Diana Ross - Chain Reaction...Peak Position on the Billboard Charts #95 in 1985

[johnbell]

Wow, I couldn't believe this when I saw that,and it was the last song for the year 1985, ended at #404. A remix of it made #66 in 1986.

What Happenned??? It was surely a huge hit on the Disco Scene.

Enjoy

[jobeterob]

Eaten Alive did not catch on although the album was one of her strongest. The Gibbs and Michael made it perhaps a bit intense and you couldn't really understand what the song was about.

Bigger might have been the fact that Ross was over 40 years old, had been a huge artist for many years, and was beyond the age of appeal to any teen audience anymore. She also had hooked up with Arne Naess, started to have more children, and wasn't doing much promotional work.

[reese]

It came and went quickly in the fall of 1985. But when she sang it on the 1986 American Music Awards, some stations started playing it again. That's when RCA issued the remix.

[smark21]

Bee Gees on backing vocals didn't help its potential hit appeal in the US; by then they were considered joke relics of the disco era and even Adult Contemporary had moved on from their sound.

[copley]

Was at #1 in the UK for 3 weeks in March '86.

[Methuselah2]

Both CHAIN REACTION & EATEN ALIVE generated terrific videos. I thought the 60s stuff in CHAIN was a blast and hit all the right marks. And EATEN ALIVE is my all-time favorite Ross video--a true performance that went as far as possible . . . and then went just a bit further. It's a mini-movie and, as an actress, she's fearless. And gorgeous. And continually proves there's no one quite like her. Her chuckle and smile at the very end of the video is a brilliant touch. Unforgettable. As Diana Ross, herself, is. She was made for the stage and screen and whenever she's not there, she is sorely missed. As far as I'm concerned, she's irreplaceable.

[florence]

The US missed out big time on this [[although I believe it was a major hit in Boston!)

I wonder if it might have fared better if it had been the lead single from Eaten Alive? I thought that despite the video the title track was a complete mess and even the Michael Jackson connection couldn't save it. Unfortunately this seemed to kill the album.

At the time I wasn't that enamoured of it but in retrospect I'd agree with Jobeterobe that it was one of her best. There's a segment of three tracks [[I Love) Being In Love With You, Crime Of Passion and Don't Give Up On Each Other which are mind blowing. I often play them over and over on Spotify while using the computer.

I don't think the album was helped by the fact that on most of the tracks Diana didn't sound like herself - she was more an extension of the Bee Gees.

Diana was released on Capitol in the UK during her RCA years and like then they seemed to have given promoting her around the mid-80s.

Chain Reaction could very well have gone the way of her previous few singles in the UK. There was little support from Capitol but the track was so strong it broke in the clubs and discos and had great rotation on an American-based video channel. Once it got a foothold in the chart it took off and became massive. Although Diana hasn't actually had that many million selling solo singles this has achieved this mostly on it's British and Australian sales - it was the #1 performing song in the Australia chart in 1986 and has sold 750/800k in the UK.

Surely the ultimate track that got away in the US - it deserved so much better and the video was sensational.

[lakedistrictlad1]

Interesting hearing the comments from U.S fans. How different the situation was in the U.K. It was 'I'm still waiting' all over again.

I remember being thrilled when it went to No.1 here in the U.K - which also gave the album a real push in the charts. Though I remember hearing negative feedback about the album as people were expecting to hear a whole album like Chain Reaction - which of course it wasn't. [[This was the days before being able to hear soundbites of tracks on the internet, so you bought an album blindly)

I wasn't very impressed with the album either. Normally anything with the Gibb name on it spelt pure gold - but these songs sounded tired to me. Like they were squeezing the last drops out of the Dionne Warwick Heartbreaker sound.

Still - Chain Reaction was and still is outstanding.

[jillfoster]

Eaten Alive did not catch on although the album was one of her strongest. The Gibbs and Michael made it perhaps a bit intense and you couldn't really understand what the song was about

Bigger might have been the fact that Ross was over 40 years old, had been a huge artist for many years, and was beyond the age of appeal to any teen audience anymore. She also had hooked up with Arne Naess, started to have more children, and wasn't doing much promotional work.

