US Release: 12/1972 (Motown M758)
UK Release: 3/1973 (Tamla Motown TMSP1131)

Chart Positions: US Billboard Pop #1 US Billboard R&B #2 Canada #5 Australia #43 UK #50

Singles Released from Lady Sings The Blues – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

US Release Date: 12/1972 (Motown M1211)

UK Release Date: 3/1973 (Tamla Motown TMG849)

Chart Positions: US Billboard Adult Contemporary #8 US Billboard R&B #20 US Billboard Pop #34 Canada #44

“When the announcement was made that I would be playing Billie Holiday, my mere acceptance of the role sparked a great deal of criticism….We hadn’t even started shooting and the press had already turned against me.”  Diana Ross – Secrets of a Sparrow

Having shown her impressive and versatile talents in her first solo television special, Diana!, including a natural flair for comedy and mime, Diana landed a far meatier role in the feature film Lady Sings The Blues, portraying the legendary jazz/blues singer Billie Holiday. A total contrast to anything she had tackled before, many critics had reservations about her taking the role before the movie had even hit cinemas. Being her first movie, Diana eagerly set about silencing the critics. The results were truly stunning. She far exceeded all expectations, excelling in the role and earning wide critical acclaim for her powerful performance, which was both harrowing and compelling. Showered with awards, including a Golden Globe win, she also deservedly received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress plus a BAFTA (British Academy Award).

Prior to the release of the film, Motown issued a double-album soundtrack, which served as an effective trailer. The quintessential and divine soundtrack captures some of Diana’s most challenging vocal performances. Critics and die-hard Billie Holiday fans had some qualms about her singing Billie’s songs, as vocally and physically the two artists bore little resemblance. True, there were many differences between Diana’s angelic yet soulful and often anguish-filled vocal style and the starker, husky, blues-tinged voice of Billie Holiday. So, it’s to Diana’s credit that she never once tries to emulate Billie’s sound, or, as some sneering critics predicted, deliver a Supremes-like performance. What she did do was embody the spirit, timbre and nuances in Billie’s vocal style, shrewdly encapsulated with elements of her own sound.

Diana Ross recalled in her autobiography Secrets of a Sparrow: “During my nine months of research, I made some important decisions…one of them being that I would not try to sound like Billie….I would work to bring through my own sound.  Strangely, since I listened to almost nothing else during that time, I took on the same phrasing she used, and in this way, I ended up sounding a lot like her after all.”

Diana digs deeply away at the material, relying on her acting skills to interpret the lyrics astutely, as though she had lived through all the pain and suffering that marred Billie’s short and tragic life. She captures the moods of the songs perfectly, and they emerge as unique and distinctly Diana Ross without losing the depth, spirit and often dark moods of the original recordings.

For example, she commendably captures the flavour and feel of the breathtaking Good Morning Heartache. The deep wells of emotion, loneliness and acute vulnerability expressed by Billie on her recording is given a noble and definitive working-over. Recorded by Billie in 1957 for her Solitude album and written by Irene Higginbotham, Erkin Drake and Dan Fisher, the song was later recorded and released by Motown artist Billy Eckstine.

When the song was chosen to be Diana’s next single, a lot was riding on it, as she hadn’t had a major hit since 1971’s Remember Me. Sadly, it failed to make the grade and stalled at a disappointing #34, probably as the pop radio stations didn’t give it much airplay. On the other hand, R&B stations were much more forthcoming, and it glided into the R&B chart at #20 and landed in the Top 10 Adult Contemporary. A masterpiece in itself for sure, despite its lack of mainstream chart success.

A second single was initially scheduled, but owing to the lack of support for Good Morning Heartache, these plans were swiftly dropped. It was set to have been the exhilarating Don’t Explain, carrying a spellbinding performance by Diana. The song was penned by Billie and Arthur Herzog Jr, the idea forming after Billie’s husband, Jimmy Monroe, came home one night with lipstick smeared over his collar. Diana’s interpretation is haunting, heavenly even, and sends cold shivers down your spine, especially when seeing her sing the song live in concert. Though never commercially released, Don’t Explain was subsequently issued on promotional 45s.

The stark effect of Strange Fruit, a song used in the film in which Billie describes how she saw a black man hanged from a tree following a vicious racist attack from the Ku Klux Clan, is delivered by Diana in an icy but magnificently compelling performance. Hauntingly atmospheric in tone, she stretches herself vocally, becoming totally immersed as her voice drips with a genuine and raw emotion.

