He followed in the path of Breaking Bonaduce: both their marriages ended on that show.

Timmy84 said:

I think Diana made the right decision.The first version of the album (known as the "the Chic Mix") sounds like a demo.Diana's vocals are flat and she sounds lost in Chic's production.On the re-mixed version,her vocals are stronger and vibrant.She sounds more in control.

Harlepolis said:

Yeah,Rick had a very unique concept for Diana's album.It would be called 'Rebirth' or 'Resurrection' (can't recall which one) and on the cover,Diana would be wearing jeans,looking all cool and hip as she stares down into a grave filled with her old wigs,jewelry,glittery dresses,etc.The idea is that she's leaving all the glitz and glamour behind and becoming a hip,funky chick instead.A "rebirth".The songs would be funky,too.

Rick wanted to produce the entire album,but Diana (or Berry Gordy?) requested only a few songs.It was all or nothing for Rick,so he backed out of the project and gave the songs to Teena Marie instead.Those songs make up her 1979 'Wild And Peaceful' album.The first single "I'm Just A Sucker For Your Love" was originally intended as a Diana Ross/Rick James duet! That would have been interesting,lol.

alphastreet said:

It's incredible....one of the most satisfying 'Deluxe Editions' I ever bought.You get BOTH versions of the 'Diana' album,plus an entire second disc filled with 12" singles,remixes,and other rare stuff.It's a fan's dream come true!

Timmy84 said:

Aretha actually went to Bernard and Niles to produce her disco album (months before Diana approached them).They went to her house to discuss it,she sits at her piano and starts singing some whack lyrics: "I'm gonna be the baddest chick at the disco tonight".The Chic guys were horrified! LOL.They knew that disco wasn't her thing and they wisely removed themselves from the project.Her album (which flopped) was produced by Van McCoy instead.

Harlepolis said:

Apparently, there's even a wacky back story for the cover art for the Diana album. The renowned photographer Francesco Scavullo convinced Miss Ross to do the shoot without any of her trademark makeup or weave, and wearing a t-shirt and ripped jeans, which she didn't want to do. Apparently she hated the pictures but showed them to her homegirl Cher, who was often photographed by Scavullo, and Cher told her, "Girl, that's the best you've ever looked, this picture should be on the cover." I can totally see and hear that conversation too.

This is my favorite pic of Diana EVER cuz it shows off her natural beauty. In fact, I have an original Scavullo print of this and also of a pic he took of Lena Horne in my living room.
Scavullo was a true master.


[Edited 6/18/09 2:49am]

Cooooozy setting, doll

And @ that Lena Horne pic. Would loooooved to run my hands through those CDs.
[Edited 6/18/09 3:58am]

SoulAlive said:

She recorded the song, Only Star its called I like it though, its cute,,,,,but ReRe sounds SO outta place with this disco shit.

Timmy84 said:

Really?

I thought Ted White was the only one who physically abused her. They sure described an explicit scene in that infamous TIME cover feature btw Ted didn't give a fuck, he would punch her in front of the reporters like they weren't even there,,,,they described an ugly parking lot scene, I can't remember the details.

uPtoWnNY said:

That's true Many of the dance songs that came out in the 80s ("Let The Music Play" by Shannon,"Holiday" by Madonna,"Shake It Up Tonight" by Cheryl Lynn,etc) would have been classified as 'disco' if released just a few years earlier.

Freestyle was also another form of disco.Groups like Expose,Sweet Sensation and Cover Girls were basically doing disco music,80s-style.

bboy87 said:

Then have the nerve to sing Mariahs TOUCH-MY-BODY

Harlepolis said:

Thanks hun. You're welcome anytime. That's the decorative CD collection on display.

