diana big misses

[daviddh]

name your top ten tracks that should have been bigger hits or should have been singles and were over looked.
1.Getting Ready for Love. always loved this song. it barely made top 20 .should have made top ten imo.
2. Crimes Of Passion. from Eaten Alive lp.always thought this should be a single.
3. Its Hard For Me To Say. from Red Hot Blue. I was stunned when Tell Me Again was released as a single. this should have been a single.
4. Surrender...thought this should have been bigger but Diana seemed missing in action and Motown seemed confused on there marketing plan.
5. All Of My Life. from Touch Me In The Morning. I love the alt mix better without the syrupy backing.
6. Love Lies. from Silk Electric. I would have went with this hands down.
7. Never Say I Don't Love You from Ross. one of her most lovely tracks
8. You Were The One also from Ross 78. my other fav
9. lovin Livin Givin. I liked it ,then it wasn't released.
10 You Do It. from Ross 83. I have to say the lead single Pieces Of Ice has grown on me and I think held up well from her RCA years but this would have been a follow up.
other favs...
11.If You See Him my fav from Surrender
12. We Need You.....lovely vocal
13.All Night Lover....classic Ross
14/15.No One Gets The Prize/ Aint Been Licked. lost gems
16.what happened to My Old Piano, a hit in UK but a bomb in usa.
17. I thought it Took Time To Fall In Love. beautiful track and vocal. I would have rereleased it.
18.Chain Reaction. flop here in usa. it was moving up the charts then it was pulled and they stopped playing it

[luke]

Top of the world, Just Say with Marvin, One Love In My Lifetime.

[sup_fan]

Dreaming of you
Surrender
It's my house
You were the one - should have been a single
Crime of passion instead of Eaten Alive

[PeaceNHarmony]

name your top ten tracks that should have been bigger hits or should have been singles and were over looked.
1.Getting Ready for Love. always loved this song. it barely made top 20 .should have made top ten imo.
2. Crimes Of Passion. from Eaten Alive lp.always thought this should be a single.
3. Its Hard For Me To Say. from Red Hot Blue. I was stunned when Tell Me Again was released as a single. this should have been a single.
4. Surrender...thought this should have been bigger but Diana seemed missing in action and Motown seemed confused on there marketing plan.
5. All Of My Life. from Touch Me In The Morning. I love the alt mix better without the syrupy backing.
6. Love Lies. from Silk Electric. I would have went with this hands down.
7. Never Say I Don't Love You from Ross. one of her most lovely tracks
8. You Were The One also from Ross 78. my other fav
9. lovin Livin Givin. I liked it ,then it wasn't released.
10 You Do It. from Ross 83. I have to say the lead single Pieces Of Ice has grown on me and I think held up well from her RCA years but this would have been a follow up.
other favs...
11.If You See Him my fav from Surrender
12. We Need You.....lovely vocal
13.All Night Lover....classic Ross
14/15.No One Gets The Prize/ Aint Been Licked. lost gems
16.what happened to My Old Piano, a hit in UK but a bomb in usa.
17. I thought it Took Time To Fall In Love. beautiful track and vocal. I would have rereleased it.
18.Chain Reaction. flop here in usa. it was moving up the charts then it was pulled and they stopped playing it
I love 'You Do It' as well.

[Jaap]

I love 'You Do It' as well.

One never know why singles are selected or not, but perhaps "You Do It" was less likely to be picked because Sheena Easton had been performing that song, including on Solid Gold that year, although it wasn't a single but just a album track on her 1982 Madness, Money & Music album [[the album also contains her early version of Wind Beneath My Wings, which was also not released as single and became a hit for Bette Midler 6 years later).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXbMyZtJBs8

[144man]

"Missing You" surprisingly missed out completely in the UK.

[mike_sku]

I like your list, and I agree with many of them. I think "I Thought It Took a Little Time" was an excellent single, but then there was the "Love Hangover" scramble to beat the Fifth Dimension's version, out at practically the same time. Then, strangely enough, Billy Davis Jr. and Marilyn McCoo covered ITITALT later, but I don't think it did so well.