Another major highlight is the stirring, gutsy God Bless The Child, which first appeared as the B-side to Good Morning Heartache. Diana once again loses that occasionally angelic sound to deliver a strikingly husky, lower-register performance that’s just mesmerising. In Billie’s autobiography, she recalled an argument with her mother over money, and during this heated exchange, her mom said, “God bless the child, that’s got his own.” Feeling enraged, this led to Billie turning the line into a starting point for the song. Billie’s original version was later honoured with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1976.

Strange Fruit was written in the late 1930s by teacher Abel Meerepol, originally as a poem, about the lynching of African-Americans. Lynchings occurred in the south primarily, but there were several others in various regions. The writer, Abel, set Strange Fruit to music and, along with his wife and singer Laura Duncan, performed it as a protest song against racism in many venues across New York, including Madison Square Garden. Years later in 1978, Billie Holiday’s definitive reading of the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, as well as later being listed in the Songs of the Century, by the Recording Industry of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.

My Man (Mon Homme) is just triumphant. The beauty and essence of soul in Diana’s own sound pours out on this exalting number. Her diction, phrasing and enunciation are so precise, and the more complex inclines of the song are mastered to perfection. A deep, aching sadness is conveyed by Diana here, the sense of isolation and choked-up emotion cleverly executed. The slow-burning piano-led arrangement grows into a rousing climax when she’s backed by an overflow of strings and horns. Diana remains remarkably understated, never quite letting go yet retaining the sombre, despairing mood and sounding more powerful than ever. The song originated in France and was first recorded in the English language by Ziegfield Follies singer Fanny Brice. Though many contemporary artists have tackled My Man, it’s Diana Ross’ heartbreaking rendition that easily ranks among the definitive versions of the song.

There are occasional lifts in mood from the doom and gloom, mainly on the swinging, sassy Gimme A Pigfoot And A Bottle Of Beer. A song screaming out about fun and rebellion, Diana sounds completely authentic here in a song that came from the 1930s. She’s also able to showcase her lower and upper vocal range. There’s a playful and joyous take on Gershwin’s Love Is Here To Stay while ‘T’ain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do is a defiant statement that still has an air of fun about it. An eight-bar Vaudeville blues song written by Porter Grainger and Everett Robins in 1922, this became an early blues standard that, as well as by Billie Holiday, was also recorded by the likes of Bessie Smith, Mississippi John Hurt and Jimmy Witherspoon, among others.

The considerably restrained anguish in Diana’s voice on You’re Mean To Me balances the sparkling Fine And Mellow. A Billie Holiday original from the late 1930s, the song depicts the harsh treatment of a woman at the hands of her abusive man. Starting with loud, blaring horns, the brash song covers drinking, gambling and sex, wrapped in an exciting jazz-blues arrangement. Diana’s vocal approach is like a dignified swagger, sounding dynamic yet restrained throughout, lagging behind the beat with style.

Her interpretation of What A Little Moonlight Can Do is slightly more bubbly, but she conveys the yearning that was so true to Billie’s style on I Cried For You. The latter is another swinging tune recorded in an upbeat style, the jazz musicians excelling with their rhythm section and piano and horns work. Absolutely stunning and one of the very best tracks recorded for the soundtrack is the haunting and spine-tingling Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be). Both sombre and mellow in Gil Askey’s beautiful arrangement, Diana displays the true depth in her vocal delivery here, giving a goosebump-ridden performance. Written by Jimmy Davis, Roger ‘Ram’ Ramirez and James Sherman, Billie Holiday’s rendition was another to be honoured with the Grammy Hall Of Fame Award in 1989.

Much the same could be said for her raw, bluesy sound on Lady Sings The Blues, another song by Billie, which she wrote with jazz pianist Herbie Nichols. There’s also astounding reworkings of Gershwin’s The Man I Love and All Of Me, the latter recorded numerous times by artists including Bing Cosby, Louis Armstrong, Sarah Vaughan, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. One of the songs where Diana sounds remarkably like Billie is on the stark You’ve Changed. Recorded by Billie on her Lady In Satin album, Diana’s interpretation is one of the strongest of the soundtrack and one of the most masterful and haunting.

