Diana Ross is the debut studio album by American singer Diana Ross, released on June 19, 1970 by Motown Records. The ultimate test to see if the former Supremes frontwoman could make it as a solo act, the album was overseen by the songwriting-producing team of Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson, who had Ross re-record several of the songs the duo had recorded on other Motown acts. Johnny Bristol, producer of her final single with The Supremes, contributed on The Velvelettes cover "These Things Will Keep Me Loving You."
The 2002 Expanded Edition re-release of the album featured a number of bonus tracks, including four from her unreleased sessions with 5th Dimension producer Bones Howe. These included two Laura Nyro covers which would subsequently be recorded by Barbra Streisand for her 1971 album Stoney End as well as "Love's Lines, Angles and Rhymes" which become a Fifth Dimension hit in 1971.
Diana Ross received generally positive reviews from music critics. Ron Wynn of AllMusic, gave the album four and half stars out of five, and stated that the album was the best album she had released while under contract with Motown, and perhaps her best work ever, and that it proved that she would be able to be successful without The Supremes.[1]Village Voice critic Robert Christgau said that while there were two or three good songs, the rest came off bland and boring, also saying that the album did not age well since its release.[3] In a positive review, Daryl Easlea of BBC stated that despite the album cover making it look more bland and uninteresting, that the album and its songs made up for this.[4]
Commercial performance
Diana Ross made its debut on the US Billboard 200 on the chart dated July 11, 1970, debuting at number 71.[5] On the chart issue dated October 3, 1970, it reached its peak at number 19.[6] The album eventually was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of 500,000 copies.[2]
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