Maps of Music

Last Time I Saw Him (1973)

Where the lyrics of Last Time I Saw Him take you, and where it was really made.

The title track was a country and Dixieland jazz departure for Ross, and country star Dottie West later remade it and reached number 8 on the C&W charts.

Key places

Recorded at Motown in Hollywood (1973)

Recording site The Music Grinder (Hollywood) — Motown Recording Studios in Hollywood is listed as a place where this album was recorded. The point is set to the city centre, not the exact building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Motown/Hitsville in Detroit (1973)

Recording site Hitsville USA — Motown/Hitsville U.S.A. Recording Studios in Detroit is listed as a place where this album was recorded. The point is set to the city centre, not the exact building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Last Time I Saw Him: fifth studio album by American singer Diana Ross
• Released 6 December 1973 on Motown Records
• Peaked at number 52 in the US and number 12 on the R&B chart
• Title track was the album's biggest hit: number 14 on the Hot 100 and number 1 for three weeks on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary chart
• The album helped Ross win the 1974 American Music Award for Favorite R&B Female

Background

• Title track was a musical departure for Ross, with a sound combining country and Dixieland jazz
• Album includes a cover of the 1960s hit 'Turn Around', popularised by Dick and Dee Dee
• Original album has 10 tracks, including 'Behind Closed Doors', previously a US number 1 country hit for Charlie Rich
• Second US single 'Sleepin'' reached number 70 pop and 50 R&B

Recording

• Arrangements by Gene Page, Michael Omartian, Tom Baird, David Blumberg, Bob Gaudio, James Carmichael and Paul Riser
• Recording is credited to Motown Recording Studios in Hollywood and Motown/Hitsville U.S.A. Recording Studios in Detroit
• Credited engineers include Art Stewart, Bill McMeekin and Dave Hassinger

Cover

• Cover photography credited to Harry Langdon

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.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

At release

• Cash Box critic wrote that the album was loved from start to finish
• Billboard critic wrote that Diana and some pretty melodies make a delicious combination
• Billboard critic wrote that this pop package firmly showed Diana's ability to stand out as a distinct vocal stylist

Records

• Title track: number 14 on the Hot 100, number 15 on the Hot Soul singles chart, number 1 for three weeks on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary chart
• Title track: number 9 Pop on the Cash Box and Record World lists, number 10 in Radio & Records, number 35 in the UK
• Album: number 52 in the US, number 12 on the R&B chart
• 'Sleepin'': second US single, number 70 pop and 50 R&B
• 'Love Me': UK second single, number 38
• 'Behind Closed Doors': top 20 hit in South Africa (number 14) and number 2 on the singles chart in Zimbabwe
• The album had a disappointing chart run and was the last studio album Ross issued for the next three years, until the 1976 Diana Ross album
• The album helped Ross win the 1974 American Music Award for Favorite R&B Female

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Title track's country and Dixieland jazz sound was a departure for Ross
• Shortly after release, Dottie West remade the song and reached number 8 on the C&W charts
• The 'Sleepin'' vocal had shades of Billie Holiday, but only reached number 70 pop
• 'Love Me', the UK second single, had lyrics full of double entendres
• 'Behind Closed Doors' was previously a US number 1 country hit for Charlie Rich

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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