diana ross / gems

[daviddh]

was thinking today about making a playlist of some of Dianas best songs. I wa scurious as to what you think are dians best moments /hidden gems
heres a few of mine
I love You Call Me
baby my baby own
after you
never say I don't love you
you were the one
more and more
thought we were still in love
overjoyed
come in from the rain
same love that made me laugh

[florence]

Favs of mine:

Battlefield
I Can't Give Back The Love I Feel For You
Forever Young
Until We Meet Again

but best of all:

Never Say I Don't Love You

EMI wre generally very good in selecting Diana's singles in the UK [[e.g. I'm Still Waiting, All Of My Life) but I believe they missed a golden chance with this track.

Left to languish on the Ross [[1978) album it emerged as the B-side to No One Gets The Prize single[[ a minor UK hit) from The Boss album the next year.

It should have been the A side and I'm convinced it would have given Diana a major hit.

[thommg]

I would add:
Summertime
Love Me
Don't Give Up On Each Other

[Bluebrock]

Favs of mine:

Battlefield
I Can't Give Back The Love I Feel For You
Forever Young
Until We Meet Again

but best of all:

Never Say I Don't Love You

EMI wre generally very good in selecting Diana's singles in the UK [[e.g. I'm Still Waiting, All Of My Life) but I believe they missed a golden chance with this track.

Left to languish on the Ross [[1978) album it emerged as the B-side to No One Gets The Prize single[[ a minor UK hit) from The Boss album the next year.

It should have been the A side and I'm convinced it would have given Diana a major hit.
Florence - Motown UK did briefly consider this as a single but a certain unnamed person had the final say and decided it was not "commercial enough" to be a major hit. It was a messy time for Motown UK with a few arrivals and departures making for an unsettling period. The Commodores were the main priority at this point and Diana had lost one of her main supporters. It was only when the Chic album came out that Diana was once again made a major priority.

[florence]

Florence - Motown UK did briefly consider this as a single but a certain unnamed person had the final say and decided it was not "commercial enough" to be a major hit. It was a messy time for Motown UK with a few arrivals and departures making for an unsettling period. The Commodores were the main priority at this point and Diana had lost one of her main supporters. It was only when the Chic album came out that Diana was once again made a major priority.

Thanks for the info, Bluerock - very interesting. Helps to explain why Diana wasn't as successful as previously in this period.

Something seemed to happen towards the end of 1975. Given her track record I remain baffled as to how Do You Know........ was a complete flop when first released then.

Her spring tour here in 1976 ensured it and Love Hangover became top 10 hits but then there was the lean period with several singles missing the chart when it was still a top 50 although they did seem to have a certain market with Top Of The World and Your Love Is So Good For Me making the Gallup Top 75 when they compiled a Top 100 from Mar- Dec 1978.

Also throws insight into why Lovin' Livin' & Givin' seemed to be quite badly promoted.

[RossHolloway]

To Love Again [[alt version)

[Glenpwood]

Some deep cuts not mentioned I play often...

Dark Side Of The Moon
And If You See Him
Leave A Little Room
You're Good My Child
Friend To Friend [[Original Chic Mix)
I Never Loved A Man Before
Carry On

and some seperate love for a few tunes Andy & George dug out of the vaults..

The Interim
Part Of You
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
Go Where Your Mind Is
Brass Band

[captainjames]

"One more Chance"

[sansradio]

"Stone Liberty"
"Something On My Mind"

[Bluebrock]

Thanks for the info, Bluerock - very interesting. Helps to explain why Diana wasn't as successful as previously in this period.

Something seemed to happen towards the end of 1975. Given her track record I remain baffled as to how Do You Know........ was a complete flop when first released then.

Her spring tour here in 1976 ensured it and Love Hangover became top 10 hits but then there was the lean period with several singles missing the chart when it was still a top 50 although they did seem to have a certain market with Top Of The World and Your Love Is So Good For Me making the Gallup Top 75 when they compiled a Top 100 from Mar- Dec 1978.

Also throws insight into why Lovin' Livin' & Givin' seemed to be quite badly promoted.

Diana herself was quite disgruntled by it. Motown UK had always treated her like royalty and she was especially disappointed by the efforts to promote "the boss". The market was gradually changing and up to then it had been quite possible for the record company to generate a major hit without the artist being there to promote it. I shared her disappointment. "the boss" could and should have been huge.

