Red Hot Rhythm & Blues

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Red Hot Rhythm & Blues
Red-hot-r&b.jpg
Studio album by
Diana Ross
ReleasedMay 8, 1987
Recorded1986–1987
GenreR&B
Length43:56 (US: 38:11)
LabelEMI (UK) RCA (US)
ProducerTom Dowd, Luther Vandross
Diana Ross chronology
Eaten Alive
(1985) 		Red Hot Rhythm & Blues
(1987) 		Workin' Overtime
(1989)
Singles from Red Hot Rhythm & Blues
  1. "Dirty Looks"
    Released: April 29, 1987
  2. "Tell Me Again"
    Released: July 18, 1987
  3. "Shockwaves"
    Released: July 18, 1987 (U.K. release only)
  4. "Mr. Lee"
    Released: January 12, 1988
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic3/5 stars[1]

Red Hot Rhythm and Blues is the seventeenth studio album by American singer Diana Ross, released on May 8, 1987 by RCA Records and EMI Records. It was Ross' last of six albums released by the label during the decade. It was produced by veteran Atlantic Records producer Tom Dowd with one track contributed by Luther Vandross.

Overview[]

The album made the charts in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Austria, as well as reaching the top 20 in Sweden and Norway. It was Ross's final album for RCA Records, after a six-year stint with the label since Why Do Fools Fall in Love. The album peaked inside the top eighty of the Billboard 200 album chart, reaching the number 73 position.[2]

The album included "Dirty Looks" (US R&B #12, UK #49), originally recorded by Motown outfit Warp 9, and the retro-flavoured "Shockwaves" which was released as a Shep Pettibone remix in the UK and peaked at number 76.

A number of major contemporary songwriters contributed new songs to the project including Luther Vandross who also produced "It's Hard For Me To Say" (and later cut the track for his 1996 album Your Secret Love). It also included the first recording of Leonard Cohen's "Summertime" as well as Mick Hucknall's "Shine" (also released on Simply Red's concurrent album Men and Women).

The album also included cover versions of several R&B classics, including the Bobbettes' "Mr. Lee" (UK #58), Jackie Ross' "Selfish One", Etta James' "Tell Mama", and the Drifters' "There Goes My Baby".

The album was promoted with a TV special that aired on ABC on May 20, 1987 titled Diana Ross: Red Hot Rhythm and Blues. The special featured guests such as Etta James, Little Richard, Billy Dee Williams, Leslie Nielsen, LL Cool J, Bernadette Peters and Wolfman Jack.

The tracks "Mr Lee" and "Tell Mama" were not included on the US version of the album and the mix of "Dirty Looks" on the UK version differs from the mix on the US version.

The cover photography was by Herb Ritts.

Re-release in 2014[]

The album was remastered and re-released in September 2014 by Funky Town Grooves, as an "Expanded Edition" with bonus material on a second CD.[3] This reissue was licensed from RCA, which owns rights to the album in the U.S. and Canada and is available in these countries (plus, through imports from Solid Records, also in Japan, even when actually Warner Music owns rights here[4]).

Track listing[]

Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Dirty Looks" (US Album Mix)Richard Scher, Lotti Golden4:09
2."Stranger in Paradise"John Capek, Amy Sky3:59
3."Summertime"Leonard Cohen, Sharon Robinson4:05
4."Shine"Mick Hucknall3:31
5."Tell Me Again"Wintley Phipps3:14
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Selfish One"Carl Smith, Wilfred McKinley3:23
2."Cross My Heart"Sharon Robinson4:11
3."There Goes My Baby"Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, George Treadwell, Lover Patterson3:03
4."It's Hard for Me to Say"Luther Vandross4:46
5."Shockwaves"Diana Ross, Mark Cawley, Bill Wray3:49
European Version - Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Dirty Looks" (European Album Mix)Richard Scher, Lotti Golden3:21
2."Stranger in Paradise"John Capek, Amy Sky3:59
3."Summertime"Leonard Cohen, Sharon Robinson4:05
4."Shine"Mick Hucknall3:31
5."Tell Me Again"Wintley Phipps3:14
6."Mr. Lee"Emma Pought, Jannie Pought, Helen Gather, Laura Webb, Reather Dixon3:06
European Version - Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Tell Mama"Clarence Carter, Marcus Daniel, Wilbur Terrell3:39
2."Selfish One"Carl Smith, Wilfred McKinley3:23
3."Cross My Heart"Sharon Robinson4:11
4."There Goes My Baby"Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, George Treadwell, Lover Patterson3:03
5."It's Hard for Me to Say"Luther Vandross4:46
6."Shockwaves"Diana Ross, Mark Cawley, Bill Wray3:49
2014 Expanded Edition CD1
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Dirty Looks"Richard Scher, Lotti Golden4:09
2."Stranger in Paradise"John Capek, Amy Sky3:59
3."Summertime"Leonard Cohen, Sharon Robinson4:05
4."Shine"Mick Hucknall3:31
5."Tell Me Again"Wintley Phipps3:14
6."Selfish One"Carl Smith, Wilfred McKinley3:23
7."Cross My Heart"Sharon Robinson4:11
8."There Goes My Baby"Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, George Treadwell, Lover Patterson3:03
9."It's Hard for Me to Say"Luther Vandross4:46
10."Shockwaves"Diana Ross, Mark Cawley, Bill Wray3:49
11."Mr. Lee"Emma Pought, Jannie Pought, Helen Gather, Laura Webb, Reather Dixon3:06
12."Tell Mama"Clarence Carter, Marcus Daniel, Wilbur Terrell3:39
13."Sweet Soul Music"Sam Cooke, Arthur Conley, Otis Redding2:12
2014 Expanded Edition CD2
No.TitleLength
1."Dirty Looks" (12" Mix)7:49
2."Dirty Looks" (12" Instrumental)5:52
3."Dirty Looks" (Bonus Beats)2:47
4."Dirty Looks" (European Album Mix)3:20
5."Shockwaves" (12" Mix)6:40
6."Shockwaves" (12" Instrumental)3:57
7."Shockwaves" (7" Remix)3:56
8."Mr. Lee" (Swing Mix)6:58
9."Mr. Lee" (Rare Groove Version)6:47
10."Mr. Lee" (Swing Mix Edit)3:10

