The Sweetest Days

The Sweetest Days
The Sweetest Days
Studio album by Vanessa Williams
Released	December 6, 1994
Recorded	January 1993–October 1994
Studio	Axis (New York City); Battery (New York City); Electric Lady (New York City); Power Station (New York City); The Hit Factory (New York City); Bass Hit (New York City); Sorcerer (New York City); Right Track (New York City); RPM Sound (New York City); East Wing (New York City); Sony Music (New York City); Capitol (Hollywood, California); Westlake (West Hollywood, California); Mad Hatter (Los Angeles); Music Grinder (Hollywood, California); Larrabee Sound (North Hollywood, California); The Bennett House (Franklin, Tennessee); Javelina Recording (Nashville, Tennessee); Goodnight (Dallas, Texas);
Genre	Hip hop; jazz; R&B;
Length	52:08
Label	Wing; Mercury;
Producer	Babyface; Gerry E. Brown; Keith Thomas; Vanessa Williams;
Vanessa Williams chronology
Singles from The Sweetest Days
	"The Sweetest Days"; Released: October 18, 1994; "The Way That You Love"; Released: January 24, 1995; "Colors of the Wind"; Released: April 25, 1995; "You Can't Run"; Released: July 17, 1995; "Higher Ground"; Released: October 10, 1995; "Betcha Never"; Released: January 30, 1996;

The Sweetest Days is the third studio album by American singer Vanessa Williams, released on December 6, 1994, by Wing Records and Mercury Records.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Entertainment Weekly	^[2]
Muzik	^[3]
Robert Christgau	^[4]

Track listing

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro-Lude"	Brown Vanessa Williams	0:55
2.	"The Way That You Love"	Brown Williams J. Dibbs^[a]	4:48
3.	"Betcha Never"	Babyface	3:55
4.	"The Sweetest Days"	Keith Thomas	3:31
5.	"Higher Ground"	Brown Williams	4:19
6.	"You Don't Have to Say You're Sorry"	Brown Williams	4:10
7.	"Ellamental"	Brown Williams	6:06
8.	"Sister Moon"	Brown Williams	5:28
9.	"You Can't Run"	Babyface	4:27
10.	"Moonlight Over Paris"	Brown Williams	5:07
11.	"Constantly"	Brown Williams Galdston^[a]	5:04
12.	"Long Way Home"	Brown Williams	4:18

1996 Japanese reissue bonus tracks^[5]
No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"Love Is" (duet with Brian McKnight)	Brown Williams McKnight	4:46
14.	"Colors of the Wind" (radio mix)	Thomas	4:20

1995 Target exclusive edition (bonus CD single)
No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"For All the Children"	Brown Moroch	3:20
2.	"Colors of the Wind" (radio mix)	Thomas	4:18

Notes

^{^[a]} signifies a co-producer

Personnel

Adapted from AllMusic.^[6]

Abenaa – composer, background vocals
Laythan Armor – arranger, composer, fender rhodes, programming, rhythm arrangements
Ryan Arnold – assistant engineer
Patti Austin – composer
Roy Ayers – guest artist, vibraphone
Babyface – composer, drum programming, guest artist, keyboards, producer
Ron Blake – saxophone
Anthony Block – cover typeset
Jeff Bova – keyboards, mellotron, programming, strings, synthesizer programming
Gerry Brown – arranger, composer, guitar, keyboards, mixing, electric piano, producer, special effects, tape effects
Jackie Brown – assistant producer, production assistant
Larry Carlton – guest artist, guitar
Eric Carmen – composer
Bryan Carrigan – assistant engineer
Ron Carter – acoustic bass, guest artist
Marietta Ciriello – stylist
Tim Conklin – assistant engineer
Mick Corey – technical support
Dominic Cortese – accordion
Martin Czembor – assistant engineer
Paulinho Da Costa – guest artist, percussion
Kenwood Dennard – drums
Joel Diamond – organ
J. Dibbs – arranger, composer, producer, programming, rhythm arrangements
Tim Donovan – assistant engineer
Steve Dorff – composer
Derek Duffey – production assistant
Barry Duryea – technical support
Suzanne Dyer – assistant engineer
Ed Eckstine – executive producer
Peter Erskine – drums
Tabitha Fair – background vocals
Brent Fischer – orchestration, strings orchestrator
Clare Fischer – conductor, string arrangements
Eric Fischer – assistant engineer
Phil Galdston – arranger, composer, keyboards, producer, synthesizer, synthesizer programming, vocal arrangement
Odile Gilbert – hair stylist
Brad Gilderman – engineer
Carl Glanville – assistant engineer
Carl Gorodetzky – contractor
George Gree – composer
Roger Guth – composer
Mick Guzauski – mixing
Mark Hammond – drum programming, programming
Roy Hargrove – guest artist, trumpet
Kenny Hicks – vocal arrangement, background vocals
Dann Huff – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
Ronn Huff – conductor, string arrangements
Bunny Hull – composer, background vocals
Anthony Jackson – bass
Tim Leitner – assistant engineer, engineer, mixing assistant
Jon Lind – composer
Peter Lindbergh – photography
Marty Maidenberg – artwork, cover design, package layout
Bill Malina – digital editing, engineer, mixing
Stephanie Marais – make-up
James Mayer – composer
Peter Mayer – composer
Brian McKnight – guest artist
Joe Mennona – accordion
Vaughn Merrick – assistant engineer
Jay Militscher – assistant engineer
Jen Monnar – assistant engineer
Todd Moore – production coordination
Nick Moroch – arranger, composer, guitar, guitars, mandolin, mellotron, synthesizer, synthesizer bass
James Murphy – drums
The Nashville String Machine – strings
Marty Ogden – assistant engineer
Pino Palladino – bass, bass slide
Greg Parker – assistant engineer
Leon Pendarvis – piano
Jamey Perenot – assistant engineer
Greg Phillinganes – fender rhodes
Joe Pirrera – assistant engineer
Herb Powers – mastering
Morris Repass – conductor, string contractor
Marnie Riley – assistant engineer
Max Risenhoover – digital Editing
Donald Robinson – composer
Rory Romano – assistant engineer
Armand Sabal-Lecco – bass
Philippe Saisse – keyboards, piano
Al Schmitt – engineer
Ivy Scott – production coordination
Mike Scott – mixing, assistant engineer
Ira Siegel – guitar
Ricardo Silveira – guitar
Dexter Simmons – assistant engineer
Artie Smith – technical support
Bill Smith – assistant engineer
Robert Smith – assistant engineer
Soul Man – rap
Brian Sperber – assistant engineer
Carol Steele – percussion
Sting – composer, guest artist, background vocals
Casey Stone – assistant Engineer
Toots Thielemans – guest artist, harmonica
Keith Thomas – arranger, bass, piano, producer, programming, string arrangements, synthesizer programming
Chris Thompson – art direction
Fonzi Thornton – background vocals
Wendy Waldman – composer
Randy Walker – MIDI programming, programming
Brock Walsh – arranger, composer, vocal arrangement, background vocals
Bill Whittington – engineer, mixing
Christian "Wicked" Wicht – technical support
King Williams – assistant engineer
Vanessa Williams – arranger, lead vocals, primary artist, producer, vocal arrangement, vocals, background vocals
Victor Winograd – cartage
Dann Wojnar – assistant engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for *The Sweetest Days*
Chart (1994–1995)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[7]	72
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[8]	74
Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[9]	36
US Billboard 200^[10]	57
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[11]	25

