42
8.	"Everything's Coming Up Roses"	Stevie Wonder	4:34

Personnel

• James Allen, Dennis Davis, Rick James – drums, Oberheim DMX (track 5)
• Aquil Fudge – percussion
• Frank Hamilton, Michael McKinney, Fred Washington – bass
• Gordon Banks, Ben Bridges, Kenny Hawkins, Larry John McNally, Mike O'Neil, Paul Pesco, Greg Poree, David Williams, Larry Menally – guitar
• Frank Hamilton, Greg Levias, Jeff Lorber, Greg Phillinganes, Darryl Ross, Levi Ruffin Jr., Bill Wolfer, Stevie Wonder, Bill Young – keyboards, synthesizers, Roland Juno-60 bass (track 5)
• Abdoulaye Soumare, Bob Bradlove – synthesizer programming
• Stevie Wonder – harmonica
• Steve Porcaro – Synths on Party all the time
• Larry Fast – Synth
• Earl Gardner, Richard Gibbs, Larry Gittens, Bob Malach, Keith Quinn – horns
• Roderick Bascom, Crystal Blake, Alvin "Blues" Broussard, Anthony Clark, Carlotta Clark, Lisa Clark, Paul Freudenburg, Larry Gittens, Rod Gordon, Cynthia Green, Bruce Hawes, Rick James, David Allen Jones, Jacque Kimbrough, Derek Lawrence, Lorelei McBroom, Daryl Murphy, LaMorris Payne, Darryl Phinnessee, William Rivera, Dwayne Roberson, Darryl Ross, Levi Ruffin, Howard Smith, Spartacus R., Michelle Wiley, Philip "Bully" Williams, Steven Lindstrom – backing vocals

Technical

• Larkin Arnold – executive producer
• Nancy Greenberg – art direction
• Annie Leibovitz – photography

Charts

Chart (1985–86)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Top Current Albums[5]	26
U.S. Billboard 200[6]	26
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[7]	17

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[8]	Gold	500,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Blest, Paul (2015-01-28). "Put a Boogie in Your Butt: A Look Back at the Musical Career of Eddie Murphy". Vice. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
2. Flota, Brian. "How Could It Be – Eddie Murphy | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-08-19.
3. "CG: Eddie Murphy". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2015-08-19.
4. https://img.discogs.com/mCP1402b0gGyuFihPN1xUD6UGkw=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-4970058-1495250456-3317.png.jpg
5. "Top Current Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
6. "Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
7. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
8. "American album certifications – Eddie Murphy – How Could It Be". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.