Maps of Music

Red Hot Rhythm and Blues (1987)

Where the lyrics of Red Hot Rhythm and Blues take you, and where it was really made.

This was Diana Ross's last album for RCA Records, closing a six-year run with the label that began with Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1981).

Key places

Recorded at Minot Studios (1987)

Recording site Minot Studios — The recording credits list Minot Studios in White Plains, New York as a place where this album was recorded. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Power Station, New York City (1987)

Recording site Power Station Studio — The recording credits list Power Station in New York City as one of the studios where this album was recorded. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Encore Studios (1987)

Recording site The Enterprise (Burbank) — The recording credits list Encore Studios in Burbank, California as a place where this album was recorded. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Westlake Studios (1987)

Recording site Westlake Recording Studios — The recording credits list Westlake Studios in Los Angeles as a place where this album was recorded. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Red Hot Rhythm and Blues: seventeenth studio album by American R&B singer Diana Ross
• Released in 1987 by RCA Records and EMI Records
• Produced by veteran Atlantic Records producer Tom Dowd, with one track contributed by Luther Vandross
• Last of six albums Ross released on the label during the decade
• Charted in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Austria, and reached the Top 20 in Sweden and Norway

Background

• Ross's final album for RCA Records, after a six-year stint with the label since Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1981)
• Mix of new songs from major contemporary songwriters and cover versions of R&B classics
• Leonard Cohen's “Summertime”: first recording included on this album
• Mick Hucknall's “Shine”: also released on Simply Red's concurrent album Men and Women
• Luther Vandross produced “It's Hard for Me to Say”, and later cut the track for his 1996 album Your Secret Love
• “Dirty Looks”, originally recorded by Motown outfit Warp 9, included in the set
• Retro-flavoured “Shockwaves” released in the UK as a Shep Pettibone remix
• Promotion: TV special Diana Ross: Red Hot Rhythm and Blues aired on ABC on May 20, 1987, with guests including Etta James, Little Richard and Wolfman Jack

Recording

• Recording credits name Minot Studios (White Plains, New York), Power Station (New York City), Encore Studios (Burbank, California) and Westlake Studios (Los Angeles)
• Release mastering credited to Sterling Sound

Cover

• Cover photography by Herb Ritts

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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

• Released by RCA Records and EMI Records as the seventeenth studio album by American R&B singer Diana Ross
• Last of six albums Ross released on the label during the decade
• Ross's final album for RCA Records, after six years with the label since Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1981)
• Produced by veteran Atlantic Records producer Tom Dowd, with one track contributed by Luther Vandross
• The US version left out “Mr. Lee” and “Tell Mama”, and the UK mix of “Dirty Looks” differs from the US mix
• The album mixed new songs by major contemporary songwriters with cover versions of R&B classics

Records

• Charted in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Austria
• Reached the Top 20 in Sweden and Norway
• In the US, peaked at No. 73 on the Billboard 200
• “Dirty Looks”: No. 12 on US R&B chart and No. 49 in the UK
• “Mr. Lee”: No. 58 in the UK
• “Shockwaves”, released in the UK as a Shep Pettibone remix, peaked at No. 76
• Promoted with the TV special Diana Ross: Red Hot Rhythm and Blues, which aired on ABC on May 20, 1987

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The TV special Diana Ross: Red Hot Rhythm and Blues aired on ABC on May 20, 1987, with guests including Etta James, Little Richard, Billy Dee Williams, Leslie Nielsen, LL Cool J, Bernadette Peters and Wolfman Jack.
• “Tell Mama” and “Mr. Lee” were left off the US version of the album.
• Luther Vandross produced “It's Hard for Me to Say” and later recorded the track for his 1996 album Your Secret Love.
• Mick Hucknall's “Shine” was also released on Simply Red's concurrent album Men and Women.
• Discogs notes that the “Dirty looks” mix on the RCA release is exclusive to the RCA album and not available on the EMI release.

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

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact