Diana Ross: A Solo Career with a Rocky Start but Big Hits Ahead
Diana Ross’s solo career kicked off immediately after she left The Supremes, with her final performance with the group on 14th January 1970. Remarkably, she left with a number-one hit, Someday We’ll Be Together, from the album Farewell. Interestingly, it was only Diana who featured on this track!
Her first solo album, released in 1970, was produced under the guidance of Ashford & Simpson, who reworked two of their best songs that had already achieved success, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough and You’re All I Need To Get By. The album also introduced Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand), which became the lead single.
However, it was her second album, released later that same year, that showed a dip in success. This album featured more covers, including The Long and Winding Road and Something, both Beatles classics. While the original versions of these songs continue to captivate, Diana’s renditions didn’t leave a lasting impact on the charts. She also covered Burt Bacharach’s Close To You, but these tracks failed to replicate the magic of the originals.
In 1971, Diana continued the trend of covering other artists’ hits, with a version of Reach Out I’ll Be There—a Four Tops song. Once again, this effort didn’t resonate with audiences as much as hoped.
Then came 1973 and the release of Touch Me in the Morning. Among the tracks was a cover of John Lennon’s Imagine, but despite charting decently, the album didn’t perform as well as anticipated.
Diana Ross: A Productive Period, But A Search for Lasting Success
In the same year, now settled in California, Berry Gordy paired Diana Ross with Marvin Gaye, and together they released Diana & Marvin. While the album’s sales and chart performance suggested a long-awaited success, none of the songs have truly left a lasting impact.
Despite the lack of timeless hits, you can’t question Diana’s relentless work ethic. In 1973, she released a third solo album, Last Time I Saw Him. The title track reached number one, but honestly, how many people still remember it today?
To top it off, Diana took on the challenging role of portraying Billie Holiday in Lady Sings The Blues in the early ’70s. This was just one more triumph in a year when she also released Live at Caesar’s Palace, an album that featured not only her Supremes’ catalogue and solo hits but also covers and Billie Holiday’s songs.
Looking at the career and work ethic of artists from the ’60s and ’70s really puts into perspective the more subdued pace of the 2000s onwards.
In 1976, Diana released another solo album, which, while decent, didn’t produce a smash hit. She did make a good choice with a cover of Charlie Chaplin’s Smile, but unfortunately, it wasn’t released as a single.
From 1976 to 1979, she delivered two greatest hits compilations, a live album, three studio albums, and a soundtrack for The Wiz, which she worked on with Michael Jackson. However, none of these releases produced new hits that would stand the test of time. Still, she managed to chart with something each year.
When Diana Met Nile: The Birth of an Iconic Collaboration
By Diana Ross’s high standards, only worldwide super hits would do, so Berry Gordy decided it was time to switch things up. He called Nile Rodgers for help. Nile had just experienced a stellar year in 1979 with Sister Sledge and his own band, Chic, making him the perfect choice for the job.
Nile’s approach was to write songs specifically tailored for Diana and to apply his now-iconic band to record and produce the album. The result was Diana, an unbelievably successful release. Tracks like I’m Coming Out and Upside Down not only became massive hits but also defined Diana’s career in a way that seems almost surreal, considering her extensive history in music.
Released in 1980, during a time when Disco was supposedly “dead,” the album sold over a million copies in the U.S. alone and has since become recognised as a truly iconic work. I’m Coming Out went on to become an LGBT anthem, a fitting legacy given the story behind it. Nile had come up with the idea while at a club in New York, where he saw a transvestite at the urinal and sang to himself, “I’m coming out!”
While he didn’t share that story with Diana to convince her, Nile told her, “This is going to be your anthem, the tune you’ll walk out to for every gig.” He was right. Diana has since opened every performance with I’m Coming Out.
The following year, Diana released another album, this time without Nile Rodgers. Unfortunately, it was a disaster, selling only 200,000 copies.