Chain Reaction was a great single, but I think radio stations in the US might have shied away from it because of the lyrics in the second verse.

Gettin' Ready for Love was always one of my favorites. That, and Top of the World could, and should have been monster hits.

[Bluebrock]

name your top ten tracks that should have been bigger hits or should have been singles and were over looked.
1.Getting Ready for Love. always loved this song. it barely made top 20 .should have made top ten imo.
2. Crimes Of Passion. from Eaten Alive lp.always thought this should be a single.
3. Its Hard For Me To Say. from Red Hot Blue. I was stunned when Tell Me Again was released as a single. this should have been a single.
4. Surrender...thought this should have been bigger but Diana seemed missing in action and Motown seemed confused on there marketing plan.
5. All Of My Life. from Touch Me In The Morning. I love the alt mix better without the syrupy backing.
6. Love Lies. from Silk Electric. I would have went with this hands down.
7. Never Say I Don't Love You from Ross. one of her most lovely tracks
8. You Were The One also from Ross 78. my other fav
9. lovin Livin Givin. I liked it ,then it wasn't released.
10 You Do It. from Ross 83. I have to say the lead single Pieces Of Ice has grown on me and I think held up well from her RCA years but this would have been a follow up.
other favs...
11.If You See Him my fav from Surrender
12. We Need You.....lovely vocal
13.All Night Lover....classic Ross
14/15.No One Gets The Prize/ Aint Been Licked. lost gems
16.what happened to My Old Piano, a hit in UK but a bomb in usa.
17. I thought it Took Time To Fall In Love. beautiful track and vocal. I would have rereleased it.
18.Chain Reaction. flop here in usa. it was moving up the charts then it was pulled and they stopped playing it
Great choices David, and almost worryingly similar to mine!A few of your choices such as Surrender, All of my life, My old piano and of course Chain Reaction were big hits in the UK. As regards some of the early 70's songs Berry was more interested in making Diana the black Streisand rather than concentrating on just the music. He kept Diana off TV, wanting her few appearances to be "event tv"I think this affected songs such as Surrender in the USA. He was determined to make her an all round entertainer. He had big plans for her movie career, and he also wanted further tv specials that failed to materialize.Meantime Diana's preference was primarily her singing career, with the film career just an added bonus. She was very unhappy with the quality of some of her Motown albums namely Everything is Everything, Last time i saw him and Ross78, but Berry called most of the shots. He really did take his eye off the ball with some of those singles choices, but it was what it was and it is great fun for us to speculate. Great post David.

[daviddh]

Great choices David, and almost worryingly similar to mine!A few of your choices such as Surrender, All of my life, My old piano and of course Chain Reaction were big hits in the UK. As regards some of the early 70's songs Berry was more interested in making Diana the black Streisand rather than concentrating on just the music. He kept Diana off TV, wanting her few appearances to be "event tv"I think this affected songs such as Surrender in the USA. He was determined to make her an all round entertainer. He had big plans for her movie career, and he also wanted further tv specials that failed to materialize.Meantime Diana's preference was primarily her singing career, with the film career just an added bonus. She was very unhappy with the quality of some of her Motown albums namely Everything is Everything, Last time i saw him and Ross78, but Berry called most of the shots. He really did take his eye off the ball with some of those singles choices, but it was what it was and it is great fun for us to speculate. Great post David.
Bluebrock, I agree with your info on Diana's early career. I had read that b4 and think that Berry was starting to lose touch with reality in a sense. his focus should have stayed on the music. I think her career suffered as a result and perhaps her solo success would have kicked off much sooner. thanks hope all is well. glad to see you here. you are missed.

[Guy]

I was surprised "Telephone" wasn't a bigger hit at the time. It is one of my favorites from the RCA years. In retrospect I can see that it was too spare and sultry to make an impression in the 80s, when most of then-popular music was so busy and frenetic. It is one of her few tracks from that era that is still listenable. Today I find "Missing You" too syrupy, something about the way those 80s tracks were engineered and produced make them sound much more dated than the 70s stuff.