Rob, your'e simply too dense! The song is obviously about multiple orgasms! This is a case of the US record buyers having no taste whatsoever. If you notice, the Bee Gees ALSO had a UK number one the next year with this.




I have to say, I think the scenes in the video of the people in the control room are stupid. The rest of it is cool and fabulous. They just needed the video to keep to the black and white retro scenes and the scenes of her in the white gown with the dancers. Robin was afraid to show the song to her, because they'd basically written a Supremes song for the single. They had to strongarm her into doing it, but then when she finished it, she liked it. Sometimes with singers, you just have to push them into stuff, and you get gold.

[jobeterob]

LOL! I absolutely did not know that and I will have to do a re-listen immediately!

[copley]

Hi Jill. The scenes in the control room are a spoof of those from '70's UK pop show Supersonic. Mike Mansfield used to direct operations from it by waving his arms about saying things like 'Q the Hollies', 'Q camera 3' etc. This spoof by Benny Hill shows what I mean

[Philles/Motown Gary]

Both CHAIN REACTION & EATEN ALIVE generated terrific videos. I thought the 60s stuff in CHAIN was a blast and hit all the right marks. And EATEN ALIVE is my all-time favorite Ross video--a true performance that went as far as possible . . . and then went just a bit further. It's a mini-movie and, as an actress, she's fearless. And gorgeous. And continually proves there's no one quite like her. Her chuckle and smile at the very end of the video is a brilliant touch. Unforgettable. As Diana Ross, herself, is. She was made for the stage and screen and whenever she's not there, she is sorely missed. As far as I'm concerned, she's irreplaceable.

I couldn't have said it better myself, Methuselah2! Once again, great minds have run in the same channel! BTW, Diana's "Chain Reaction" has always been one of my favorite RCA tracks, thanks to its classic Motown shuffle-beat. I had never heard the longer disco remix until the new "Eaten Alive [[Expanded" CD. What a treat! -Gary

[bradsupremes]

I don't know how the Bee Gees thought this was a throwback to her Motown/Supremes days. It doesn't sound ANYTHING like her 60's material.

[Philles/Motown Gary]

I don't know how the Bee Gees thought this was a throwback to her Motown/Supremes days. It doesn't sound ANYTHING like her 60's material.

Bradsupremes, you don't think that "Chain Reaction" sounds like mid-1960's Motown with the shuffle-beat and all? Just compare the drum-beat on the intro of Diana's "Chain Reaction" with the drum-beat on the intro of Martha Reeves & The Vandellas' "The Hurt Is Over" from Martha's "Natural Resources" album/CD. The drum-beat/rhythm pattern is identical. [If you know anything about written music, it's a series of eight notes and dotted-eighth notes followed by a short series of sixteenth notes [[triplets), thus forming what is known as a "shuffle beat".] During its heyday, Motown used shuffle beats on countless recordings, as did Diana's "Chain Reaction". Thus, the method to my musical madness.

[jillfoster]

I don't know how the Bee Gees thought this was a throwback to her Motown/Supremes days. It doesn't sound ANYTHING like her 60's material.

Like many people, you are just looking at the esoteric qualities of the production, we are referring to the actual structure of the song. Theyr'e both [[Chain Reaction and 60's Motown) english tudors.... one is red brick, and the other stone with painted trim. Many songs in the 80's were a throwback to a style of song in the past. Chain Reaction was a throwback to Diana's own catalog... this is another example, except this song is a throwback to the Ronettes:

[davidh]

the song was a throwback to tamla motown and has that feel to it.loved it.
unfortunately ,here in USA were going thru the Bee Gees anti disco bandwagon, and the DR anti bandwagon, so the album flopped. in 1986 the reissue began to climb the charts but as soon as it got near the top 40 it got pulled??? the CALL HER MS ROSS/ DREAMGIRL, did enough damage and there was a span of time between Telephone n Eatin Alive. i dont think the Beee Gees singing backup had to do with the failure because she had the same complaint with the DIANA lp 5 years earlier. Billboard gave the album a great review from what i remember and it was thought to be her most successful album in 5 years but that didnt happen. sometimes the USA sucks with its classic artists. i did think EA was kind of merky. i didnt understand all the words

[davidh]

p.s. the original plan was for her to record ISLANDS IN THE STREAM. not sure if she did a vocal on it or not?