[Ollie9]

"And if You See Him" is for me one of the best songs Diana has ever recorded. A song that just screeemed hit..... A real mystery.

[Bluebrock]

"And if You See Him" is for me one of the best songs Diana has ever recorded. A song that just screeemed hit..... A real mystery.

Should have been a single Ollie.

[Ollie9]

Indeed it did Bluerock. After the huge success of "I'm Still Waiting", Diana's profile was extremely high here in the UK. Almost anything released would have hit. Her superb "Surrender" album was a potential treasure trove of hit singles. I have never really understood why Motown dropped the ball with this album, then waited until 72 to release another UK single [[Doobe) from a previous album. It says something of her popularity at the time that an ok song like this was another hit single. Were they just to preoccupied with preparing Diana for Lady sings the Blues???.

[Ollie9]

Typo... "Bluebrock" . I will get it right one day lol.

[Bluebrock]

Indeed it did Bluerock. After the huge success of "I'm Still Waiting", Diana's profile was extremely high here in the UK. Almost anything released would have hit. Her superb "Surrender" album was a potential treasure trove of hit singles. I have never really understood why Motown dropped the ball with this album, then waited until 72 to release another UK single [[Doobe) from a previous album. It says something of her popularity at the time that an ok song like this was another hit single. Were they just to preoccupied with preparing Diana for Lady sings the Blues???.

As you correctly say Motown UK could have picked any number of other hits. Also considered around this time as possible singles were "didn't you know you'd have to cry sometime" which had missed the UK charts when released by Gladys and "these things will keep me loving you" which again had missed the UK charts. Not quite sure why this did not happen.

[Ollie9]

Exactly. Songs like "And If You See Him", "Can't Give Back The Love" and"Didn't You Know" had tremendous potential to become hit singles, whether they are your favourite recordings or not. I never understood why Motown UK never took full advantage when "Waiting" hit big. I guess they had their reasons. Perhaps one day we will find out.

[florence]

Interesting to see the diverse opinions.

For me, And If You See Him is an above average album track but not a smash hit single.

It would have done quite well as the follow up to Waiting in the UK but I'm not so sure as a follow up to Surrender.

I suppose they had to follow the US line but I would have by-passed Surrender as a single here.

My own feeling is that I Can't Give Back The Love.......had the biggest hit potential but then who knows - it's impossible to predict what exactly will hit the jackpot!

Certainly most of the tracks on Surrender [[re-titled I'm Still Waiting in the UK) were above average and I've never understood why the album didn't so a lot better in the US.

With nothing new in the pipeline from 1971 until Lady in 1973 it does seem odd that Motown UK didn't strike while he iron was hot after Waiting except for the odd choice of Dobe'doo. They had the choice of half-a-dozen tracks or so.

It would indeed be interesting to know just what the rationale behind this was.

[rovereab]

I was surprised at UK Motown's choice of Doobedoo.... as the follow-up to I'm Still Waiting. I was expecting My Place or Baby It's Love - these are gems IMO.

[Ollie9]

i think the majority of UK fans thought "DoobeDood'nDoobe" an odd choice for single release, although it was a hit. I wonder how well it would have done in the USA?. I guess you could say there was nothing else quite like it at the time.
The same sort of thing happened with with the "Touch Me In The Morning" album". "All Of My Life" became a top ten hit in the UK, then nothing. Motown always seemed in such a rush to release another album , as opposed to fully exploiting the product already out there.

[Bluebrock]

i think the majority of UK fans thought "DoobeDood'nDoobe" an odd choice for single release, although it was a hit. I wonder how well it would have done in the USA?. I guess you could say there was nothing else quite like it at the time.
The same sort of thing happened with with the "Touch Me In The Morning" album". "All Of My Life" became a top ten hit in the UK, then nothing. Motown always seemed in such a rush to release another album , as opposed to fully exploiting the product already out there.
Motown certainly released consecutive albums on Diana too quickly. As regards "tmitm" there was at least one more potential hit single in my opinion. That being
"i won't last a day with out you" which later became a hit for the Carpenters. Motown Uk did consider this as follow up to "all of my life" but by this time Motown USA already had "last time I saw him" out and the UK office didn't wish to incur the wrath of Diana's UK fans by delaying its release. Too much product in too little time robbed many artists of further hit singles.