[daviddh]

I was surprised "Telephone" wasn't a bigger hit at the time. It is one of my favorites from the RCA years. In retrospect I can see that it was too spare and sultry to make an impression in the 80s, when most of then-popular music was so busy and frenetic. It is one of her few tracks from that era that is still listenable. Today I find "Missing You" too syrupy, something about the way those 80s tracks were engineered and produced make them sound much more dated than the 70s stuff.
Guy.i think you are right about the 80s music. good observation

[Bluebrock]

Thank you David for your kind words. I am just so busy these days that i cannot always be here. As regards your comments regarding ross83 i think i would have gone with "lets go up"as the first single, and "love and lonliness" as the follow up. I like "pieces of ice" but never saw it as a major hit single. I think the album has aged quite well. Sure there are a couple of clunkers on there but by and large i find it to be much stronger than the previous two. Diana herself was unhapoy with it and thought rca canned two of the strongest tracks when they cut it back from 10 to 8 tracks.

[Levi Stubbs Tears]

Tenderness

[rovereab]

My Place from Everything Is Everything should have been the lead single from the album.
I've Come To Love You So Much with Marvin should have been fully completed as this would have been a very strong contender as a single and original album line up song.

[Guy]

Tenderness

The original Chic mix of "Tenderness" is a monster. I don't know if it would have received airplay in 1980 but it is one of my favorite Ross uptempos. I can't even listen to the album mix anymore.

[daviddh]

Thank you David for your kind words. I am just so busy these days that i cannot always be here. As regards your comments regarding ross83 i think i would have gone with "lets go up"as the first single, and "love and lonliness" as the follow up. I like "pieces of ice" but never saw it as a major hit single. I think the album has aged quite well. Sure there are a couple of clunkers on there but by and large i find it to be much stronger than the previous two. Diana herself was unhapoy with it and thought rca canned two of the strongest tracks when they cut it back from 10 to 8 tracks.
Bluebrock, thanks. I think I read there were 2 songs, FULL MOON and SLEEP WITH ME TONIGHT and a song called MAYBE that was a cover of a Chiffons song from about 1963. I hope one day we will get expanded version of this album. not sure if Diana will ever allow those tracks to be heard but I am hoping she eventually gives in. I was never a fan of UP FRONT. to syrupy for me.
I think the first 2 could be edited down to one good album. at least I did in my playlist.
thanks Bluebrock

[Bluebrock]

Bluebrock, thanks. I think I read there were 2 songs, FULL MOON and SLEEP WITH ME TONIGHT and a song called MAYBE that was a cover of a Chiffons song from about 1963. I hope one day we will get expanded version of this album. not sure if Diana will ever allow those tracks to be heard but I am hoping she eventually gives in. I was never a fan of UP FRONT. to syrupy for me.
I think the first 2 could be edited down to one good album. at least I did in my playlist.
thanks Bluebrock
Without actually checking through my diaries i recall there being 4 additional songs not used from the Ross83 sessions. Diana could have authorised them for the reissues a few years back but chose not to. That was a pity, but i haven't given up hope of them eventually seeing the light of day on an album of outtakes from the rca years. In the meantime we hope to see the 4 final Motown expanded editions sometime in 2018. They were scheduled for the end of 2017 but seemingly got caught up in licensing issues. Fingers crossed we see them in 2018.

[smallworld]

The comments about the 80s production being too syrupy are interesting. I've recently been introduced to "All of My Life" and "Love Me", two UK singles from the 1970s, and my first thought was that they are very "Carpenters" - a group well known for their syrup.

Incidentally, "All of My Life" is 3.05 on the Motown Chartbusters, Vol. 9 CD. Is this Fade unique to this collection or was there a single release utilising it? The same CD has a "Last Time I Saw Him" that fades early too, though only slightly, to a running time of 2.40.

[smallworld]

I think it was a mistake not to give "I'll Keep My Light In My Window" a chance as a single, especially as Motown went ahead with the parent album despite the under performance of "Pops, We Love You".

[daviddh]

The original Chic mix of "Tenderness" is a monster. I don't know if it would have received airplay in 1980 but it is one of my favorite Ross uptempos. I can't even listen to the album mix anymore.
I love it as well. many possible singles on that lp.