[florence]

p.s. the original plan was for her to record ISLANDS IN THE STREAM. not sure if she did a vocal on it or not?

I think that was a rumour that over the years came to be accepted as fact!

In an interview with Radio 2 in the UK in 2010 Robin Gibb confirmed that Islands was actually written for Marvin Gaye.

[sup_fan]

i agree there were multiple things at play that prevented the Eaten Alive set from working

1. Dreamgirl - this did serious damage to Diana's public reputation. and it was only a year or two prior that the Motown 25 debacle hit the media too
2. gibbs - by the mid 80s their falsetto sound was way too dated. there was too much of a negative reaction to anything disco
3. Title track - incomprehensible lyric, diana's voice is completely overpowered by Michael's and the Gibb's. just too far from anything people would associate with her
4. terrible production - Diana and reverb is not a powerful combination. so many of her RCA tracks are just echoey messes with her vocals so blurred out.
5. inconsistent radio play and sales - although Missing You was a huge hit, Swept Away [[the song) was an ok hit. strong dance chart position but let's face it, that's hardly a industry benchmark of a song. the Top Pop 100 is what it's all about. and only hitting #19 isn't a major hit. then came Telephone which was a poor follow up to Missing You. then this oddity of Eaten Alive. there was too much else hot at the time - Duran Duran, madonna, etc.
6. public just grows tired - unless you constantly reinvent yourself, the US general public only gives you a few years and then it moves on. she was masterful in hitting big in 1980 and 81. a bit more in 83/84 with the Swept Away project. but then people were over her

[detmotownguy]

I totally agree with statement 6- we live in a disposable society. I believe Mary Wilson has discussed this issue. European countries seem so much more supportive. On the other hand performers like Madonna have maintained their status here in the US.

Speaking of Missing You, I saw Diane at the Fox in Detroit .... Maybe was the Working Overtime tour .... She hit every note as clear as can be. She was also concerned if the audience liked the new material.

[vgalindo]

I think that was a rumour that over the years came to be accepted as fact!

In an interview with Radio 2 in the UK in 2010 Robin Gibb confirmed that Islands was actually written for Marvin Gaye.

This was not a rumor. The Bee Gees did a TV special and said they wrote the song for Diana Ross.

[RossHolloway]

I don't know how the Bee Gees thought this was a throwback to her Motown/Supremes days. It doesn't sound ANYTHING like her 60's material.

I agree, it sounded nothing like her classic 60's material. I failed to make the connection, and I think as someone else stated the Bee Gees sound by this time was over. Of all the folks that she could have collaborated with- the Bee Gees??? I think their production whitewashed all the soul from her voice, there was really nothing that stood out on the album, no great lyrics, no great sound, nothing - it was all just wrong. There was nothing cool or cutting edge about the BeeGees at this point and the final product and results proved that out.

[rovereab]

I have always liked Chain Reaction. It was a massive in the UK and is still played by DJs at events as it always gets people on the dance floor. I do hear 60s Motown in the song, perhaps the Four Tops' I'll Turn To Stone is an example of the similarity.

[jobeterob]

I thought there were some excellent songs on the album and the album did quite well in that it hung around for quite a while. Songs like Love On the Line, I Love Being in Love With You, Experience, Chain Reaction.

But I do agree; it was late in the day to connect with the Bee Gees; the disco backlash was still around; and Diana and the Bee Gees were regarded as "old" by then.

[thommg]

I thought there were some excellent songs on the album and the album did quite well in that it hung around for quite a while. Songs like Love On the Line, I Love Being in Love With You, Experience, Chain Reaction.