Diana Ross: A Career That Spanned Decades and Defied Expectations
Perhaps growing desperate, in 1981, Diana Ross released another Greatest Hits album, which included Endless Love, a duet with Lionel Richie that became a worldwide hit.
In 1994, Luther Vandross covered the song with Mariah Carey, bringing it back into the charts.
Following this success wasn’t easy. It would take several albums and singles before she had another breakthrough in 1985 with Chain Reaction. Written by Barry Gibb, the track went to #1 in the U.K. and several other countries.
After Chain Reaction, Diana continued to release numerous albums, greatest hits collections, Christmas and jazz-themed releases, and even a cover of the classic disco tune I Will Survive. However, nothing ever quite matched the heights of her ’60s Supremes days or her solo successes in the ’70s and ’80s.
Did she give up? Not at all. Diana Ross kept pushing forward, and in 2022, she headlined the Glastonbury Festival. Sharing the bill with Paul McCartney, the pairing was met with some criticism as both legends were in their late 70s. Yet, this could speak more about the current music climate than anything else.
Still, over 40 years later, Diana started the show with I’m Coming Out, and of course, Upside Down was the highlight of the performance.
Finally, to truly appreciate the greatness of Diana’s career, here’s a fun fact: Between 1964 and 1996, Diana Ross had a charting hit in the Top 75 every year. That’s an incredible 32 consecutive years of hit tunes—a record that is unlikely to ever be broken!
Diana Ross Tunes | Related Pages
(They Long To Be) Close To You | Chords + TAB
Learn how to play (They Long To Be) Close To You by Carpenters using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and a Spytunes video guitar lesson.
| Csus2 | Bm | Bm7 | Em Esus2 E5 Em7 |
Why do birds suddenly appear, every time, you are near…
Check out the full TAB lesson here: (They Long To Be) Close To You (Carpenters) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough | Chords + TAB
You can learn how to play Ain’t No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye using chords, chord analysis, lyrics, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| Bm7/A | G#m7b5 | Gmaj7 | Em9 |
Ain’t no mountain high, ain’t no valley low, ain’t no river wide enough, baby…
Check out the full TAB lesson here: Ain’t No Mountain High Enough (Marvin Gaye + Tammi Terrell) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
I Will Survive | Chords + TAB
You can learn how to play I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| Am | Dm7 |
At first I was afraid, I was petrified…
Check out the full TAB lesson here: I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
I’m Coming Out | Chords + TAB
You can learn how to play I’m Coming Out by Diana Ross using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| Dm7 Am7 | Gm7 | F/A Bb Bb6 | F/A Bb Bb6 Am7 |
I’m coming out, I want the world to know, got to let it show…
Check out the full TAB lesson here: I’m Coming Out (Diana Ross) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
The Look Of Love | Chords + TAB
You can learn how to play The Look Of Love by Dusty Springfield using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| C#m7 | C#7sus4 | G#m7 | G#m7 |
The look of love is in your eyes…
Check out the full TAB lesson here: The Look Of Love (Dusty Springfield) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Reach Out I’ll Be There | Chords + TAB
You can learn how to play Reach Out I’ll Be There by the Four Tops using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| Abm7 Gb/Bb | Db | Abm7 Gb/Bb | Db |
Now if you feel that you can’t go on, because all of your hope is gone…
Check out the full TAB lesson here: Reach Out I’ll Be There (Four Tops) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Upside Down | Chords + TAB
You can learn how to play Upside Down by Diana Ross using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| Bb B C | F Gm | Bb B C | F Gm |
Upside down, boy you turn me. Inside out and round and round…
Check out the full TAB lesson here: Upside Down (Diana Ross) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
You’re All I Need To Get By | Chords + Lyrics
You can learn how to play You’re All I Need To Get By by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell using chords, lyrics, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| A | B/A |
(You’re all I need to get by) Like sweet morning dew, I took one look at you…
Diana Ross on the web