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for *The Sweetest Days*
Chart (1995)	Position
US Billboard 200^[12]	142
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[13]	68

Certifications

Certifications for *The Sweetest Days*
Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)^[14]	Gold	100,000^{^}
United States (RIAA)^[15]	Platinum	1,000,000^{^}
^{^}shipments figures based on certification alone

References

↑ AllMusic review
↑ Dyson, Michael Eric (9 March 1995). "Recordings". Rolling Stone. Vol. 703.
↑ Jones, Bob (September 1995). "Vanessa Williams: Sweetest Days" (PDF). Muzik. No. 4. p. 81. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2022.
↑ Consumer Guide: Vanessa Williams
↑ "Sweetest Days : Vanessa Williams". HMV Japan. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
↑ The Sweetest Days - Vanessa Williams | Credits | AllMusic, retrieved 2023-02-11
↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia’s Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 303.
↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Vanessa Williams – The Sweetest Days" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
↑ "スウィーテスト・デイ" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on March 16, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
↑ "Vanessa Williams Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
↑ "Vanessa Williams Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
↑ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1995". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
↑ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1995". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
↑ "Japanese album certifications – ヴァネッサ・ウィリアムス (Vanessa Williams) – スウィーテスト・デイズ (The Sweetest Days)" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved March 23, 2020. Select 1995年2月 on the drop-down menu
↑ "American album certifications – Vanessa Williams – The Sweetest Days". Recording Industry Association of America. August 1, 1995. Retrieved December 13, 2018.

[AllMusic-1] AllMusic review

[2] Dyson, Michael Eric (9 March 1995). "Recordings". Rolling Stone. Vol. 703.

[Jones-3] Jones, Bob (September 1995). "Vanessa Williams: Sweetest Days" (PDF). Muzik. No. 4. p. 81. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2022.

[4] Consumer Guide: Vanessa Williams

[5] "Sweetest Days : Vanessa Williams". HMV Japan. Retrieved May 11, 2022.

[6] The Sweetest Days - Vanessa Williams | Credits | AllMusic, retrieved 2023-02-11

[7] Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia’s Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 303.

[ac_Germany4_Vanessa_Williams-8] "Offiziellecharts.de – Vanessa Williams – The Sweetest Days" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 14, 2021.

[9] "スウィーテスト・デイ" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on March 16, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2023.

[ac_Billboard200_Vanessa_Williams-10] "Vanessa Williams Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 14, 2021.

[ac_BillboardRandBHipHop_Vanessa_Williams-11] "Vanessa Williams Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 14, 2021.

[12] "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1995". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2021.

[13] "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1995". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2021.

[Japanヴァネッサ・ウィリアムス_(Vanessa_Williams)スウィーテスト・デイズ_(The_Sweetest_Days)albumCertRef-14] "Japanese album certifications – ヴァネッサ・ウィリアムス (Vanessa Williams) – スウィーテスト・デイズ (The Sweetest Days)" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved March 23, 2020. Select 1995年2月 on the drop-down menu

[riaa-15] "American album certifications – Vanessa Williams – The Sweetest Days". Recording Industry Association of America. August 1, 1995. Retrieved December 13, 2018.

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