But I do agree; it was late in the day to connect with the Bee Gees; the disco backlash was still around; and Diana and the Bee Gees were regarded as "old" by then.

I'm a little surprised at how many people don't enjoy the Eaten Alive album. I think it might be my favorite of her RCA recordings as a whole package. I will say that, to me, Eaten Alive didn't fit the set. I was annoyed at how present Michael Jackson was on that song and it took away from Diana. Oh, Teacher is a great song I Love Being In Love With You is also terrific. I don't think the album was a hit because it was the last in a long line of collaborations in which the Bee Gees were very prominent. The sound, although a nice soulful pop, was not current in the mid 80's. If the album had come out in 82 or 83 it would have gone through the roof.

[supremester]

I agree with a lot of your comments but Dreamgirl was a year AFTER Eaten Alive and while it extracted it's intended pound of flesh - the market Miss Ross needed to aim to had no idea who Mary Wilson or The Supremes were.
I don't mind the reverb.
Missing You was a big hit - but not HUGE huge. It did not get her into the craw of the younger market needed for Eaten & Chain. I think with a slightly simplified verse lyric and a succinct lead vocal, Eaten Alive would have hit big. As it is, Chain Reaction should have been the lead single a month before the album - at least. I think with the MJ connection, they thought they had a slam dunk. Too bad as it's a killer track and the video is perfection.

The album cover was not compelling and while I applaud the concept, I cannot approve of the final result.

i agree there were multiple things at play that prevented the Eaten Alive set from working

1. Dreamgirl - this did serious damage to Diana's public reputation. and it was only a year or two prior that the Motown 25 debacle hit the media too
2. gibbs - by the mid 80s their falsetto sound was way too dated. there was too much of a negative reaction to anything disco
3. Title track - incomprehensible lyric, diana's voice is completely overpowered by Michael's and the Gibb's. just too far from anything people would associate with her
4. terrible production - Diana and reverb is not a powerful combination. so many of her RCA tracks are just echoey messes with her vocals so blurred out.
5. inconsistent radio play and sales - although Missing You was a huge hit, Swept Away [[the song) was an ok hit. strong dance chart position but let's face it, that's hardly a industry benchmark of a song. the Top Pop 100 is what it's all about. and only hitting #19 isn't a major hit. then came Telephone which was a poor follow up to Missing You. then this oddity of Eaten Alive. there was too much else hot at the time - Duran Duran, madonna, etc.
6. public just grows tired - unless you constantly reinvent yourself, the US general public only gives you a few years and then it moves on. she was masterful in hitting big in 1980 and 81. a bit more in 83/84 with the Swept Away project. but then people were over her

[vgalindo]

I'm a little surprised at how many people don't enjoy the Eaten Alive album. I think it might be my favorite of her RCA recordings as a whole package. I will say that, to me, Eaten Alive didn't fit the set. I was annoyed at how present Michael Jackson was on that song and it took away from Diana. Oh, Teacher is a great song I Love Being In Love With You is also terrific. I don't think the album was a hit because it was the last in a long line of collaborations in which the Bee Gees were very prominent. The sound, although a nice soulful pop, was not current in the mid 80's. If the album had come out in 82 or 83 it would have gone through the roof.

I love the Eaten Alive album. It is my favorite RCA album and a top 10 album of Diana Ross. This album has a very personal meaning for me. I agree Eaten Alive did not fit the album.

[RossHolloway]

I personally think of all her RCA albums Eaten Alive was her most forgettable, and when you look over her entire body of work-album wise- it just didn't work. The Gibb Brothers? Really? Who's idea was that? I would have died to have been a fly on the wall when Berry Gordy first heard the album and what he thought of it. With the exception of Chair Reaction and Eaten Alive, the songs are forgettable and boring - especially when you look at her body of work. I think I may have heard Eaten Alive played on the radio just once or twice, and I remember seeing the video for Chain Reaction on tv just once - this is essentially when radio stopped playing her new music and tv -even BET- stopped playing her videos - too middle of the road/whitewashed. With the exception of the first two songs released, the material would have been better suited for someone like a Barbara Streisand, but not for Diana Ross. And perhaps the reason why her next album was Red Hot Rhythm & Blues, a sort of self correction musically, but failed to connect due to lack of promotion due to a new marriage and having two children in a period of 11 months.

