trueiopian said:

seriously?

Timmy84 said:

It woulda been fun if Donna and Diana had teamed up and recorded it as a duet

phunkdaddy said:

Wow,they turned that song down? That song was perfect for them,and would have fit nicely on their 1987 album 'Just Gets Better With Time'.It woulda been a nice follow-up single to "Rock Steady".

SoulAlive said:

If they had their way, their version would be more rock 'n' roll, lol. Both of them were going for the rock sound in the '80s though Diana's still had a dance club flair.

Mstrustme said:

Yeah,in 1979 she met with Chic producers Niles Rodgers and Bernard Edwards,determined to make a disco album but I'm not entirely sure if it was her or them who backed out of the project.She sat down at the piano and started singing some ridiculous lyrics about hanging out at the disco,and the two producers were horrified....lol....they didn't think it would work.She ended up working with Van Mccoy instead.

"Ring My Bell" was originally offered to Stacy Lattisaw with different but still provocative lyrics (for her age at the time), so Anita Ward got it and she was barely 21 herself.

Sylvia's "Pillow Talk" was originally offered to Al Green but Willie Mitchell rejected it so she recorded it herself (she had supposedly retired from singing before then).

I wonder how many more songs Patti rejected. Of all the legendary soul divas, she's gotta be one of the most ridiculous with her rejections!

Toofunkyinhere said:

Britney wasn't exactly hot when Gimme More was released yet it still got to #1.

Oh, and Christina co-wrote Miss Independent.

SoulAlive said:

Haha, suited her right because her disco albums BOMBED!

But "I'm Coming Out" was totally a Diana Ross song because Nile said he was walking down the street going to Studio 54 and he saw these drag queens dressed like Diana Ross, after talking to Diana about the end of her Motown contract, and all of that, Nile and Bernard came up with "I'm Coming Out".

Wasn't Olivia Newton Johns "physical" intended for Rod Stewart? I dont think it ever reached his managers or whatever, but I think it was written with him in mind?

thesexofit said:

I heard that too.

In 1979,Rick James was approached to produce an album for Diana Ross! Actually,Diana requested three or four songs but Rick wanted to do the entire album.He even had his own unique concept for the album cover.When she refused,he gave the songs to Teena Marie for her 'Wild And Peaceful' album.In fact,the first single "I'm Just A Sucka For Your Love" was originally intended as a Diana Ross/Rick James duet.

I was gonna throw OPEN YOUR HEART into the ring but someone beat me to it....one of my fave tracks, the drums just pound away on that one!

SoulAlive said:

Are you sure Diana told him or Motown? Motown was kinda sketchy on how many tracks he could do with Diana... Rick politely turned it down when he was told they only wanted four tracks and instead gave it to Teena Marie. So thanks to Diana Ross, Lady Tee's music career was born. And it was a long time coming since she was in the label for three fruitless years beforehand.

The Jackson 5 were originally given "One Bad Apple" but since the song was written by outside producers, Motown refused to give it to them so the Osmonds got it. "One Bad Apple" kept "Mama's Pearl" from reaching number-one.

For payback, when "Ben" was given to Donny Osmond, his label turned it down, Motown was offered it and Michael recorded it and got his first number-one single as a soloist.

Timmy84 said:

I'm not sure if it was Diana or Motown who told him,but I think it would have been an interesting project.Diana Ross getting funky Slower songs like "Turnin Me On" and "Deja Vu (I've Been Here Before)" seem tailor-made for Ms.Ross.Did you hear about the album cover concept that Rick came up with? Diana is shown at a graveyard (!) staring down into a coffin filled with her old wigs,flashy outfits,jewelry,etc....lol...the idea is that,on this album,she would be shedding her own glamorous image and saying goodbye to her past.

SoulAlive said:

WHOA!!!

That woulda been dope,,,,,but as usual, Gordy fucked up another intersting project for Ms.Ross

Harlepolis said:

No shock, Berry Gordy was always fucking with Diana's career. I'm surprised she didn't leave him sooner. That was a great concept. I could've definitely seen it. Ironically enough, Diana and Berry fought over the creation of The Boss. I'm guessing Diana was upset Berry had refused to let Rick James produce her next album and she got Ashford & Simpson instead and this deeply upset Berry (since Ashford & Simpson were now with Arista and not with Motown) and he didn't support the project. As a result, The Boss became the first Diana Ross album to NOT be executive produced by Berry Gordy. A year later after she released diana, she upped and left him.
[Edited 2/26/09 1:37am]

Speaking of Patti, wasn't "Superwoman" originally intended for her too and she turned THAT down? I know she seemed like a fool after recording it with Dionne and Gladys, lol.

I found more songs rejected by the great Patti the first time around:
"If You Don't Know Me By Now" (Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes)
"Rush Rush" (Paula Abdul)
"Oh Me Oh My (I'm A Fool For You Baby)" (Aretha Franklin)

TLC was supposed to record "...Baby One More Time" (Britney) and "Rainy Dayz" (Mary J.).

Apollonia 6 was supposed to do "Manic Monday" (Bangles) and "Glamorous Life" (Sheila E.).

TLC was also supposed to do the Whitney-Faith-Kelly duet "Heartbreak Hotel" (Left-Eye loved it but T-Boz and Chilli didn't, lol).

Timmy84 said:

GODDAAAAAYMN

No wonder why Patti gets so pissed off whenever they ask her about her absence from the "pop charts"

A LOT of Taylor Dayne songs were originally offered to Whitney but Clive turned them down:
"Love Will Lead You Back" (Patti also could've turned this one down, damn how many fucking songs was Patti offered!? DAMN! )
"Tell It To My Heart"
"I'll Always Love You" (the Taylor Dayne hit)

Taylor in turn was offered "Where Do Broken Hearts Go?".