[RossHolloway]

Interesting to see the diverse opinions.

For me, And If You See Him is an above average album track but not a smash hit single.

It would have done quite well as the follow up to Waiting in the UK but I'm not so sure as a follow up to Surrender.

I suppose they had to follow the US line but I would have by-passed Surrender as a single here.

My own feeling is that I Can't Give Back The Love.......had the biggest hit potential but then who knows - it's impossible to predict what exactly will hit the jackpot!

Certainly most of the tracks on Surrender [[re-titled I'm Still Waiting in the UK) were above average and I've never understood why the album didn't so a lot better in the US.

With nothing new in the pipeline from 1971 until Lady in 1973 it does seem odd that Motown UK didn't strike while he iron was hot after Waiting except for the odd choice of Dobe'doo. They had the choice of half-a-dozen tracks or so.

It would indeed be interesting to know just what the rationale behind this was.

I think the reason why promotion fell off was because Diana was pregnant with her first child and then she started preparing for LSTB.

[Ollie9]

Motown certainly released consecutive albums on Diana too quickly. As regards "tmitm" there was at least one more potential hit single in my opinion. That being
"i won't last a day with out you" which later became a hit for the Carpenters. Motown Uk did consider this as follow up to "all of my life" but by this time Motown USA already had "last time I saw him" out and the UK office didn't wish to incur the wrath of Diana's UK fans by delaying its release. Too much product in too little time robbed many artists of further hit singles.

I also think "Won't last a day" would have made for an excellent follow up to "All Of My Life" in the UK. Perhaps is was A contractual thing, releasing albums so close together. It's such a shame as TMITM is a superb album while LTISH appears to have been put together in a hurry , much like Ross 78. Sadly i think such albums dented Diana's credibility as a serious albums artist.

[florence]

We all know the story of Tony Blackburn and I'm Still Waiting in the UK but we can thank him also for Doobedood'ndoobe doing so well.

Diana had a great champion in him and with the most listened to radio show in the country, airplay there was a massive boost to any record.

Tony dubbed the record "The Doobedoo Song" and played it constantly.

1972 was a strange year for Diana in the UK, EMI had plenty of single choices to release and she could have had at least three hits. I would never have guessed Doobe would be a single choice and the only one at that.

I agree with Ollie about the Touch Me album - they could surely have released another track from it - Last Time would only have had to be put back a month or two.

Another single from it could have had much to gain. The TMITM album had completely dropped out of the chart and when All Of My Life hit in January 1974 [[it was quite a near miss for it nearly got lost in the plethora of Christmas singles being outside the chart for the month of December '73) it rekindled interest in the album which went the whole way back into the Top 10.

I would have gone for We Need You rather than I Won't Last A Day Without You though.

[Ollie9]

[QUOTE=florence;326151]We all know the story of Tony Blackburn and I'm Still Waiting in the UK but we can thank him also for Doobedood'ndoobe doing so well.

Diana had a great champion in him and with the most listened to radio show in the country, airplay there was a massive boost to any record.

Tony dubbed the record "The Doobedoo Song" and played it constantly.

1972 was a strange year for Diana in the UK, EMI had plenty of single choices to release and she could have had at least three hits. I would never have guessed Doobe would be a single choice and the only one at

I agree with Ollie about the Touch Me album - they could surely have released another track from it - Last Time would only have had to be put back a month or two.

Another single from it could have had much to gain. The TMITM album had completely dropped out of the chart and when All Of My Life hit in January 1974 [[it was quite a near miss for it nearly got lost in the plethora of Christmas singles being outside the chart for the month of December '73) it rekindled interest in the album which went the whole way back into the Top 10.

I would have gone for We Need You rather than I Won't Last A Day Without You though.[/QUOTE

Tony Blackburn is a real Motown fan. I remember him playing many of the tracks from "Stevie Wonder Presents Syreeta" album and making Diana's 77 live set album of the week. Thats just to mention two, as there were many more. I also loved the fact that he would play the long versions of Diana songs such as "Ain't No Mountain" and "Love Hangover". He celebrated 50 years of being on the air in 2014.
Perhaps he should of continued to do what he did with "I'm Still Waiting", prompting Motwn to release additional singles....Just a thought.