[daviddh]

Without actually checking through my diaries i recall there being 4 additional songs not used from the Ross83 sessions. Diana could have authorised them for the reissues a few years back but chose not to. That was a pity, but i haven't given up hope of them eventually seeing the light of day on an album of outtakes from the rca years. In the meantime we hope to see the 4 final Motown expanded editions sometime in 2018. They were scheduled for the end of 2017 but seemingly got caught up in licensing issues. Fingers crossed we see them in 2018.
the 4th track maybe Fight For It.

[daviddh]

I think it was a mistake not to give "I'll Keep My Light In My Window" a chance as a single, especially as Motown went ahead with the parent album despite the under performance of "Pops, We Love You".
forgot about this track, will go have a listen.thanks

[Guy]

I love it as well. many possible singles on that lp.

In the US, were there any singles from "diana" other than the two big hits? I never heard any other tracks from that LP on the radio. I think Motown went right to "It's My Turn."

[JohnnyB]

In the US, were there any singles from "diana" other than the two big hits? I never heard any other tracks from that LP on the radio. I think Motown went right to "It's My Turn."

That’s correct, but it amazes me that Motown did not pull another single from “diana” after “Its My Turn” peaked.

1. You Were The One [[much stronger than What You Gave Me)
2. All Of My Life or I Won’t Last A Day Without You [[I believe Diana’s version was released on TMITM before The Carpenters’ single was released. There should have been a follow up single from this LP.)
3. Tenderness
4. Not Over You Yet
5. Gettin’ Ready For Love [[should have been bigger)
6. Top Of The World
7. I Thought It Took A Little Time [[Motown should have tried again with this one.)
8. It’s Hard For Me To Say
9. Love Lies
10. No One Gets The Prize or I Ain’t Been Licked

[reese]

In the US, were there any singles from "diana" other than the two big hits? I never heard any other tracks from that LP on the radio. I think Motown went right to "It's My Turn."

I think if IT'S MY TURN didn't come up, Motown might have released at least one more single from "diana" in the US. But those plans might also have been thrown out of whack once Diana decided to leave the company.

MY OLD PIANO was released as a US single, but not until Diana left the company. It was released in a picture sleeve touting its success in the UK, and showing it as a track from ALL THE GREAT HITS.

[daviddh]

I was surprised My Old Piano wasn't a hit. loved it.
Not Over You Yet never got a usa release , I don't think. great mix

[RanRan79]

"You Were the One" immediately comes to mind. That had "hit" written all over it and Motown did nothing with it. Idiots. I think I read somewhere that Diana actually performed this in her live act during the time for awhile. I sure hope footage/audio of that surfaces if it exists.

[RanRan79]

One never know why singles are selected or not, but perhaps "You Do It" was less likely to be picked because Sheena Easton had been performing that song, including on Solid Gold that year, although it wasn't a single but just a album track on her 1982 Madness, Money & Music album [[the album also contains her early version of Wind Beneath My Wings, which was also not released as single and became a hit for Bette Midler 6 years later).


I love Diana's "You Do It", but this is the first I've heard of Sheena's and I actually like it more than Diana's version.

[reese]

"You Were the One" immediately comes to mind. That had "hit" written all over it and Motown did nothing with it. Idiots. I think I read somewhere that Diana actually performed this in her live act during the time for awhile. I sure hope footage/audio of that surfaces if it exists.

It was the finale during her 1978/1979 concerts until the show was revised when she released THE BOSS album.

[marybrewster]

"Chain Reaction", at least in the US.

"Not Over You Yet"; I always thought this should have been for Diana what "Believe" was for Cher.

[RanRan79]

It was the finale during her 1978/1979 concerts until the show was revised when she released THE BOSS album.

Thanks Reese. I sure hope audio of that comes to light at some point. I love that song and I imagine she did a great job with it live.

[reese]

Thanks Reese. I sure hope audio of that comes to light at some point. I love that song and I imagine she did a great job with it live.

Diana sang it when I saw her in 1979 and I was rather surprised, as I didn't know that she did album tracks in her show.