diana (album)

diana
Studio album by Diana Ross
Released	May 22, 1980
Recorded	1979–1980
Genre	R&B, soul, funk, disco
Length	34:17
Label	Motown
Producer	Bernard Edwards, Nile Rodgers
Diana Ross chronology
20 Golden Greats (1979) diana (1980) To Love Again (1981)
Singles from diana
"Upside Down"/"Friend to Friend" Released: June 20, 1980 "I'm Coming Out"/"Give Up" Released: August 22, 1980 "My Old Piano"/"Now That You're Gone" Released: September 19, 1980

diana is a 1980 album by American R&B and soul singer Diana Ross, released by Motown. Her 11th studio album, it was, and still is, the biggest-selling studio collection of Ross' career.

Conception

Following the U.S. success of 1979's The Boss, Ross wanted a fresher, more modern sound. Production team Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers of Chic had recently written a whole album's worth of material with Aretha Franklin in mind. Franklin had however declined the offer and all the songs, including "Upside Down", were subsequently passed on to Ross.

What proved to be a grueling recording process with the singer was made even longer when Ross abandoned the sessions after producers Edwards and Rodgers in no uncertain terms informed her she was singing flat. Despite repeated conflicts between the producers and the singer during the recording sessions, the album was completed. Reportedly, Ross was not pleased with its results. Following a preview of the record to be released in the aftermath of the anti-disco backlash, Frankie Crocker, an influential New York City disc jockey warned Ross it would even be the end of her career.

When the master tapes were submitted to Motown in March 1980, a nervous Ross consequently remixed the entire album, assisted by Motown engineer Russ Terrana, toning down the funkier elements of Chic's playing, removing extended instrumental passages and speeding up the tracks' tempos to give the singer's voice a brighter, more youthful sound. The new mix also put Ross' vocals front and center. The remixing of the master tapes and the re-recording of all Ross' lead vocals were performed without the knowledge or approval of Rodgers and Edwards. When they were presented with the "official" version of diana, the producers publicly objected and, at one point, even considered removing their names from the album's list of credits. Motown and Ross persisted and the version released was Terrana's smoother, more commercial mix of the album. Rodgers and Edwards were contracted by Motown to produce a follow-up album, but, as Ross left the label, it was never created. Rodgers and Edwards sued Motown, unsuccessfully claiming that they were owed monies for creating & recording the original version of the album. Rodgers and Ross were however to collaborate on album, upon her return to Motown in 1989; Workin' Overtime. Edwards did produce one single for her in 1984; ("Telephone" #13 US R&B).

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic

Released in May 1980, the diana album introduced Ross to a new generation of fans worldwide. Reaching number two on the Billboard 200 chart and number one on the Billboard Soul Albums Chart, as well as yielding two top ten singles including the number-one single "Upside Down", the album would sell over six million copies in the United States and be certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. In the UK it spun off three successful singles; "Upside Down" (number two, twelve weeks on the chart—marking the highest peak performance from Ross as a solo artist since "I'm Still Waiting" in 1971), "My Old Piano" (number five, nine weeks) and "I'm Coming Out" (number thirteen, ten weeks). A fourth single, "Tenderness", was also released in certain territories and was later included on several greatest hits compilations. Some thirty years after its release diana remains Ross' best-selling studio album to date having sold a total of over ten million copies worldwide.

diana was one of four albums written and produced by Edwards and Rodgers in 1980, the other three being Sister Sledge's Love Somebody Today, Sheila and B. Devotion's King of the World including European hit single "Spacer", and Chic's fourth studio album Real People.

Following the release of two more singles, the duet "Endless Love" with Lionel Richie and "It's My Turn", both worldwide hits, Ross left Motown and signed a then-record breaking $20 million recording deal with RCA Records. The first album for the label was 1981's self-produced Why Do Fools Fall in Love, which went platinum and spawned two Top 10 hits in the US. diana was remastered and released as a double CD in 2003 containing the original unremixed versions, together with a selection of other Motown dance tracks from the same period.

Track listing

Original album

All tracks written by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers.

Side A

1. "Upside Down" – 4:05  Listen
2. "Tenderness" – 3:52
3. "Friend to Friend" – 3:19
4. "I'm Coming Out" – 5:25  Listen

Side B

1. "Have Fun (Again)" – 5:57
2. "My Old Piano" – 3:55  Listen
3. "Now That You're Gone" – 3:59
4. "Give Up" – 3:45

Note: The Canadian release on Quality Records places the tracks from side B on side A, and the tracks from side A on side B.