Personnel[]

Performers

  • Diana Ross – lead vocals
  • John Capek – keyboards
  • Joseph Joubert – keyboards, arrangements
  • Greg Phillinganes – keyboards
  • Richard Tee – keyboards
  • Steve Goldstein – synthesizers
  • Jason Miles – synthesizers
  • Steve Farris – guitars
  • Eric Gale – guitars
  • Jeff Mironov – guitars
  • Francisco Centeno – bass
  • Nathan East – bass
  • Chuck Rainey – bass
  • Steve Ferrone – drums, percussion
  • Steve Gadd – drums, percussion
  • Ivan Hampden – drums
  • Tommy Vig – drums, percussion
  • Paulinho da Costa – percussion
  • Sammy Figueroa – percussion
  • Marc Katz – arrangements
  • Paul Riser – arrangements
  • Charles Samek – arrangements
  • Albert Schoonmaker – arrangements
  • John "Skip" Anderson – arrangements (11)
  • Jocelyn Brown – backing vocals
  • Dennis Collins – backing vocals
  • Benny Diggs – backing vocals
  • Lani Groves – backing vocals
  • Maeretha Stewart – backing vocals
  • Darryl Tookes – backing vocals
  • Luther Vandross – backing vocals (11)

Production

  • Producers – Tom Dowd (Tracks 1-10 & 12); Luther Vandross (Track 11).
  • Executive Producer – Diana Ross
  • Engineers – Larry Alexander (Tracks 1-10 & 12); Paul Brown and Bruce Wildstein (Track 11).
  • Assistant Engineers (Tracks 1-10 & 12) – Nick Basich, Don Rodenback and Adrian Trujillo.
  • Track 11 mixed by Ray Bardani at Minot Studios (White Plains, NY).
  • Recorded at Record Plant and Power Station (New York, NY); Encore Studios (Burbank, CA); Westlake Studios (Los Angeles, CA).
  • Mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).
  • Musical Contractor – Sephra Herman
  • Art Direction – Ria Lewerke
  • Design – Pietro Alfieri
  • Photography – Herb Ritts
  • Stylist – Michael Roberts

Charts[]

Chart (1987) Peak
position
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[5] 53
European Top 100 Albums (Music & Media)[6] 34
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[7] 55
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[8] 20
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[9] 12
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[10] 22
UK Albums (OCC)[11] 34
US Billboard 200[12] 47

References[]

  1. ^ Allmusic review
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ "Red Hot Rhythm And Blues (2 CD Deluxe Edition)". FunkyTownGrooves.com. FunkyTownGrooves.com. Archived from the original on January 28, 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  4. ^ "Diana Ross - Red Hot Rhythm & Blues (2014, Expanded Edition, CD)". Discogs.com. Discogs contributors. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  5. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Diana Ross – Red Hot Rhythm And Blues" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  6. ^ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. June 27, 1987. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  7. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Diana Ross – Red Hot Rhythm And Blues" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  8. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Diana Ross – Red Hot Rhythm And Blues". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  9. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Diana Ross – Red Hot Rhythm And Blues". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  10. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Diana Ross – Red Hot Rhythm And Blues". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  11. ^ "Diana Ross | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  12. ^ "Diana Ross Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
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