Showing posts with label Diana Ross. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Diana Ross. Show all posts

Tuesday 21 July 2009

Why do fools fall in love - Diana Ross

'Why do fools fall in love' was written by Frankie Lymon and George Goldner (although several court cases have disputed this fact). It was originally a hit for the rock and roll group Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers in 1956.

Diana Ross recorded a cover of the song in 1981 on her album of the same name. It became a number four hit in the UK singles chart and it was her second and last number one hit in the Netherlands.

My collection: 7" single no. 3876
Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009
Cost: 0,25 euro
Tracks: 'Why do fools fall in love' / 'Think I'm in love'

Saturday 18 July 2009

Muscles - Diana Ross

Why Diana Ross wants muscles has always been a mystery to me. I wouldn't know what she would need them for. But anyway, 'Muscles' was the title of her 1982 hit single taken from the album 'Silk electric', written and produced by Michael Jackson. The song, which was named after Jackson's pet snake and was written for Ross and her 'desire' for a muscle-bound lover, also gave Ross her twelfth and final Grammy nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.

The single reached number 10 on the Dutch Top 40 and number 15 on the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 3863
Found: Empire Records, Den Haag, July 18, 2009
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Muscles' / 'I am me'

Friday 13 March 2009

We are the world - USA for Africa

After Band Aid had sold millions of copies worldwide with 'Do they know it's Christmas?', it was almost inevitable that American popstars would rise to the challenge and come up with their own charity single. 'We are the world' was the result: a single of an epic 6'22 minutes length which is fine for the first three minutes but then turns into a long, protracted death rattle of a song, with far too many artists claiming a few lines of their own to sing.

The lyric 'There's a choice we're making / we're saving our own lives' was originally written as 'There's a chance we're taking / we're taking our own lives'. It was rewritten when it was feared the original phrasing's first part might look like the artists are patting themselves on the back while the last part might suggest collective suicide.

The single became a worldwide number 1 hit, raising more money for emergency needs in Africa, where several countries were suffering from an unprecedented famine. Not much has changed in over thirty years though: Africa is still in need.

My collection: 7" single no. 3541
Found: La La Land, Den Haag, January 9, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'We are the world' (USA for Africa) / 'Grace' (Quincy Jones)

Saturday 3 January 2009

Eaten alive - Diana Ross

Last week I wrote about Diana Ross's second single from her 1985 album 'Eaten alive', 'Chain reaction'. I was a bit surprised when I came across a copy of the first single and title track from that album today. I couldn't resist buying it, I hadn't heard it for more than a decade. The song was written by the Bee Gees and Michael Jackson, with the latter and Barry Gibb doing backing vocals on the track. Jackson sings the lead vocals with Diana Ross here and there.

My collection: 7" single no. 3520
Found: La La Land, Den Haag, January 3, 2009
Cost: 1,5 euro
Tracks: 'Eaten alive' / 'I'm watching you'

Monday 29 December 2008

Chain reaction - Diana Ross

Diana Ross employed a few big names for her 1985 album 'Eaten alive'. All of the songs were written by the Bee Gees, while the title track was written by Michael Jackson - and he provided backing vocals too. 'Chain reaction' was Ross's first number one hit in the UK since 'I'm still waiting' (1971). According to the Gibbs biography, the brothers had initial reservations about offering the song to Diana in case it was too Motown for her.

In 2001, the British pop group Steps recorded a cover version of 'Chain reaction', which made it to no. 2 in the UK.

My collection: 7" single no. 3502
Found: Record Mania, Amsterdam, December 27, 2008
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Chain reaction' / 'More and more'
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