Why Take Me Higher didn't catch on in U.S.

[MusicGuy34]

I'm new to the forum [[long time looker, first time poster haha). I became a fan of Diana's in 2000 when VH1 was doing Diva's Live. I was around 13ish at the time and loved the previous Diva's shows-when I saw they were doing a whole special dedicated to Diana, I was intrigued. I kept watching any and all the clips they showed of her, music videos, segments on Supremes, etc and was loving everything.

I kept seeing clips of what was the "Take Me Higher" video and I asked my mom to take me to the music shop near where we lived and they had the Take Me Higher album along with Everyday Is a New Day. For me, I started my love of Diana's music with those 2 albums and then worked backwards and learned about "Ain't No Moutain...", "Theme From Mahogany," "The Boss," "I'm Coming Out," etc. They're still my favorite to this day because of the association and memories I have connected.

I think "Take Me Higher" is just a really great, solid album with lots of potential that was definitely overlooked. With the right promotion, I think she could of had some great chart success. "I Never Loved a Man Before" and "I Thought That We Were Still In Love" are 2 of her most beautiful songs in her catalog. I was just listening to the Japanese release the other day and it's interesting how they omit "Let Somebody Know" which was definitely a song that fit Diana perfectly and added in "Swing It." "Swing It" is unique and while I think the lyrics don't fit her at times [["...Cause I'm the 'roni that'll give you what you need"), it still has a great R&B vibe that could have seen potential airplay. "I Will Survive" seemed like the odd song out. I enjoy it live, but I'm not a fan of her closing each show with it still to this day. "Gone" is my favorite track from the album-her voice, her emotion fit the music perfectly and I love the black and white video released with it. I think there were a lot of opportunities to propel her back onto the charts, but Motown just didn't want to give it the attention it needed and deserved. Going through and looking back at clips, she was all over promoting it, so the failure of it not being a success rests more on Motown then Diana's.

[Bluebrock]

I'm new to the forum [[long time looker, first time poster haha). I became a fan of Diana's in 2000 when VH1 was doing Diva's Live. I was around 13ish at the time and loved the previous Diva's shows-when I saw they were doing a whole special dedicated to Diana, I was intrigued. I kept watching any and all the clips they showed of her, music videos, segments on Supremes, etc and was loving everything.

I kept seeing clips of what was the "Take Me Higher" video and I asked my mom to take me to the music shop near where we lived and they had the Take Me Higher album along with Everyday Is a New Day. For me, I started my love of Diana's music with those 2 albums and then worked backwards and learned about "Ain't No Moutain...", "Theme From Mahogany," "The Boss," "I'm Coming Out," etc. They're still my favorite to this day because of the association and memories I have connected.

I think "Take Me Higher" is just a really great, solid album with lots of potential that was definitely overlooked. With the right promotion, I think she could of had some great chart success. "I Never Loved a Man Before" and "I Thought That We Were Still In Love" are 2 of her most beautiful songs in her catalog. I was just listening to the Japanese release the other day and it's interesting how they omit "Let Somebody Know" which was definitely a song that fit Diana perfectly and added in "Swing It." "Swing It" is unique and while I think the lyrics don't fit her at times [["...Cause I'm the 'roni that'll give you what you need"), it still has a great R&B vibe that could have seen potential airplay. "I Will Survive" seemed like the odd song out. I enjoy it live, but I'm not a fan of her closing each show with it still to this day. "Gone" is my favorite track from the album-her voice, her emotion fit the music perfectly and I love the black and white video released with it. I think there were a lot of opportunities to propel her back onto the charts, but Motown just didn't want to give it the attention it needed and deserved. Going through and looking back at clips, she was all over promoting it, so the failure of it not being a success rests more on Motown then Diana's.

Interesting observations from a younger person's viewpoint.
Welcome to the forum. I'm sure you will make some new friends on here. All the best to you and yours.

[Nitro2015]

I'm new to the forum [[long time looker, first time poster haha). I became a fan of Diana's in 2000 when VH1 was doing Diva's Live. I was around 13ish at the time and loved the previous Diva's shows-when I saw they were doing a whole special dedicated to Diana, I was intrigued. I kept watching any and all the clips they showed of her, music videos, segments on Supremes, etc and was loving everything.

I kept seeing clips of what was the "Take Me Higher" video and I asked my mom to take me to the music shop near where we lived and they had the Take Me Higher album along with Everyday Is a New Day. For me, I started my love of Diana's music with those 2 albums and then worked backwards and learned about "Ain't No Moutain...", "Theme From Mahogany," "The Boss," "I'm Coming Out," etc. They're still my favorite to this day because of the association and memories I have connected.

I think "Take Me Higher" is just a really great, solid album with lots of potential that was definitely overlooked. With the right promotion, I think she could of had some great chart success. "I Never Loved a Man Before" and "I Thought That We Were Still In Love" are 2 of her most beautiful songs in her catalog. I was just listening to the Japanese release the other day and it's interesting how they omit "Let Somebody Know" which was definitely a song that fit Diana perfectly and added in "Swing It." "Swing It" is unique and while I think the lyrics don't fit her at times [["...Cause I'm the 'roni that'll give you what you need"), it still has a great R&B vibe that could have seen potential airplay. "I Will Survive" seemed like the odd song out. I enjoy it live, but I'm not a fan of her closing each show with it still to this day. "Gone" is my favorite track from the album-her voice, her emotion fit the music perfectly and I love the black and white video released with it. I think there were a lot of opportunities to propel her back onto the charts, but Motown just didn't want to give it the attention it needed and deserved. Going through and looking back at clips, she was all over promoting it, so the failure of it not being a success rests more on Motown then Diana's.

I have a similar story. I became a fan in the late 90's [[1997) after watching the TMH video on a Soul/R&B program [[U.S. hits) on MTV Brazil [[it was the only time I saw it in rotation). It was the beginning of a long standing love affair! And almost a miracle because TMH wasn't usually played on MTV. I'm happy I catched on and it changed my life, because I became obsessed with her. I was already a big fan of other north american singers like Tina Turner, Janet and Madonna. I was barely a teenager.

TMH was not promoted here in the country, but Diana was known to be one of the biggest american icons. I thought the song was a big hit in U.S., and to my surprise I discovered it wasn't. I'm still surprised to this day.