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Live at Caesars Palace (1974)

Where the lyrics of Live at Caesars Palace take you, and where it was really made.

This live album was only the first of two live records Diana Ross made for Motown, and it peaked at No. 64 on the US chart.

Key places

Caesars Palace, Las Vegas (1974)

Recording site Caesars Palace — The album was recorded during a 1973 performance at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, the hotel and casino where Ross's live set was captured. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Live at Caesars Palace: live album by the American singer Diana Ross
• Released in 1974 on Motown
• Recorded during a 1973 performance at Las Vegas' Caesars Palace
• First of two live albums Ross recorded for Motown
• Side A opens with "Overture" and includes "Don't Rain on My Parade" from Funny Girl, "Big Mable Murphy", "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)", a Supremes medley and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"
• Side B includes "Corner of the Sky" from Pippin, "Bein' Green", "I Loves You, Porgy", a Lady Sings the Blues medley, "The Lady Is a Tramp" and "My Man"

Background

• The Devastating Affair: American quintet of soul vocalists signed to MoWest
• MoWest was the Los Angeles-headquartered Motown subsidiary label
• The group evolved into a Motown travelling opening and backing vocalist act for Diana Ross
• The group performed backing vocals on Ross and Marvin Gaye's hit single "You're a Special Part of Me"
• Three singles: "I Want To Be Humble/My Place" (1971), "That's How It Was (Right From The Start)" (1973) and "You Don't Know (How Hard It Is To Make It)" (1974)

Recording

• Recorded during a 1973 performance at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas
• Armin Steiner credited as recording engineer
• John E. Mills and Ralph Lotten credited as remix engineers
• Gil Askey credited as arranger and conductor
• Band credits: Marty Harris (piano), Gene Pello (drums), Greg Poree (guitar), Jerry Steinholtz (percussion, conga), Orlando "Papito" Hernandez (bass)
• Nat Brandwynne and His Orchestra also credited; The Devastating Affair credited for background vocals

Cover

• Photography credited to Ed Caraeff
• Art direction and package concept credited to David Larkham, Ed Caraeff and Michael Ross

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

At release

• Cash Box: an unnamed writer for the magazine said Diana's show, in which she walks toward the audience singing and asks them to answer, is wonderfully captured on this set
• This critical reception is cited in the Spanish Wikipedia article's reception section, and the writer is not named

Reappraisal

• AllMusic wrote that the staged conversations, often awkward monologues, and rough pacing were balanced by some excellent performances
• AllMusic also said the album was produced well enough to keep her voice at the core of the sound

Records

• Peaked at No. 64 on the US chart
• Peaked at No. 15 on the R&B chart

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

Trivia

• The Devastating Affair was a MoWest quintet that later became Motown's travelling opening and backing vocal act for Diana Ross
• Ross recorded two live albums for Motown, and this was the first
• The Discogs credits list Motown/Hitsville U.S.A. Recording Studios as the mixing studio

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

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