On the hip-hop front, Rhymefest recorded "Jesus Walks" first but Kanye West took it upon himself to cover it and released it as his own. Rhymefest I think sued him for not crediting him for co-writing the track, they eventually settled.

Whitney & Jermaine were also going to do "Don't Look Any Further" but Clive rejected that and it was offered to Dennis Edwards who was to record it with Chaka Khan, but Chaka was unable to do it so Siedah Garrett took her place.

Whitney, Aretha & Barbra were each offered the spot in Michael's "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" but all three dropped albeit different reasons (Whitney's reason might've been Clive's, Aretha's maybe because she didn't want to do another duet after George Michael for a while, and Barbra because she simply wasn't available). Guess who took their spot? Yes, Siedah!

Whitney's "If I Told You That" was going to be a duet with her and Michael according to Rodney Jerkins. George Michael later did a duet version with Whitney on the song (I loved their interaction in their video).

Mary J. was offered "Umbrella" and took "Just Fine" instead.

I think Patti was also offered some other big pop/R&B ballads that for WHATEVER reason she thought she was too much for and then when they became big hits, she'd cry like "WHY!?! I could've made it a hit!" LOL

Harlepolis said:

Too bad for her, lol. She turned down TOO MANY great songs... I sometimes wonder what was on Patricia Holte's right MIND when she decided to drop most of the songs! Hell, "Lady Marmalade" could've been giving to either The Supremes or The Pointer Sisters if she had her way!

Timmy84 said:

'The Boss' is actually a great album.Shame on Berry for not supporting it.

SoulAlive said:

Berry wasn't even into music all that much after the 1960s. A lot of the artists left suddenly because of it. And he only REALLY supported THE JACKSONS. Diana's career was maligned by Berry (and later by RCA). He didn't even help her in her film tenure all that much. So you can see how much he knew about his "meal ticket". Diana once slapped him for acting a fool while on set for "Mahogany". Back then when I first heard this, I shook my head at Diana. Now hearing it again, I'm glad she slapped the fuck out of him. Berry just didn't know what to do with Diana after she left The Supremes!
[Edited 2/26/09 2:07am]
[Edited 2/26/09 2:08am]

Timmy84 said:

Great voice,,,,,but a FUCK UP when it comes to song selections, boy

I guess what I heard was true then lol the WHOLE I'm In Love album was supposedly thrown back to Jean Carn but Gamble & Huff persuaded her to sing those songs. She wanted an upbeat funky album instead, good thing Gamble & Huff bullied her to do the album.
[Edited 2/26/09 2:09am]

Harlepolis said:

Damn. I could only imagine if Jean hadn't accepted it, they would've given it to Phyllis.

Timmy84 said:

Phyllis was the one who got the raw deal, taking everybody's handmedowns.

I SERIOUSLY think that had Phyllis signed with Philadelphia International Records instead of Buddha(which was bought later by shady ass Clive Davis), she woulda been a HOUSEHOLD name.

The short period she spent with Gambe & Huff were fruitful, and anyway, she truly shined in Philly's sound music. Thom Bell and the few songs Gamble & Huff produced for her, showed something that MANY great producers failed to bring out.

Harlepolis said:

I wholeheartedly agree. It's sad Phyllis was never really taken seriously by pop AND R&B circles in many ways. I mean yes Phyllis got R&B support but compared to Anita or whoever, her songs never made the charts as successful as others, which was a real shame. Phyllis herself hinted she should've been signed with Gamble & Huff the whole time. If only Gamble & Huff had discovered her performing in New York and not Norman Connors... *sigh*

speaking of Phyllis Hyman....


Her 1978 single "Somewhere In My Lifetime" was originally intended for Gladys Knight.Clive Davis wanted to bring Gladys to Arista and he had Barry Manilow come up with the perfect song to entice her.However,Gladys refused and the song was given to Phyllis instead.

Unfortunately,a few years later,Phyllis lost out on a song that became a huge hit for one of her rivals: "Too Tough" by Angela Bofill.Yes,it was originally intended for Phyllis.As a consolation prize,Narada Michael Walden gave Phyllis the horrible "Riding The Tiger" instead

You gotta feel bad for Phyllis.Her whole career was filled with lost opportunities.She was always somebody's "second choice".In 1987,Spike Lee wanted Anita Baker to make a cameo in his movie 'School Daze'.Anita was on tour and couldn't do it,so who does Spike call? Phyllis.

SoulAlive said:

Yeah I heard about the Anita Baker choice..

Interstingly enough, Bill Lee's 1st choice was Phyllis(he wrote the song with her in mind) but his son wanted the BIGGER attraction

In 1987,Prince offered the song "Neon Telephone" to the Jets but they turned it down.One of the members said "We don't think it's some of his best work".The song was given to The Three O-Clock,who were recording artists on Paisley Park Records.

Also in 1987,the song "Rocket 2 U" (a fun bubblegum pop number) was offered to Earth Wind and Fire but they rejected it.It was recorded by the Jets and became a big hit for them.

In 1986,Prince offered the song "Wouldn't U Love 2 Me" to Michael Jackson for inclusion on 'Bad'.Michael and Quincy Jones weren't too impressed with it and they turned it down.Like the situation with "Neon Telephone",Prince simply gave it to an artist on his Paisley Park Records label: Taja Sevelle.