The Lady Sings The Blues soundtrack was recorded under the supervision and guidance of Gil Askey, who had every faith in Diana’s ability to bring Billie Holiday to the silver screen: “We already knew what Diana could do with Billie’s stuff from what she did when we gave her My Man to sing years earlier on that Bob Hope special. So we weren’t at all reluctant or worried about her ability to sing jazz. I gave her a tape of eighteen songs we intended to use in the movie, songs Billie Holiday had recorded. Every night, she’d lie in bed with her earphones on and listen to that music, falling asleep with the music of Holiday in her head. She did this for months.”

Some of the nifty, talented jazz musicians at work on the soundtrack had already worked with Billie; they included guitarist John Collins and bassist Red Holloway.

The complete track listing in running order for the Lady Sings The Blues soundtrack is as follows: The Arrest, Lady Sings The Blues, Baltimore Brothel, Billie Sneaks Into Deans And Deans, Swinging Uptown, ‘T’aint Nobody’s Business If I Do, Big Ben, C.C Rider, All Of Me, The Man I Love, Them There Eyes, Gardenias From Louis, Cafe Manhattan, Had You Been Around, Love Theme, Any Happy Home, I Cried For You (Now It’s Your Turn To Cry Over Me), Billie And Harry, Don’t Explain, Mean To Me, Fine And Mellow, Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be), You’ve Changed, Gimme A Pigfoot And A Bottle Of Beer, Good Morning Heartache, All Of Me, Love Theme, My Man (Mon Homme), Don’t Explain, I Cried For You, Strange Fruit, God Bless The Child, Closing Theme. The songs are interspersed with dialogue from the film.

The soundtrack sold in excess of three hundred thousand copies within its first week of release and shot up the US Pop chart to #1. It was a triumph for all concerned, especially Diana, who was now at a positive turning point in her career. The film changed many critics’ perceptions of Diana Ross from here. It seems inconceivable the album was never nominated for a Grammy, but this indeed was the case. However, it received the recognition it deserved by scooping album of the year at the annual American Music Awards. And at the 45th Annual Academy Awards ceremony in 1973, Diana was pipped for best actress by Liza Minnelli for her performance in Cabaret. Nonetheless, Diana’s nomination led to thirty film offers, which she was forced to refuse, as she was signed to Paramount for at least one other film.

She graced the cover of several magazine covers (mainly relating to Lady Sings The Blues), which included Jet, Ebony, Thursday, Soul, Rap!, Cash Box and Life.

On New Year’s Day 1973, Diana provided the half-time entertainment at the Rose Bowl, performing a version of Love Is Here To Stay.

The following month, she appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine under the heading ‘The Diana Ross Story’ then a few months later on Sepia with it reading ‘Diana Ross: Will she win an Oscar?’, then on the cover of TV Week in March, shared the cover alongside singer/actress Ann Margret on Photoplay magazine, appeared on the Soul Train TV show in April before gracing the cover of Blues & Soul magazine again.

US Release: 10/1970 (Motown Ms 724)
UK Release: 4/1971 (Tamla Motown 11178)

Track Listing

My Place

Ain’t No Sad Song

Everything Is Everything

Baby It’s Love

I’m Still Waiting

Doobedood’ndoobe, Doobedood’ndoobe, Doobedood’ndoo

Come Together

The Long And Winding Road

I Love You (Call Me)

How About You

(They Long To Be) Close To You

Chart Positions: US Billboard R&B #5 UK #31 US Billboard Pop #42 Canada #67

Singles from Everything Is Everything

UK Release: 23 July 1971 (TMG 781) US Release: 13 October 1971

Chart Positions: UK #1 Ireland #1 New Zealand #11 US Billboard R&B #40 US Billboard Pop #63 Australia #69 US Cash Box #71 Canada #81

Released: 28 April 1972

Chart Positions: UK #12

“I began to feel knots in my stomach when I knew there would be no overall concept to the album.” Deke Richards

“I wasn’t satisfied with the whole album, on which there are only one or two songs I really like. When I do an album, I like it to be good all the way through. I don’t want throw-outs.” Diana Ross

These days, it’s common for an artist to release one album every two to three years, sometimes even longer. Back in 1970 at Motown, Berry Gordy went to great lengths to ensure his leading lady, Diana Ross, was kept in the spotlight. Just months after her self-titled solo debut, Motown issued Diana’s sophomore solo album. Titled Everything Is Everything, the project was rapidly thrown together with production entirely handed over to Deke Richards and Hal Davis.