[supremester]

Re: Red Hot's lack of promotion - half of the songs and the Dirty looks video were seen by millions on her Emmy winning special - that's all the promotion needed ....period. The music, while fine, was not hit material There's nothing on that album that even hints at top 40. Not even close. Love the cover and Summertime, but, no amount of promotion would get that off the ground. I'd have put out Summertime, crossed everything I have two of and hoped for an anomaly hit......... When I played it through, I thought, holy poopie - she's in real trouble now.

[florence]

This was not a rumor. The Bee Gees did a TV special and said they wrote the song for Diana Ross.

So The Bee Gees [[or member of) are telling two different stories.

Who are you to believe? Although the fact that they were producing Eaten Alive around that time could lend credence to the Diana claim.

[RossHolloway]

Re: Red Hot's lack of promotion - half of the songs and the Dirty looks video were seen by millions on her Emmy winning special - that's all the promotion needed ....period. The music, while fine, was not hit material There's nothing on that album that even hints at top 40. Not even close. Love the cover and Summertime, but, no amount of promotion would get that off the ground. I'd have put out Summertime, crossed everything I have two of and hoped for an anomaly hit......... When I played it through, I thought, holy poopie - she's in real trouble now.

I was in college when her special aired- during exam week no less! And she had planned a tour to promote the album, and we had gotten front row seats to her show in Kalamazoo when she cancelled her tour because she was pregnant!!

[sup_fan]

i was looking at dates and noticed how spaced out her RCA LP's were. Swept Away was released in Sept 84 and Eaten was Oct 85. that's a large span of time. had she had several mega hits from Swept, it would have been fine. but none of the singles off that lp were big enough to keep her people's mind. plus you had different shifts in popular music occurring at this time - Madonna, hair bands, rap, etc. Diana wasn't really offering anything ground breaking at the time

[jobeterob]

By the time of Missing You, Billboard published both sales and airplay reports. As I recall, Missing You got to #10 on the Top 100 and was on there for a long, long time ~ because it had two separate chart runs. And far more of its chart position derived from sales than airplay ~ the airplay lagged.

And it lagged because Diana Ross had massive his for 20 years, was over 40, and was old. As someone said, a new female singer, a real pop sing with catchy songs was becoming very popular - Madonna; if it hadn't been her, it would have been someone else.

[sansradio]

By the time of Missing You, Billboard published both sales and airplay reports. As I recall, Missing You got to #10 on the Top 100 and was on there for a long, long time ~ because it had two separate chart runs. And far more of its chart position derived from sales than airplay ~ the airplay lagged.

And it lagged because Diana Ross had massive his for 20 years, was over 40, and was old. As someone said, a new female singer, a real pop sing with catchy songs was becoming very popular - Madonna; if it hadn't been her, it would have been someone else.

And lest we forget, by the time of Eaten Alive, it was The Advent of Whitney. She was the new skinny Black girl with the teeth, the hair and the gorgeous ballads from then on.

[thommg]

i was looking at dates and noticed how spaced out her RCA LP's were. Swept Away was released in Sept 84 and Eaten was Oct 85. that's a large span of time.

That's just a year between albums, which was not a long period of time. Artists were no longer releasing albums every six months. Most albums were released with a span of 2 - 3 years back then.

I know that Diana has said that the regime at RCA had changed and that left her without any support. When did that happen. To my mind, she seemed a bit rudderless and not taken care of at RCA. Of course, she was never going to get the attention that Motown provided but it doesn't seem like RCA did much for her after the first few years of her deal.

[jobeterob]

By Missing You and prior to the real advent of Whitney Houston and any scrapping with other Supremes, Diana was passe' and RCA had lost interest. Most artists get maybe 5 years in the public eye; Diana had 20 at the top of the heap. That was way beyond virtually any other artist ever.

