Maps of Music

Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1981)

Where the lyrics of Why Do Fools Fall in Love take you, and where it was really made.

The album Diana Ross made after leaving Motown was the first she produced herself, and it became her second RIAA-certified platinum album.

Key places

Where the album was recorded (1981)

Recording site Power Station Studio — The album was recorded at the Power Station in New York, with engineer Larry Alexander and assistant engineer Dave Greenberg. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Why Do Fools Fall in Love is the twelfth studio album by American R&B singer Diana Ross
• Released 14 September 1981 by RCA Records
• Ross' first of six albums released by RCA during the decade
• Peaked at No. 15 on the US album chart and No. 4 on the R&B chart
• The first album Ross recorded after leaving Motown
• The first album Ross produced herself

Background

• Ross left Motown and signed a $20 million deal with RCA
• Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards were first slated to produce the follow-up to the platinum Diana (1980)
• Their schedules were full, as they were also producing Debbie Harry's solo debut KooKoo (1981), a Johnny Mathis record and another Chic album
• Ross had given her word to RCA president Robert Summers to deliver an album for the 1981 holiday selling season
• After the title track returned to the Top Ten in 1981, a major controversy over Frankie Lymon's estate followed
• Ross embarked on a world tour in support of the album
• Remastered and re-released on 2 September 2014 by Funky Town Grooves, with bonus material

Recording

• Recorded at the Power Station in New York
• Engineer Larry Alexander, assistant engineer Dave Greenberg
• Production assistance by Sephra Herman, production manager Matt Murphy
• Mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound in New York

Cover

• Cover photo by Douglas Kirkland
• Inside photography by Claude Mougin

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · de.wikipedia.org · it.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 14 September 1981 by RCA Records, Ross' first album on the label
• Peaked at No. 15 on the US album chart and No. 4 on the R&B chart
• Peaked at No. 17 on the UK Albums Chart
• Reached the top ten in Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands

Records

• United States: RIAA platinum certification, the second platinum album of Ross' career after Diana (1980)
• Canada: gold
• United Kingdom: gold
• Finland: gold
• Two US top 10 hits from the album: Why Do Fools Fall in Love and Mirror Mirror
• Work That Body was a top 10 hit in the UK and a top 15 hit in the Netherlands
• It's Never Too Late was released as a single in some international territories

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org · de.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards were first set to produce this album, but their other commitments kept them from it
• Ross wrote songwriting credits only on Work That Body among the album's tracks
• The album includes a solo version of Endless Love, a number one duet with Lionel Richie earlier that year
• A lawsuit string over Frankie Lymon's estate led to the 1998 film Why Do Fools Fall in Love
• The album came out after Endless Love had already been released

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · de.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org

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