Workin' Overtime
| Workin' Overtime | ||||
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| Studio album by Diana Ross | ||||
| Released | June 6, 1989 | |||
| Recorded | 1988–89 | |||
| Genre | New jack swing | |||
| Length | 39:53 | |||
| Label | Motown | |||
| Producer | Nile Rodgers | |||
| Diana Ross chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Workin' Overtime | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Robert Christgau | C+ |
Workin' Overtime is the seventeenth studio album by American singer Diana Ross, released on June 6, 1989 by Motown. It was Ross' first Motown album since Diana (1980), after Ross left the label for a then record breaking $20 million deal with RCA. Upon Diana's return to the label, Motown founder Berry Gordy, Jr. had sold the label to MCA Records and had positioned Jheryl Busby to the head of Motown. Ross was at first reluctant to return to her old label but Gordy promised her a lot in her return: not only would Ross return to Motown as a recording act, but she would be the label's part-owner. Ross reunited with collaborator Nile Rodgers to make this album - which was an attempt to gear her to a much younger audience bringing in new jack swing productions and house music.
Upon its release, Workin' Overtime received negative reviews from music critics and failed commercially despite the title track reaching number three on the Billboard R&B Singles chart. The album peaked at number 116 on the Billboard 200 album chart, earning the distinction of being the lowest charting studio album of Ross' entire solo career. Its final sales were slightly higher than 100,000 copies in the United States. Additional singles "This House" and "Bottom Line" were issued, as well as a Shep Pettibone remix of "Paradise", but all failed to revive the album's sales. In the United Kingdom the album charted at number 23 and was certified silver for sales in excess of 60,000 copies.
Following the release of her album Red Hot Rhythm & Blues (1987), Ross gave birth to her son Ross and became pregnant with Evan, which caused her to go on a hiatus from work. "I stayed off work for about a year... I was having my babies, and during that time I spent a lot of time watching BET on television, the kids doing the hip-hop and so on... and, you know, I’m a risk taker," Ross said.
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