Worried about the disappointing sales of ‘Reach Out And Touch (Somebody’s Hand)’ and unsure of how the public might react to Diana’s debut album, Berry Gordy wanted a much more commercially slanted, radio-friendly album at the ready, just in case the debut flopped. In fact, at one point, both the debut and Everything Is Everything were marketed at the same time.

Thankfully, after the blockbuster success of ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’, Ashford & Simpson were rapidly appointed as producers of a follow-up single and album, so this second solo album quickly became something of a lost classic coming in between two stand-out albums in her career. ‘I’m Still Waiting’ was belatedly released a year later by which time she was already enjoying success with her third album, so with no singles at the time to help promote the project it only enjoyed a brief run on the UK and US album charts.

Deke Richards was only twenty years old at the time and said he had been a fan of Diana for several years; to be producing a whole album for her was as daunting as much as it was an honour. He had been riding high on his success with the Jackson 5 and received several accolades for his work on classics such as ‘I Want You Back’, ‘ABC’ and ‘The Love You Save’. Deke had also worked with Diana back in her days as a Supreme including on the no.1 hit ‘Love Child’ and on Diana Ross & The Supremes Sing & Perform Funny Girl. Berry Gordy urged Diana to work with new younger songwriters and producers as an experiment.

Diana said at the time: “It’s a good way to see what kind of futures they can have at Motown, and since I’m searching for direction and they’re searching for identities, it seems to work.”

While Deke Richards said his first impression of Diana was that she seemed pushy: “Maybe that was because I was so laid-back and nervous. I didn’t really know how to handle this thing, producing the star of Motown. Though she always did what I told her to do, she was checking me out closely because I was still sort of new to the fold and also so young. It was a little intimidating because I idolised her, yet I knew I had to take control of the recording sessions.”

It’s hard not to conclude this album doesn’t hang together nearly as well as Diana Ross, nor did it stretch or challenge her vocally as that album had. A rather disjointed collection, it lacks any overall theme or continuity. On the plus side, Everything Is Everything is still a thoroughly entertaining piece of work and definitely now stands as a classic entry in Diana’s catalogue. It’s just a shame that at the time of its initial release it was somewhat overlooked.

By 1970, the familiar and distinctive Motown sound was beginning to fade away as the company prepared to move its headquarters from downtown Detroit to swinging Los Angeles. However, that Motown magic is still very apparent on this album, even if much of it was recorded in LA. The project opens on a high with the swinging, bouncy and distinctly Supremes-like ‘My Place’. Baring a tinny sound like most of the classic Motown records in the sixties, this energetic Hal Davis production has Diana singing with all her heart and soul. It’s a youthful performance, brimming with sparkle and vibrancy that does signal her going backwards because she sounds like she’s back with The Supremes, but it’s such a delicious vocal that that almost doesn’t matter.

Deke Richards remembers in the booklet accompanying the 2008 expanded edition CD issue of Everything Is Everything: “There was one place near the end where Diana’s voice distorted during the chorus. It drove me crazy. I kept telling Hal (Davis) to bring her back in and redub that part. He felt it wouldn’t match up. I gave in for one reason—when she hit the note, it actually created a unique harmonic distortion. So I left it in.”

‘My Place’ was highlighted by Ed Ochs in his review of the album for Billboard magazine, writing: ” Our local ears predict that ‘My Place,’ from Diana Ross’ ‘Everything Is Everything’ LP will be her next single.” It definitely sounds like a true Diana Ross and Motown classic.

More raw, urban and gritty is the compelling ‘Ain’t No Sad Song’, which steers into a light but exceedingly clever funk. There’s a much harder edge in Diana’s earthy and husky vocal. She aggressively bites into the lyrics, sounding perfect in this lower range and a welcome detour from the album’s fun, catchy opener. In Pop Matters review of the Expanded Edition in 2008, they noted the uncanny vocal resemblances of Diana and Eddie Kendricks of The Temptations. A definite highlight of the project, the song was written by Diana’s own brother, Chico, Hal Davis and Berry Gordy IV, the son of the Motown founder who on the original vinyl release was listed as ‘The Bear’.

After this funk-ridden number comes the title track, which again reverts back to a Supremes-like sound. This seems strange when you consider Diana was trying to establish a new identity and redefine herself as a soloist. Even so, it’s a delightful little ditty, Diana’s voice as angelic as ever, echos of ‘Baby Love’ pulsating throughout with a neat, contemporary twist. The lyrics are strictly in the simplistic vein as those early Supremes classics, and nothing wrong with that as these are indeed sublime all-time pop classics but after making such a stylistic, credible change on the debut, it almost seems redundant in the scheme of things.

