Diana Ross | ||||
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Studio album by Diana Ross | ||||
Released | June 19, 1970 | |||
Recorded | September 1969–March 1970 | |||
Genre | Soul, R&B | |||
Length | 36:58 | |||
Label | Motown MS 711 | |||
Producer | Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson, Johnny Bristol | |||
Diana Ross chronology | ||||
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Singles from Diana Ross | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | |
Robert Christgau | C+ |
Diana Ross (later reissued rarely as Ain't No Mountain High Enough) was the debut solo album for Diana Ross. It reached #19 in the USA (#1 R&B) and sold over 500,000 copies.
The album was the ultimate test to see if the former Supremes frontwoman could make it as a solo act. With the help of the songwriting-producing team of Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson, Ross turned out a successful album. Ross did extensive work with other producers before settling with Ashford & Simpson, including Johnny Bristol, producer of her final single with The Supremes, "Someday We'll Be Together". Bristol here produces "These Things Will Keep Me Loving You" (which was a UK hit when originally recorded by The Velvelettes); the rest of the LP is fully written and produced by Ashford & Simpson.
Ross' first solo single, "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)", sold over 500,000 copies in the USA, was something of a disappointment when it charted at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. Its follow-up, a cover of Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", peaked at (#1) number one on the Hot 100, selling approximately 1,245,000 copies in the USA only and garnering a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. As a result of the single's success, Diana Ross was reissued as Ain't No Mountain High Enough, and another Ross solo LP (her 1976 LP featuring "Love Hangover") would be issued as an eponymous release.
Today, Diana Ross is widely regarded as the singer's finest solo album.