Pirates

Pirates is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones, released on July 15, 1981, by Warner Bros. Records. The follow-up to her 1979 self-titled debut album, Pirates is partially an account of her break-up with fellow musician Tom Waits after the success of her debut album. The cover is a 1976-copyrighted photo by Brassaï. The album peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on September 30, 1981, for sales of 500,000 copies. The album remained on the UK album charts for three months, and was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry. Recording Initial recording for Pirates began in January 1980, with the live recordings for "Skeletons" and "The Returns" from January 30 from these sessions kept on the final album. In the same month, Jones picked up a Grammy Award for Best New Artist. Jones came to album sessions at Warner Bros. Recording Studios in North Hollywood with five songs, which were recorded and arranged in a two-month spurt in early 1980 before Jones was given an extended break for further writing. Album sessions reconvened in November 1980 and concluded in April 1981, three months before the album release.