Maps of Music

Baby It's Me (1977)

Where the lyrics of Baby It's Me take you, and where it was really made.

Baby It's Me never made the UK charts, yet it was certified silver for UK sales of more than 60,000 copies.

Key places

Recorded at Studio 55, Los Angeles (1977)

Recording site Motown Recording Studios — Discogs lists Studio 55 in Los Angeles as the recording location for the album. The pin sits at city-centre level, so it marks Los Angeles rather than the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Strings recorded at Air Studios, London (1977)

Recording site AIR Studios — Strings for two album tracks, Too Shy To Say and Come In From The Rain, were recorded at Air Studios in London. The pin marks the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Baby It's Me: eighth studio album by American singer Diana Ross
• Released 16 September 1977 by Motown Records
• Produced by Richard Perry
• Peaked at No. 18 on the Billboard Top 200 and No. 7 on the R&B album chart
• Lead hit "Gettin' Ready for Love" reached No. 27 on the US Billboard Hot 100
• Other charting singles: "You Got It" and "Your Love Is So Good for Me"

Background

• Adult Contemporary airplay drove the album's success
• "Gettin' Ready for Love" (#8) and "You Got It" (#9) were top 10 Adult Contemporary hits
• "Your Love Is So Good for Me" ranked #15 on Billboard's newly formed Dance charts
• "Your Love Is So Good for Me" received a Grammy nomination
• Record World placed "Your Love Is So Good For Me" at #7 on its Disco chart
• Ross continued to work with Perry, including her duet with Julio Iglesias, "All of You", several years later
• Perry also remixed the Ross-penned "So Close" for its 1983 single release

Recording

• The album includes cover versions of songs by Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers and Melissa Manchester
• Discogs lists Studio 55 in Los Angeles as the recording location
• Strings on "Too Shy To Say" and "Come In From The Rain" were recorded at Air Studios, London
• Howard Steele credited as recording and remix engineer

Cover

• Art direction by David Larkham
• Photography by Victor Skrebneski

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Diana Ross was born March 26, 1944 in Detroit, Michigan, and was the lead singer of the Supremes.
• The Supremes joined Motown in 1961 under the name chosen by Florence Ballard, after the group first formed as the Primettes.
• The Supremes became Motown's most successful act in the 1960s and one of the best-selling girl groups of all time.

Members

• The Supremes' members included Diana Ross, Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, and later Cindy Birdsong.
• Ross left the Supremes in 1970 and began a solo career.

Career

• The Supremes remain the best-charting female group in history, with 12 number-one pop singles on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Ross's solo career produced six Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, including "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "Endless Love".
• Ross starred in Lady Sings the Blues (1972), earning Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations, and later starred in Mahogany and The Wiz.
• Ross has sold over 100 million records worldwide as a solo artist.
• Ross was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 as a member of the Supremes and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

Reappraisal

• Goldmine wrote in 2017 that, at its best, the album gave Ross's output enough fresh air that her later return to basics kept the new aura in play
• The album is described as having breathed fresh air into her output

Records

• Billboard Top 200: peaked at No. 18
• R&B album chart: peaked at No. 7
• Billboard Adult Contemporary: "Gettin' Ready for Love" (#8) and "You Got It" (#9) were top 10 hits
• Billboard Hot 100: "Gettin' Ready for Love" reached No. 27
• Record World Disco chart: "Your Love Is So Good For Me" at #7
• UK: never made the UK charts
• UK: certified silver for sales in excess of 60,000 copies
• Grammy nomination for "Your Love Is So Good for Me"

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album was re-released in 2014 as an Expanded Edition with 11 extra tracks, in digital format only.
• The bonus tracks included 2014 mixes of many original cuts, plus four unreleased songs from the sessions: "Brass Band", "Country John", "Room Enough for Two" and a cover of Peter Frampton's 1975 hit "Baby, I Love Your Way".
• An unreleased 12" mix of the album track "Top of the World" was created in 1978 and considered for release as the 4th single.
• Ross later paired with Julio Iglesias on the duet "All of You", which Richard Perry also worked on.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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