Most of Diana’s albums are a patchwork quilt of writers and producers, and as such tend to be pretty inconsistent. One reason 1980’s diana is considered to be a classic is because it’s the work of one production team-Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers. The men behind the band Chic were near the top of their… Read More “Have Fun (Again)” by Diana Ross (1980)
1981 wasn’t exactly a great music for pop music, but it’s worth mentioning that three songs from that year spent an inordinately long time at Number One on the pop chart, and they’re all really good songs. “Bette Davis Eyes” had a nine week run at the top in the spring, and Olivia Newton John’s… Read More “Endless Love” by Diana Ross & Lionel Richie (1981)
“Don’t Leave Me This Way” began life as a song by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes. It appeared on 1975’s Wake Up Everybody, their last album to feature Teddy Pendergrass as the lead vocalist. Motown’s staff got wind of the song, and decided to re-record it on Thelma Houston. Their recording of the song… Read More “Don’t Leave Me This Way” by Thelma Houston (1976)
Can you imagine the wild shit Michael Jackson encountered in his life? Like, before this dude was 15, he’d had more life craziness than a lot of people live out full lives having to go through. The groupie stories alone could probably fill a book. “Dirty Diana” is a groupie story, and it’s not especially complimentary… Read More “Dirty Diana” by Michael Jackson (1987)
“Come Together” is about nothing at all, but it sounds important. This applies to quite a few Beatles songs, actually. It could soundtrack a murder scene in a movie, I feel. The murderer would have to shoot Coca Cola, and I’ll leave you alone to draw your own conclusions as to how that would work.… Read More “Come Together” by The Beatles (1969)
Diana Ross starred in a television special in 1971, and a soundtrack album was released concurrently. I’m too young to have seen the special (I wouldn’t make an appearance for another five years), but I played the soundtrack album regularly for a long time. The album boasted appearances from The Jackson 5 and Bill Cosby,… Read More “Call Me” by Aretha Franklin (1970)
And now we go from one “Boss” to another. Diana’s not particularly known as an albums artist, and there’s a good reason for that: most of her full-lengths are incredibly heavy with filler. Even when Marvin and Stevie were releasing classic albums for Motown in the early ‘70s, Diana didn’t bother too much to make… Read More “The Boss” by Diana Ross (1979)
Those Supremes singles (once they found their footing after flopping around in Motown’s sales cellar for a couple of years) are a thing of beauty. As a kid, I remember constantly playing a greatest hits album of theirs. It had a royal blue cover, with a drawing of the girls on the cover. I think… Read More “Back In My Arms Again” by The Supremes (1965)
Worth mentioning; the lyrics to “Baby Love” are pretty basic, even for early Motown. There are two things that elevate this song to classic status. 1) Diana Ross coming into her own as a superstar. Want to know why Berry Gordy pushed Diana to the front of the Supremes? Listen to that coo that stands as… Read More “Baby Love” by The Supremes (1964)
Motown was well known for having several of its artists record the same songs, often in dramatically different versions. Ashford and Simpson’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” was the beneficiary of superlative treatments by both Berry’s queen and his dashing prince (joined in song by a tragic princess.) Miss Ross was omnipresent at the start of the… Read More “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell (1967)/Diana Ross (1970)
Five Star Jamz 