2003 Deluxe Edition

Disc one

9. "Upside Down" (Original Chic Mix) - 4:17

10. "Tenderness" (Original Chic Mix) - 5:10

11. "Friend to Friend" (Original Chic Mix) - 3:20

12. "I'm Coming Out" (Original Chic Mix) - 6:01

13. "Have Fun (Again)" (Original Chic Mix) - 7:09

14. "My Old Piano" (Original Chic Mix) - 4:52

15. "Now That You're Gone" (Original Chic Mix) - 3:40

16. "Give Up" (Original Chic Mix) - 3:59

• Tracks 9-16 previously unreleased

Disc 2

1. "Love Hangover" (Extended Alternate Mix) (McLeod, Sawyer) - 10:25
   • Previously unreleased mix. Original version appears on 1976 album Diana Ross
2. "Your Love Is So Good for Me" (12-Inch Version) (Peterson) - 6:36
   • Previously unreleased. Original version appears on 1977 album Baby It's Me
3. "Top of the World" (Snow) - 3:09
   • From 1977 album Baby It's Me
4. "Lovin', Livin' and Givin'" (Ross album remix) (Davis, Stover) - 5:12
   • From 1978 album Ross. Original version appears on 1978 original motion picture soundtrack Thank God It's Friday
5. "What You Gave Me" (12-Inch Version) (Ashford, Simpson) - 6:08
   • Original version appears on 1978 album Ross
6. "You Were the One" (Patterson, Wright) - 4:04
   • From 1978 album Ross
7. "The Diana Ross & the Supremes Medley of Hits" (12-inch Mix) (Dozier, Holland, Holland) - 9:59
   • Originally released as 12" single in 1977. Re-released as 12" and edited 7" single in 1980 and 1981.
8. "No One Gets the Prize/The Boss" (12-Inch Re-Edit) (Ashford, Simpson) - 9:41
   • Original versions appear on 1979 album The Boss
9. "I Ain't Been Licked" (12-inch Mix) (Ashford, Simpson) - 5:18
   • Original version appears on 1979 album The Boss
10. "Fire Don't Burn" (David, Holland, Holland) - 3:26
    • Previously unreleased recording, recorded 1975-1977. Proposed for inclusion on cancelled 1981 album Revelations
11. "We Can Never Light That Old Flame Again" (Alternate Mix) (David, Holland, Holland) - 4:38
    • First released version was a non-album single in 1982, and was remixed by Berry Gordy and James Anthony Carmichael. The original mix featured here first appeared on a Diana Ross budget cassette in 1990.
12. "You Build Me Up to Tear Me Down" (Holland, Holland, Miller) - 5:42
    • Previously unreleased recording, recorded 1975-1977. Mixed in 1978 for possible inclusion on album Ross
13. "Sweet Summertime Livin'" (Stover) - 4:25
    • Previously unreleased recording, recorded 1975-1977. Mixed in 1978 for possible inclusion on album Ross. Remixed in 1981 and proposed for inclusion on cancelled album Revelations

Personnel

• Alfa Anderson - vocals
• Fonzi Thornton - vocals
• Luci Martin - vocals
• Michelle Cobbs - vocals
• Bernard Edwards - bass guitar
• Nile Rodgers - guitar
• Tony Thompson - drums
• Andy Schwartz - keyboards
• Raymond Jones - keyboards
• Eddie Daniels - saxophone
• Meco Monardo - trombone
• Bob Milliken - trumpet
• Valerie Haywood (The Chic Strings) - strings
• Cheryl Hong (The Chic Strings) - strings
• Karen Milne (The Chic Strings) - strings
• Gene Orloff - conductor

Production

• Bernard Edwards - producer for Chic Organization Ltd.
• Nile Rodgers - producer for Chic Organization Ltd.
• Bob Clearmountain - engineer proposed side A; tracks 1-4
• Bill Scheniman - engineer proposed side B; tracks 1-4
• James Farber - engineer
• Neil Dorfsman - engineer
• Ralph Osborn - engineer
• Abdoulaye Soumare - assistant engineer
• Jeff Hendrickson - assistant engineer
• Lucy Laurie - assistant engineer
• Peter Robbins - assistant engineer
• Dennis King - mastering
• All songs originally recorded at Power Station in New York. Lead vocal re-recordings: Electric Lady, New York; Motown/Hitsville U.S.A. Studios, Hollywood, California.
• All songs originally mixed at: Power Station, New York. Remixed by Russ Terrana and Diana Ross at Artisan Sound Recorders, Hollywood, California.
• Mastered at Atlantic Studios, N.Y.

See also

• List of number-one R&B albums of 1980 (U.S.)

References

• Easlea, Daryl (2004). Everybody Dance: Chic and the Politics of Disco. London: Helter Skelter. ISBN 1-900924-56-0
• Chin, Brian (2003). Diana (Deluxe Edition) [Liner notes]. New York: Motown/Universal.
• Wangler, Petra. (May 5, 2000). Interview with Aretha Franklin. Musikbyrån. SVT Sweden.

External links

• Chartstats UK