[reese]

By the time of Missing You, Billboard published both sales and airplay reports. As I recall, Missing You got to #10 on the Top 100 and was on there for a long, long time ~ because it had two separate chart runs. And far more of its chart position derived from sales than airplay ~ the airplay lagged.

And it lagged because Diana Ross had massive his for 20 years, was over 40, and was old. As someone said, a new female singer, a real pop sing with catchy songs was becoming very popular - Madonna; if it hadn't been her, it would have been someone else.

MISSING YOU had hit the Top 10 on the black chart, but only hit in the 50s[[I think) on the pop chart. Then she appeared on the American Music Awards paying tribute to celebrities who had passed the previous year. They showed the video for MISSING YOU, and then pop radio interest in it picked up.

Sort of the same thing happened the next year with CHAIN REACTION. The record had peaked low on both the black and pop charts. Then she performed it on the AMAs and interest was rekindled, just not as strong as had happened with MISSING YOU.

[skooldem1]

"Missing you" was a #1 record on the Soul/R&B chart.

[RossHolloway]

By Missing You and prior to the real advent of Whitney Houston and any scrapping with other Supremes, Diana was passe' and RCA had lost interest. Most artists get maybe 5 years in the public eye; Diana had 20 at the top of the heap. That was way beyond virtually any other artist ever.

By 1985-86 the pop charts were being taken over by much younger female artists like Madonna, Whitney Houston and Janet Jackson - most folks have forgotten her, but her Control album was released in early 1986 and had like 5 top 10 POP singles. Most pop singers, both male and female, have a shelf-life and by the time a pop artist hits their late 30's or the age of 40 then their singles chart career is for the most part over, it happened to not just Diana Ross, but virtually all pop stars: Madonna, Janet, Mariah Carey- as huge as they were at the height of their careers, all are now over 40 and you'd be hard pressed to hear any of their new music played on a top 40 station these days. Music - especially here in the US- is youth based. I'd bet good money that the top artists of today: Beyonce, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus - won't be top 40 artists in 5 years. Heck look at acts like Britney Spears and Christina Arguileira, both in their mid 30 and already reduced to reality show hosts, essentially because their top 40 and best selling years are behind them.

[sup_fan]

oh i agree that 1 lp a year isn't out of the ordinary. however in the 60s and 70s [[until the mid 70s) there was much more product available on Diana. plus her last lp's prior to Eaten were marginal sellers. Swept Away did go gold. but as i said, no massive hit. and Ross 83 was a sleeper. so the last really big hits were from 81 and 82. that's a long time to go between hits

[skooldem1]

I would consider "Missing you" a big hit. Top 10 on the pop chart and #1 on the R&B chart.

[sup_fan]

In and Out of Love and Living in Shame went to 9 and i don't think people consider those "huge hits"

i guess i'm referring more to the cultural impact rather than the chart position or even sales. Some songs just seem to really penetrate the public mind. others, for whatever reason, aren't as long-lived or memorable. they do well at the time and then fall off.

of course this is just my opinion.

[skooldem1]

All I know is that in the black community "Missing You" is a classic song. After all, it did go to number #1. Chart position aside, it is a great song and is one of her most memorable. It has stood the test of time and is still played on Urban Radio. Of course I am speaking of the USA market. Don't know about the rest of the world.

[supremester]

