Maps of Music

The Boss (1979)

Where the lyrics of The Boss take you, and where it was really made.

The title track reached only number 19 on the pop singles chart, yet every LP track went to number one on the dance charts.

Key places

Recording at Sigma Sound Studios (1979)

Recording site Sigma Sound Studios — The album was recorded at Sigma Sound Studios in New York City, the recording location listed for The Boss. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• The Boss: tenth studio album by American singer Diana Ross
• Released May 23, 1979, by Motown Records
• All tracks written and produced by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson
• Original LP: eight tracks over two sides
• Side A: No One Gets the Prize, I Ain't Been Licked, All for One, The Boss
• Side B: Once in the Morning, It's My House, Sparkle, I'm in the World

Background

• Written and produced by longtime Ross collaborators Ashford & Simpson
• Marked Ross's return to Top 40 radio, based on the strength of the title track
• Title track peaked at number 19 on the pop singles chart and number 12 on the US R&B chart
• All LP tracks went to number one on the dance charts
• Album peaked at number 14 on the Billboard 200
• Ross promoted the album on her first HBO special, Standing Room Only
• The special was culled from her Tour '79 stop at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas

Recording

• Recorded at Sigma Sound Studios in New York City
• Greg Arnold credited as re-mix engineer, Marathon Recording NYC
• Musicians include Michael Brecker on saxophone, Eric Gale on guitar, and Anthony Jackson on bass

Cover

• Douglas Kirkland credited for photography

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

• Title track peaked at number 19 on the pop singles chart and number 12 on the US R&B chart
• All LP tracks went to number one on the dance charts
• Album peaked at number 14 on the Billboard 200
• Album marked Ross's return to Top 40 radio, led by the title track

Records

• Certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)
• Billboard 200 peak: number 14
• Pop singles peak for the title track: number 19
• US R&B peak for the title track: number 12
• Dance chart: all LP tracks reached number one
• Remastered CD released for the 20th anniversary in 1999

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Ross promoted the album on her first HBO special, Standing Room Only.
• The special's setlist included the title song, It's My House, No One Gets the Prize, I Ain't Been Licked and All for One.
• The 1999 20th-anniversary remastered CD added 12" versions of The Boss and It's My House as extra tracks.
• Spanish-language sources describe this as the last studio album of the 1970s for the artist.

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

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