Maps of Music

The Force Behind the Power (1991)

Where the lyrics of The Force Behind the Power take you, and where it was really made.

This album became Diana Ross's biggest-selling studio album in the UK, selling over half a million copies there alone, and its best-known song was first recorded for a cartoon film.

Key places

Recording location: Bill Schnee Studios (1991)

Recording site Schnee Studio — Listed as a recording location for this album. The map point sits at North Hollywood city center, not at the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording location: Conway Studios (1991)

Recording site Conway Recording Studios — Listed as a recording location for this album. The point marks the Conway Studios building in Hollywood. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording location: Studio F, Los Angeles (1991)

Recording site Motown Recording Studios — Listed as a recording location for this album. The map point sits at Los Angeles city center, not at a studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording location: Cal Harris Studios (1991)

Recording site Very Loud House (Woodland Hills) — Listed as a recording location for this album. The map point sits at Woodland Hills city center, not at the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording location: The Sandbox Studios (1991)

Recording site The Sandbox Studios — Listed as a recording location for this album. The map point sits at Easton city center, not at the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording location: The Hit Factory (1991)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — Listed as a recording location for this album. The map point sits at New York City city center, not at the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording location: Bubble Hill Studios (1991)

Recording site Bubble Hill Studios — Listed as a recording location for this album. The map point sits at Englewood city center, not at the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording location: Abbey Road Studios (1991)

Recording site Abbey Road Studios — Listed as a recording location for this album. The point marks the Abbey Road Studios building in London. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: Jubilee line to St John's Wood station, then about a 5-minute walk.

Album story

Overview

• The Force Behind the Power: nineteenth studio album by American singer Diana Ross
• Released September 10, 1991 by Motown Records
• Reached No. 11 on the UK Albums chart
• Biggest-selling studio album of her career in the UK, with over half a million copies sold there
• Two editions: US edition with 11 tracks, International edition with 13 tracks
• Diana Ross credited as executive producer and for design concepts
• Several producers across the tracks: James Anthony Carmichael, Peter Asher, Stevie Wonder, Al B. Sure! and Kyle West
• Title track produced by Stevie Wonder

Background

• Japanese-language article: released in 1991 as a Diana Ross album
• In Japan, the song "If We Hold on Together" was not originally planned for inclusion
• It was added after it became the theme song of the TBS drama Omoide ni Kawaru Made
• Japanese staff pressed for its inclusion, and it was added at the last minute
• The album was produced with Stevie Wonder and Narada Michael Walden among others

Recording

• Engineers credited include Calvin Harris, Frank Wolf, Steve Van Arden and Larry Alexander
• Recording credits list studios in the Los Angeles area, Woodland Hills, New York, Easton, Englewood and London

Cover

• Photography by Herb Ritts
• Painting by Barry Kamen
• Art direction by Dennis Woloch

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ja.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

• Reached No. 11 on the UK Albums chart on release
• UK singles: "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" reached No. 2 on the UK Singles chart and No. 26 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart
• "One Shining Moment" reached No. 10 and the Stevie Wonder-produced title track reached No. 27 on the UK singles chart
• "If We Hold on Together" reached No. 11 on the UK singles chart
• "Heart (Don't Change My Mind)" reached No. 31 on the UK singles chart
• The album spun off five hit singles in the UK

Records

• UK album sales: biggest-selling studio album of her career in the UK
• UK certification: platinum for sales exceeding 300,000 copies
• BPI Silver disc for "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" for UK sales of over 200,000 copies
• "No Matter What You Do", a duet with Al B. Sure!, peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart
• "You're Gonna Love It" reached No. 24 on the US Dance/Club Play chart
• "If We Hold on Together" reached No. 1 on the Japanese International single charts for 12 weeks
• In total the song sold over 465,000 copies

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album spun off five hit singles in the UK.
• "If We Hold on Together" was originally recorded for the 1988 animated film The Land Before Time.
• In Japan the song was added to the album after it became the theme of the TBS drama Omoide ni Kawaru Made.
• The song reached No. 1 on the Japanese International single charts for 12 weeks, the biggest-selling record by a foreign artist there.
• The international edition adds "You and I" and the duet "No Matter What You Do" with Al B. Sure!.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ja.wikipedia.org

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