Knee Deep in the Hoopla

Knee Deep in the Hoopla
Studio album by Starship
Released	September 10, 1985
Recorded	1984–1985 at the Record Plant, Sausalito and the Music Grinder, Los Angeles
Genre	Arena rock, pop rock, AOR, melodic rock
Length	40:10
Label	Grunt/RCA
Producer	Peter Wolf, Jeremy Smith, Dennis Lambert (exec)
Starship chronology
Nuclear Furniture (Jefferson Starship) (1984)Nuclear Furniture1984 Knee Deep in the Hoopla (1985) No Protection (1987)No Protection1987
Singles from Knee Deep in the Hoopla
"We Built This City" Released: August 1, 1985 "Sara" Released: December 1985 "Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight" Released: 1986 "Before I Go" Released: 1986

Professional ratings
Review scores
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Allmusic

Knee Deep in the Hoopla is the Platinum-plus first release by Starship in 1985, the successor band to Jefferson Airplane and later Jefferson Starship. The album's title comes from a line in the song "We Built This City". It was certified platinum by the RIAA, and is best remembered for spawning the No. 1 hits "We Built This City" and "Sara".

The track "Desperate Heart", written by Michael Bolton and Randy Goodrum, also appears on Bolton's album Everybody's Crazy, released the same year. Jeannette and Pete Sears wrote a song for the album called "One More Innocent", though it was rejected for its political lyrics.

Tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"We Built This City"	Bernie Taupin, Martin Page, Dennis Lambert, Peter Wolf	4:53
2.	"Sara"	Ina Wolf, P. Wolf	4:48
3.	"Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight"	Steven Cristol, Robin Randall	3:41
4.	"Rock Myself to Sleep"	Kimberley Rew, Vince De la Cruz	3:24
5.	"Desperate Heart"	Randy Goodrum, Michael Bolton	4:04
6.	"Private Room"	Craig Chaquico, Mickey Thomas	4:51
7.	"Before I Go"	David Roberts	5:11
8.	"Hearts of the World (Will Understand)"	Stephen Broughton Lunt, Arthur Stead	4:21
9.	"Love Rusts"	Taupin, Page	4:57

Remastered CD bonus track
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Casualty"	P. Wolf, Jeremy Smith	4:34

Personnel

• Mickey Thomas – vocals
• Grace Slick – vocals
• Donny Baldwin – drums, electronic drums, vocals
• Craig Chaquico – guitars
• Pete Sears – bass guitar, synth bass

Additional personnel

• Peter Wolf – keyboards
• Les Garland – DJ voice on "We Built This City"
• Peter Beckett, J. C. Crowley, Siedah Garrett, Ina Wolf – additional background vocals on "Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight" and "Love Rusts"
• Kevin Dubrow – additional vocal on "Rock Myself to Sleep"
• Dave Jenkins – additional background vocal on "Desperate Heart"
• Simon Climie, Lorraine Devon, Phillip Ingram, Martin Page, Chris Sutton, Oren Waters – additional background vocals on "Love Rusts"

Production

• Peter Wolf – producer, arrangements
• Jeremy Smith – producer, engineer
• Dennis Lambert – executive producer
• Skip Johnson – production coordinator
• Bill Thompson – manager
• Bill Bottrell – mixing engineer on "We Built This City"
• Tom Size – additional engineering
• Paul Ericksen, Dana Chappelle, David Luke, Maureen Droney – assistant engineers
• Stephen Marcussen – mastering engineer
• Raess Design (Ted Raess) – art, design
• Bill Robbins – photography
• Recorded at The Plant Studios, Sausalito, CA; The Music Grinder, Los Angeles, CA
• Mixed at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, CA
• "We Built This City" re-mixed at The Soundcastle, L. A.
• Mastered at Precision Lacquer, Los Angeles

Singles

• "We Built This City" (1985)
• "Sara" (1986)
• "Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight" (1986)
• "Before I Go" (1986)

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1986	The Billboard 200	7

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1985	"We Built This City"	The Billboard Hot 100	1
1985	"We Built This City"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	1
1985	"We Built This City"	Adult Contemporary	37
1986	"Sara"	The Billboard Hot 100	1
1986	"Sara"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	12
1986	"Sara"	Adult Contemporary	1
1986	"Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight"	Billboard Hot 100	26
1986	"Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	25
1986	"Before I Go"	Billboard Hot 100	68