[Bluebrock]

[QUOTE=florence;326151]We all know the story of Tony Blackburn and I'm Still Waiting in the UK but we can thank him also for Doobedood'ndoobe doing so well.

Diana had a great champion in him and with the most listened to radio show in the country, airplay there was a massive boost to any record.

Tony dubbed the record "The Doobedoo Song" and played it constantly.

1972 was a strange year for Diana in the UK, EMI had plenty of single choices to release and she could have had at least three hits. I would never have guessed Doobe would be a single choice and the only one at

I agree with Ollie about the Touch Me album - they could surely have released another track from it - Last Time would only have had to be put back a month or two.

Another single from it could have had much to gain. The TMITM album had completely dropped out of the chart and when All Of My Life hit in January 1974 [[it was quite a near miss for it nearly got lost in the plethora of Christmas singles being outside the chart for the month of December '73) it rekindled interest in the album which went the whole way back into the Top 10.

I would have gone for We Need You rather than I Won't Last A Day Without You though.[/QUOTE

Tony Blackburn is a real Motown fan. I remember him playing many of the tracks from "Stevie Wonder Presents Syreeta" album and making Diana's 77 live set album of the week. Thats just to mention two, as there were many more. I also loved the fact that he would play the long versions of Diana songs such as "Ain't No Mountain" and "Love Hangover". He celebrated 50 years of being on the air in 2014.
Perhaps he should of continued to do what he did with "I'm Still Waiting", prompting Motwn to release additional singles....Just a thought.
Tony Blackburn is currently making headlines for all the wrong reasons but you are right when you say he championed motown and indeed soul music in the UK. He is a very decent person too and i hope the BBC reinstate him soon.

[Ollie9]

[QUOTE=Ollie9;326192]
Tony Blackburn is currently making headlines for all the wrong reasons but you are right when you say he championed motown and indeed soul music in the UK. He is a very decent person too and i hope the BBC reinstate him soon.

I only read about it this morning. My gut feeling is that Mr Blackburn is a really decent guy, and like you Bluebrock, i really hope the BBC reinstate him once things are sorted.

[daviddh]

I like all the songs mentioned except the Boobn Doo song. I think a different mix with all the doobe doos St the end would be better.imo

[Bluebrock]

Favs of mine:

Battlefield
I Can't Give Back The Love I Feel For You
Forever Young
Until We Meet Again

but best of all:

Never Say I Don't Love You

EMI wre generally very good in selecting Diana's singles in the UK [[e.g. I'm Still Waiting, All Of My Life) but I believe they missed a golden chance with this track.

Left to languish on the Ross [[1978) album it emerged as the B-side to No One Gets The Prize single[[ a minor UK hit) from The Boss album the next year.

It should have been the A side and I'm convinced it would have given Diana a major hit.
It's also one of my favourites too Florence. I fell in love with it the moment i heard it, but i am far from convinced it would have been a major UK hit at that time, All speculation of course but it wasn't commercial enough for that particular time. Had i been in charge at the time i would have gone for "you were the one" for the initial single. My colleagues at the time were very disappointed by the "ross78" album and struggled to find it. I don't think "nsidly" was ever considered as a single but you are of course entitled to your view. Sorry for going slightly off topic folks.

[Bluebrock]

[QUOTE=Bluebrock;326208]

I only read about it this morning. My gut feeling is that Mr Blackburn is a really decent guy, and like you Bluebrock, i really hope the BBC reinstate him once things are sorted.
I was talking with him only 3 days ago Ollie. He remains devastated by what happened. He is indeed a really decent guy, but all this shit has taken a serious toll on his well being. It is disgraceful.

[Ollie9]

[QUOTE=Ollie9;326219]
I was talking with him only 3 days ago Ollie. He remains devastated by what happened. He is indeed a really decent guy, but all this shit has taken a serious toll on his well being. It is disgraceful.

I hope he realises there there is a huge amount of public support for him.

[Albator]

I love very much when she sings in a darker mood even if she sings about hope.

- Let somebody know
- until we meet again
- free, I'm gone
- too many nights
- If you'r not gonna love me
- gone
- The force behind the power
- Only love can conquer all
- change of heart
- love will make it right
- I want you

[Bluebrock]

[QUOTE=Bluebrock;336305]

I hope he realises there there is a huge amount of public support for him.
Yes he does, and he greatly appreciates it.