Red Hot Rhythm & Blues

Red Hot Rhythm & Blues
Studio album by Diana Ross
Released May 1987
Recorded 1986–1987
Genre R&B
Length 43:56 (US: 38:11)
Label EMI (UK) RCA (US)
Producer Tom Dowd, Luther Vandross
Diana Ross chronology
Eaten Alive
(1985)Eaten Alive1985		 Red Hot Rhythm & Blues
(1987)		 Workin' Overtime
(1989)Workin' Overtime1989
Singles from Red Hot Rhythm & Blues
  1. "Dirty Looks / So Close"
    Released: April 29, 1987
  2. "Tell Me Again / I Am Me"
    Released: July 18, 1987
  3. "Shockwaves / I Am Me"
    Released: July 18, 1987 (U.K. release only)
  4. "Mr. Lee"
    Released: January 12, 1988
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

Red Hot Rhythm and Blues is a 1987 studio album by the American singer Diana Ross released via EMI and RCA labels.

Overview

The album made the charts in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Austria, as well as reaching the top 20 in Sweden and Norway. It was Ross's final album for RCA Records. It peaked at No. 73 on the "Billboard album chart in the US despite an Emmy nominated television special that was a ratings success. It sold around 125,000 copies in the USA.[2]

The album included "Dirty Looks" (US R&B #12, UK #49) written by Richard Scher & Lotti Golden, and the ballad "It's Hard for Me to Say", produced by Luther Vandross. It also included cover versions of several R&B classics, including The Bobbettes' "Mr. Lee" (UK #58), Jackie Ross' "Selfish One," Etta James' "Tell Mama", and The Drifters' "There Goes My Baby". A Shep Pettibone remix of "Shockwaves" was released as a single in the UK which peaked at #76.

The album was promoted with a TV special featuring Etta James, Little Richard, Billy Dee Williams, Leslie Nielsen, LL Cool J, Bernadette Peters and Wolfman Jack. The tracks "Mr Lee" and "Tell Mama" did not feature on the US version of the album and the mix of "Dirty Looks" was the UK version which differs from the US version.

The cover photography was by Herb Ritts.

Re-release in 2014

The album was remastered and re-released in September 2014 by Funky Town Grooves, as an "Expanded Edition" with bonus material on a second CD.[3]

Track listing

Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Dirty Looks" (US Album Mix)Richard Scher, Lotti Golden4:09
2."Stranger In Paradise"John Capek, Amy Sky3:59
3."Summertime"Leonard Cohen, Sharon Robinson4:05
4."Shine"Mick Hucknall3:31
5."Tell Me Again"Wintley Phipps3:14
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Selfish One"Carl Smith, Wilfred McKinley3:23
2."Cross My Heart"Sharon Robinson4:11
3."There Goes My Baby"Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, George Treadwell, Lover Patterson3:03
4."It's Hard For Me To Say"Luther Vandross4:46
5."Shockwaves"Diana Ross, Mark Cawley, Bill Wray3:49

Personnel

  • Diana Ross – lead vocals
  • Luther Vandross – backing vocals (11)
  • Jocelyn Brown – backing vocals
  • Dennis Collins – backing vocals
  • Benny Diggs – backing vocals
  • Lani Groves – backing vocals
  • Maeretha Stewart – backing vocals
  • Darryl Tookes – backing vocals
  • Paulinho Da Costa – percussion
  • Steve Ferrone – drums, percussion
  • Sammy Figueroa – percussion
  • Steve Gadd – drums, percussion
  • Ivan Hampden – drums
  • Tommy Vig – drums, percussion
  • Francisco Centeno – bass
  • Nathan East – bass
  • Chuck Rainey – bass
  • Steve Farris – guitar
  • Eric Gale – guitar
  • Jeff Mironov – guitar
  • John Capek – keyboards
  • Joseph Joubert – keyboards, arrangements
  • Greg Phillinganes – keyboards
  • Richard Tee – keyboards
  • Steve Goldstein – synthesizer
  • Jason Miles – synthesizer
  • John "Skip" Anderson – arrangements (11)
  • Marc Katz – arrangements
  • Paul Riser – arrangements
  • Charles Samek – arrangements
  • Albert Schoonmaker – arrangements

Production

  • Producers – Tom Dowd (Tracks 1-10 & 12); Luther Vandross (Track 11).
  • Executive Producer – Diana Ross
  • Engineers – Larry Alexander (Tracks 1-10 & 12); Paul Brown and Bruce Wildstein (Track 11).
  • Assistant Engineers (Tracks 1-10 & 12) – Nick Basich, Don Rodenback and Adrian Trujillo.
  • Track 11 mixed by Ray Bardani at Minot Studios (White Plains, NY).
  • Recorded at Record Plant and Power Station (New York, NY); Encore Studios (Burbank, CA); Westlake Studios (Los Angeles, CA).
  • Mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).
  • Musical Contractor – Sephra Herman
  • Art Direction – Ria Lewerke
  • Design – Pietro Alfieri
  • Photography – Herb Ritts
  • Stylist – Michael Roberts

References

  1. ↑ Allmusic review
  2. ↑ http://www.greasylake.org/the-circuit/index.php?%2Ftopic%2F116321-the-supremes-diana-ross-stevie-wonder-and-ray-charlesusa-album-sales%2F
  3. ↑ "Red Hot Rhythm And Blues (2 CD Deluxe Edition)". FunkyTownGrooves.com. FunkyTownGrooves.com. Archived from the original on January 28, 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
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