The phrase “Everything Is Everything” was considered hip at this time (seems laughably dated now) and was already circulating as the title song of Donny Hathaway’s debut album on Atco Records, and Latin star Eddie Palmieri had also written a song with the same title. Written by Margaret Gordy, once Berry Gordy’s girlfriend, she would often use his surname as a songwriter. They had a son together, Kennedy, who at that point was a tender six years old. Kennedy appeared briefly on Diana’s first solo television special in 1971 and years later emerged as an artist himself, more famously known as Rockwell.

Next up is a song written by Marvin Gaye, Anna Gordy-Gaye and Charles Laskey, ‘Baby It’s Love’. One of the best of the album sessions here, its driving percussion and nifty guitar work is made even more effective by the glorious, roaring saxophone interludes woven in and out of the verses and chorus. Not at all dissimilar to the kind of work Marvin Gaye was recording and producing at this point, the overdub sessions for ‘Baby It’s Love’ and Marvin’s ‘What’s Going On’ took place back to back. Hearing the two tracks, you can detect the vast similarities in the alto-saxophone lines by Eli Fountain. Diana’s young, naïve -sounding voice remains sumptuous and refreshing throughout, and this sounds like it could quite easily have been a hit in its own right. A pounding, soulful arrangement to boot, the track’s subtle urgency climaxes in a big burst of energy as Diana and the instrumental shift up in gear.

‘I’m Still Waiting’ is a beautifully melodic, well-crafted ballad penned by Deke. The song tells the sentimental, touching story of a young girl who’s heartbroken and distraught when her playground sweetheart has to leave her to move away in a far-off location. Her boyfriend tries to reassure her by promising that some day, true love will come along into her life and that she’ll then forget all about him. However, once she’s grown up, she’s never able to relinquish the love she had for him, imploring her true love to return. Diana’s sweet, evocative tone is soft and soothing throughout, conveying natural warmth and passion while evoking a strong air of vulnerability.

Deke recalled the process of composing this timeless classic: “I wrote the original basic chart, which I wanted to be simple and unassuming. At the last minute, I wrote an alternative bass- and drum-line just in case it sounded too straight. I knew it was too hard and too funky, but I cut it anyway. I cut it again with the original, softer, easy-flowing feel. Then I combined both arrangements. This way, I figured I could have my cake and eat it too. Diana liked the song. I was trying to keep her sounding young, which was unusual for Diana. I had to hold her back at times, especially on the chorus.”

Berry Gordy wasn’t sure of the track, apparently telling Deke that he said it didn’t sound at all like Diana. Deke agreed, but asked him to imagine she was playing the part of somebody else. A deceptively simple piece of work, here Diana is able to use her acting abilities to tell this story-song.

British radio DJ Tony Blackburn (a huge, lifelong fan of Diana) heard ‘I’m Still Waiting’ on the album and loved it so much that he urged the Tamla Motown label to release it as a single and guaranteed to play it at least ten times a day on his radio show in return. Tamla Motown agreed and Tony kept his end of the bargain. ‘I’m Still Waiting’ catapulted to the top of the UK chart in 1971, remaining there for four weeks. However, when it was released in the US on the strength of its enormous UK success, the track only crawled into the lower end of the chart, stopping at a dire #63. It fared little better on the R&B chart. ‘I’m Still Waiting’ seemed to be caught in what some called the ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ backlash.

Deke Richards, though thrilled the song had become a number-one hit in the UK, was devastated it was such a poor seller in his home country: “It broke my heart. It was the third-biggest-selling record of all time in England, and I was pleased about it, but that wasn’t home. When Motown released it here, it flopped, and I was shocked. She started at the sky (with Ain’t No Mountain High Enough), and there was nowhere to go after that great song. Nobody expected a nice little ballad from Diana at that point, and that’s what I had. It was a pretty song that just wasn’t good enough.”

Despite its lack of significant chart action in the US, ‘I’m Still Waiting’ remains one of the most popular and acclaimed songs in her long, illustrious career. When performing the song in the UK, Ms.Ross was totally bemused by the thunderous applause she received when she first began performing the song as it had intended to be just been another album session.