Certainly being over 40 didn't help, but hit music is hit music and it wasn't as if she couldn't get play - like for Take Me Higher. Tina Turner was not having issues getting played - but the music and videos weren't pop culture enough. The Swept Away and especially, Missing You videos were not going to play to the people buying Madonna, Whitney or Cyndy and that's who you had to aim at. The Eaten Alive video was perfect but the song was indecipherable, the Chain Reaction video was stupendous but the song was too Bee Gee-ish AND she was already three years from having a true pop hit [[Muscles) and 5 years since a pop smash [[Upside Down) plus the first single had already tanked miserably. Top 40 playlists got so tight that anyone deemed slightly passe had a hard time. That's why I've always been so critical of the single choices at RCA - staying current was, IMHO, equal to importance with artistic merit. Had Chain Reaction been first - a month before the album, I believe it would have hit big, but following Eaten, it didn't have a chance. Case in point: I don't think Why Do Fools or Mirror Mirror would have gone tp ten had they followed a succession of failed singles like What You Gave Me, Ease on Dowm You got It and Your Love Is So Good For me. Would In & Out of Love have gone top ten after Some Things You Never Get Used To instead of 5 smashes in a row????.........uh...........no. Ditto I'm living in Shame. Would Special Part of Me limped to #12 if it didn't have both artists in the top ten with #1's the day it was released? No. It pays to remain au currant. I think had Touch By Touch with a very trendy video followed Missing You - things might have been easier for the Eaten project.
Also, Chain Reaction did not gain momentum after The AMA's. It was already DOA. After it hit other places, RCA remixed the 45 and sent it out again with somewhat better results. The major issue with that effort was that WABC in NYC had already played it initially - so they weren't going to add it again and the staggered adds hurt the effort. Plus the video wasn't recut to match the new radio edit.

By the time of Missing You, Billboard published both sales and airplay reports. As I recall, Missing You got to #10 on the Top 100 and was on there for a long, long time ~ because it had two separate chart runs. And far more of its chart position derived from sales than airplay ~ the airplay lagged.

And it lagged because Diana Ross had massive his for 20 years, was over 40, and was old. As someone said, a new female singer, a real pop sing with catchy songs was becoming very popular - Madonna; if it hadn't been her, it would have been someone else.

[marv2]

This was not a good record and sold very poorly in America.

[florence]

This was not a good record and sold very poorly in America.

Matter of opinion - it was greatly liked in many countries - #1 in UK, Australia and Ireland.

#1 record of 1986 in Australia and the fifth biggest selling single of 1986 in the UK.

[florence]

By the time of Missing You, Billboard published both sales and airplay reports. As I recall, Missing You got to #10 on the Top 100 and was on there for a long, long time ~ because it had two separate chart runs. And far more of its chart position derived from sales than airplay ~ the airplay lagged.

And it lagged because Diana Ross had massive his for 20 years, was over 40, and was old. As someone said, a new female singer, a real pop sing with catchy songs was becoming very popular - Madonna; if it hadn't been her, it would have been someone else.

I've heard this before but find it hard to reconcile.

The record bobbed about the middle regions of the Hot 100 for about 3 months before Diana's appearance on the American Music Awards with the showing of the video rekindled interest and it took off up the charts.

However it did better on Billboard than Cashbox [[Record World was defunct by now) and Cashbox was the more sales orientated chart [[as Record World had been).

Better sales than airplay had made Reach Out And Touch, Remember Me and Last Time I Saw Him all go top 10 in both CB and RW - Reach Out barely crept into the Billboard Top 20 so it would look to me that it was airplay which fulled Missing You but that's only my thoughts.

[marv2]

Matter of opinion - it was greatly liked in many countries - #1 in UK, Australia and Ireland.

#1 record of 1986 in Australia and the fifth biggest selling single of 1986 in the UK.

Well she performed it in front of a National audience here in the U.S. on the American Music Awards and it still stiffed. It wasn't funky at all or close to what was popular here at the time.

[LuvHangOva]

Well she performed it in front of a National audience here in the U.S. on the American Music Awards and it still stiffed. It wasn't funky at all or close to what was popular here at the time.

That may be but it didn't stop a moment of unintentional wardrobe hilarity from Ree just months later when she tried to use "the look"

[honest man]

Well she performed it in front of a National audience here in the U.S. on the American Music Awards and it still stiffed. It wasn't funky at all or close to what was popular here at the time.

So what it was massive eleswhere not everything starts and ends with USA, she made millions from the song and laughed all the way to the bank,TOUGH THAT AMERICA DID NOT MAKE IT A HIT,Who Cares.