Timmy84 said:

There's no doubt that racism, sexism, and homophobia were the root of the "Disco Sucks" backlash against disco, but a huge part of the backlash has to go with the record companies themselves. After Saturday Night Fever blew up on both the big screen and the record charts, there were a lot of record executives that saw dollar signs and got greedy. Then they tried to sign any disco artist and producer that they could, which was why we got crap like the Ehthel Merman disco album. When Rick Dees put out "Disco Duck", it was actually meant as a parody, yet it came to symbolize the most crass aspects of the disco bandwagon. It also didn't help that rock acts like Rod Stewart and Blondie put out disco singles which actually became some of their biggest hits ever, and even Kiss put out a disco album. The Rolling Stones put out the song "Miss You", which was perceived at the time to be a disco-influenced song. Even Steve Martin had a disco hit with "King Tut", which was clearly meant as an SNL parody, yet it got so talked about that it was released as a single and actually cracked the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 Singles.

Aretha and James Brown weren't the only artists to flop making disco records. There was a lot of pressure on Elton John and Chicago by their record companies to put out a disco record, and while they both eventually released disco albums, they both flopped mightily. In Chicago's case, it also didn't help that it was recorded shortly after the accidental death of their original co-lead singer Terry Kath.

And as for the rocker fans who led the "Disco Sucks" backlash, they really had more to worry about from punk and new wave then they did disco. But as for the Southern and Midwestern exurban white males who hated disco, they created the whole "Urban Cowboy" movement of the early 1980's, which was clearly meant to stifle the whole disco and urban dance crazes of the time.

shorttrini said:

They sampled the instrumental breakdown of the song where the trumpet stops its solo.

Harlepolis said:

OK, just the first one.

Timmy84 said:

You tha man, bro!!

shorttrini said:

Thanks.

SoulAlive said:

I agree with you SoulAlive. I was not a Diana Ross fan until I brought this Deluxe Edition and it's now one of my favorite albums. Great music from start to finish. And I do agree that Diana made the right choice in doing over the album but with that said, I think that she should have left the Chic version of Tenderness and Have Fun (Again) alone or at least the music cause that was HOT. Both versions were hot and I'm glad that they are both on this set. Im late as hell but this is a great thread Timmy.
[Edited 6/18/09 9:26am]

purplecam said:

I try.

Steve Martin had a disco...hit? That just tells you how crazy it all got.

I have thought it was funny that as long as the word "disco" was attached to the music, people would complain, but take the same music and call it something else and poof...no complaints.

brooksie said:

Precisely. I blame record industries for disco's commercial downfall. They hyped it up until it became primarily a JOKE on paper.
[Edited 6/18/09 9:55am]

brooksie said:

Well, they gave T-Pain a record deal. So, if T-pain can have one, why not Steve Martin. Besides, unlike some of today's so-called artists, disco artists never really took themselves too seriously...Some of them were quite good too..."It's good to be the king", by Mel Brooks was pretty good.

shorttrini said:

Who is T-Pain...a rapper?

shorttrini said:

And therein lies the difference. I actually like "King Tut".

brooksie said:

A dude who rapes computers with his monotone voice. I mean he uses the autotune, lol.

Timmy84 said:

Who's marriage ended...Ozzy's or Gene's? AFAIK, they're both still w/ their women, tho Gene's not married.

Speaking of Gene, I don't find it odd that KISS did a disco album. They were at Casablanca Records, which put out the best, so why not? I imagine KISS disco would be a trip w/ their getups and cheesy style.

shorttrini I do think that some of the non traditional artists discos weren't bad and even quite good (I posted Sesame Street Fever), but they did over saturated the narket w/ too much disco product period.

The fortunate thing for people just now discovering disco is that most of the more crappy and/or unusual cuts are not so easy to find.

Timmy84 said:

Oh no wonder I've never heard of this dude, my ears can't do autotune. Pitch correction for me is turning off a non singing singer.

Since he's a rapper, why does he need to pitch correct his speaking voice?

brooksie said:

Beats me!

vainandy said:

I saw one fairly recently on VH1 Classic called "New York in the 1970s". Look around and see if it's posted somewhere. It had some good footage of the disco scene.