Another song written by Deke, ‘Doobedoodndoobe, Doobedoodndoobe, Doobedoodndoo’, is an alluring, majestic mid-tempo number with religious undertones, coming complete with shimmering gospel backing vocals and a dazzling performance from Diana. Endearingly disjointed, this episodic song careers along with laid-back grooves on the verses before spiralling into a choir-laden chorus. The essence and beauty of Diana’s golden rich voice burns bright here and probably the most challenging vocally on the album, Diana called on to fluctuate between her lower and higher range.

Deke stated in 2008 that he considered the song to be one of his best writing efforts and had pencilled in the title as ‘I Just Started Living’. It was Berry Gordy that wanted the ‘Doobedoodndoobe’ title, convinced that curiosity in this odd-sounding title would practically guarantee radio airplay. This was much to Deke’s chagrin but Berry got his wish. The track was lifted as a British single in 1972 to become a #12 hit. The belated release was mainly to fill the void of no new material from Diana, as at that time she was working on her screen debut in Lady Sings The Blues.

Even more startling and one of the more adventurous and outstanding tracks is the thrilling version of The Beatles’ ‘Come Together’. Burning undertones of hot pulsating funk in the Motown backing and her dynamite performance make this a rocking and credible take. Many artists have recorded this Beatles classic, but Diana’s ranks among the very best, as it’s given a deep and more soulful vibe that zooms in on that psychedelic feel, with lots of bizarre, synchronised noises on the thrashing, echoey climax. R&B radio stations jumped on this, playing it constantly, so much so, it made Jet magazine’s top twenty singles list. Yet in spite of these accolades, like the album itself, the track has since slipped under the radar, only known amongst die-hard Diana Ross fans which seems a crying shame. There is an unbelievable amount of her recordings that are just begging to be rediscovered and her rendition of ‘Come Together’ is definitely one of them, in my opinion.

Deke recalled in the CD notes to the Expanded Edition in 2008: “The entire track was recorded live at RCA in Hollywood. During the session, I was in the middle of the fade when I decided to make a change in the arrangement. From inside the control room, I signalled the musicians to continue and then walked quietly into the studio. While the musicians played, I went over and talked directly into the ears of the rhythm section to tell them what to do. I didn’t tell the strings and brass. I didn’t have the time to write all their parts. In the background you can hear them stop playing sporadically. I had my conductor bring them back in when I gave the signal. Of course, everyone looked at me as if I was crazy. When I finally dubbed in Diana’s voice, I had her talk to the band as if she was controlling the entire session. The end result is fun, free and kinda funky.”

Deke Richards intended to keep The Beatles’ cuts for a proposed project called Diana Ross Takes On The Beatles, but the idea was scrapped, hence the reason for the inclusion of ‘Come Together’ here. Also included is another session from that shelved album, ‘The Long And Winding Road’. Credited to Paul McCartney and John Lennon, this had been recorded by the fab four for their album Let It Be, and when extracted as a single, it became their twentieth and final American number-one hit. Diana does an excellent job on her rendition, her breathy, seamless voice complementing the steadily sweeping, exotic-flavoured music to good effect. She also enhances her voice at points, holding on to high, lingering notes impressively.

What demonstrated her growing vocal power is a stunning reworking of Aretha Franklin’s I Love You (Call Me). Although Diana’s voice doesn’t carry the volume and power of Aretha Franklin’s, she still rates as a great singer in her uniqueness, who can throw her voice around to fit into any genre, any mood and in any pitch. This is perfectly illustrated here, as an untypically raw sound in her voice pours out as the track progresses. Deke Richards recalled in the liner notes to the 2008 reissue: “I always wanted to cut [this song] on Diana, to take her away from the pop sound, and give her a chance to cut loose… There was very little direction…Diana already knew the tune and liked my arrangement ”  Even though the song was an album-only track, it went on to be nominated for a Grammy in the R&B Female Vocalist Category the following year.

Everything Is Everything is then driven back into Motown territory on the bouncy ‘How About You’. Previously recorded by Chris Clarke in a far more subdued style, Diana’s take is more upbeat and energetic. Containing many of those trademark, rushy, Motown beats, it’s another glorious performance from Diana over a winning blend of soul music crossed with a Broadway vibe. Incredibly catchy, ‘How About You’ was considered for release as a single but instead popped up as the B-side to her third solo single ‘Remember Me’.

