CRUSADERS - Street Life with Lyrics

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"Street Life" is a song by American jazz band The Crusaders, released in 1979 by MCA Records as a single from the album of the same name. The lead vocals were performed by Randy Crawford. The song was a hit in the US, reaching number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100, and in Europe, where it peaked at number 5 on the UK Singles Chart.[3] The song was featured in the movie Jackie Brown, the television program Better Call Saul and in the enhanced versions of the 2013 game Grand Theft Auto V on the in-game radio station, WorldWide FM.

The inspiration from the song came from the beginner's ski slope at Mammoth Mountain in California. Joe Sample said he "'saw people falling, running into each other... it was absolute chaos. It looked like a boulevard of madness.' And I said, 'That's what street life is.'" Sample teamed up with lyricist Will Jennings, who said that "the lyric, all that came right off of Hollywood Boulevard".

Sample first met Crawford when he played on her debut album 'Everything Must Change' in 1976. After having good reviews about her song, but not being commercially successful, Crawford was then asked by Sample to sing the vocals for the song. As a result of this, the Crusaders produced her fourth album Now We May Begin, which became very successful.

Jazz reviewer Scott Yanow wrote "Although the Crusaders could not have known it at the time, their recording of 'Street Life'... was a last hurrah for the 20-year old group. Their recordings of the next few years would decline in interest until the band gradually faded away in the ’80s." Whereas, for Crawford, this song brought her recognition and effectively marked the beginning of her career.

Arthur Adams - guitar
Roland Bautista - guitar
David T. Walker - guitar
Oscar Brashear - trumpet
Garnett Brown - trombone
Randy Crawford - vocals
Paulinho Da Costa - percussion
Wilton Felder - saxophone, bass guitar, producer
Barry Finnerty - guitar
William Green - saxophone
Stix Hooper - drums, producer
Paul Jackson Jr. - guitar
James Jamerson Jr. - bass guitar
Alphonso Johnson - bass guitar
Robert O. Bryant Sr. - trumpet
Robert Bryant Jr. - saxophone
Jerome Richardson - saxophone
Billy Rogers - guitar
Joe Sample - keyboards, producer