The Burdens of Being Upright is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Tracy Bonham, released on March 19, 1996 by Island Records. Content The Burdens of Being Upright was recorded in the summer of 1995 at Fort Apache Studios in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Referencing this album, in 2015 Bonham said, The album cover (a reference to German photographer August Sander's work "The Bricklayer") was photographed by George DuBose, who was the in-house photographer at the hip hop label Cold Chillin' Records. Commercial performance The Burdens of Being Upright debuted at number 136 on the Billboard 200 chart dated April 27, 1996, and later reached its peak position of number 52 on the chart on June 15, 1996. On November 12, 1996, the album was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), signifying the shipment of 500,000 copies of the album. Track listing Personnel Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. Tracy Bonham – guitar, violin, vocals Ed Ackerson – guitar Fred Eltringham – drums Josh Freese – drums Drew Parsons – bass guitar Eric Paul – drums Sean Slade – organ, production, engineer Paul Q. Kolderie – production, engineer Charts Certifications Awards Grammy Award Nominations References External links Tracy Bonham albums 1996 debut albums Albums produced by Sean Slade Albums produced by Paul Q. Kolderie