The album closes with an enthralling version of ‘(They Long To Be) Close To You’. The song had first been recorded by Richard Chamberlain in 1963, followed by Dionne Warwick that same year (Dionne then rerecorded it in 1964, accompanied by a Burt Bacharach arrangement, for her studio album Make Way For Dionne Warwick). However, it’s The Carpenters’ treatment that remains the most famous and popular. Diana certainly stamps her own mark on it, with a beautiful glowing performance. She also gives the song a distinctly more soulful feel in comparison to the rather saccharine pop treatment The Carpenters gave their version. Diana’s rendition resurfaced later as the B-side to her fourth American single, ‘Reach Out I’ll Be There’.

Everything Is Everything didn’t receive the same critical or commercial success as Diana’s debut album. It stalled at a disappointing #42 in America, but bounced into the R&B Top 5. Success in the UK was equally lukewarm; it climbed no higher than #31. However, contrary to this disappointing commercial impact, Diana was sitting pretty and could do no wrong. In late 1970, she was named by Billboard magazine as that year’s number-one, pop, female vocalist.

In the summer of 2008, the album finally resurfaced (and not before time). Titled Everything Is Everything: Expanded Edition, it boasted several unreleased tracks from the Motown vaults. The compelling ‘Wish I Knew’ was written by Deke Richards and Debbie Dean and also produced by Deke. This stunning track opens with light, dreamy, shimmering music, making way for a magnificently sparse orchestration and abrupt, dramatic interludes. Diana’s performance is impressive and her diction and lyrical phrasing impeccable. She had previously recorded an even better version of this song in 1968 while with The Supremes (although the backing vocals were never completed, so it was effectively a Diana Ross solo). It can also be found on the 2008 Diana Ross & The Supremes compilation Let The Music Play: Supremes Rarities 1960-1969/Motown Lost & Found.

‘What Are You Doing For The Rest Of Your Life?’ written by Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman and Michael Legrand, and produced once again by Deke, is included in its entirety. This Academy Award-nominated song, written for the 1969 movie The Happy Ending, performed by Michael Dee, was another of the sessions excluded from the original release of Everything Is Everything. Before the track kicks in, Diana can be heard saying, “What’s that note, Deke, before I get to it? Give it to me.” Then she clears her throat ready to proceed as he replies, “It’s this note next to it.” Her performance is haunting and positively spine-tingling.

The striking late-night sound of George Harrison’s Something was another of the sessions intended for the cancelled Diana Ross Takes On The Beatles. It opens with a beautiful saxophone interlude, mixing with light drumbeats and lush, sweeping strings. I always love that engaging sound of the sax, and it fits into the production neatly. Diana delivers a beautifully understated performance on an arrangement that wildly swerves into big band and swinging jazz, especially at the bridge of the song.

Following the three glorious canned sessions from the original album, another version of ‘Ain’t No Sad Song’ pops up, this time with alternate lyrics courtesy of Berry Gordy, Hal Davis and Chico Ross. Unlike the original, this version begins with the chorus. I’ve always loved this funky little number, and although it doesn’t quite manage to eclipse the original, it still emerges as a worthwhile inclusion on this reissue. There’s also an alternate vocal performance of the stunning, saxophone-led ‘Baby It’s Love’. Again this makes for wonderful nostalgia as the recording session is featured in full, allowing us to hear Diana preparing her vocals at the start. It captures a twenty-six-year-old Diana in the recording studio, having fun and working her unique magic to full effect.

The updated 1982 remix of ‘Come Together’ was intended for the cancelled album, Revelations. Again this version doesn’t outshine the original mix on Everything Is Everything, but it does boast bold, inventive and adventurous, spiralling rhythms. The chorus rockets with Diana’s crystal-clear lead, backed by soaring gospel-backing vocals.

The 1990 Phil Chil remix of ‘I’m Still Waiting’ has a much funkier urban beat, successfully bringing the classic UK 1971 chart-topper, ‘I’m Still Waiting’, into the 1990s. Phil was one of the hippest remixers at the time. This version steadily climbed to #21 in the UK chart in the summer of that year.

Back to 1970 and in December Diana Ross was the cover story on Soul Illustrated magazine, under the heading ‘How Diana Ross got this way’.

On 4 February 1971, Diana guest-starred on Make Room For Granddaddy with comedian Danny Thomas. and that same month, following the announcement of her marriage to Bob Silberstein, she appeared on the cover of Soul newspaper. In April, she appeared in a spread for Harper’s Bazaar magazine and days later was on the cover of Jet magazine with the heading ‘The New Diana Ross’.