''Blue'', originally titled ''The Blue Album'', is a studio album by American singer
Diana Ross
Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...
. Initially recorded between late 1971 and early 1972, it was released as Ross' twenty-third studio album by
Motown Records
Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmant ...
on June 20, 2006. Overseen by Ross' musical director
Gil Askey
Gilbert Askey (March 9, 1925 – April 9, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, producer and musical director who was born in Austin, Texas, and emigrated to Australia in 1988.
Personal life
Askey was born in Austin, Texas, on March 9 ...
,
[Motown - Never released Diana Ross album discovered!](_blank)
the jazz-flavoured album was originally conceived as a follow-up to her
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
to the 1972 American biographical drama film ''
Lady Sings the Blues'' in which Ross starred.
Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record la ...
and Motown subsequently decided to shelve the album, and Ross' next release was the more pop-oriented ''
Touch Me in the Morning
"Touch Me in the Morning" is a song recorded by Diana Ross on the Motown label. It was written by Ron Miller and Michael Masser, and produced by the latter and Tom Baird. It was released on May 3, 1973 as the first single from her album of t ...
'' (1973) album.
Critical reception
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
editor Rob Theakston found that "
Gil Askey
Gilbert Askey (March 9, 1925 – April 9, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, producer and musical director who was born in Austin, Texas, and emigrated to Australia in 1988.
Personal life
Askey was born in Austin, Texas, on March 9 ...
's arrangements are top-notch without sounding like dinner theater knock-offs. ''Blue'' is an album every bit as bold an artistic statement as her contemporaries
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...
and
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...
, who were recording the opuses ''
Where I'm Coming From
''Where I'm Coming From'' is the 13th album by Stevie Wonder. The album was released by Motown Records on April 9, 1971 and peaked on the Billboard Pop Albums at #62, and on the '' Billboard'' R&B Albums Chart at #7. All nine songs were writ ...
'' and ''
What's Going On'' around the same time, and for Ross fans, ''Blue'' is every bit as enjoyable as her sultriest moments as the supreme
Supreme."
Chart performance
''Blue'' was initially sold through
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain.
As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...
' US stores for the first 30 days of release, though coffeehouse chain immediately sold out of its supply nationwide. On the charts, ''Blue'' peaked at number two on the US ''Billboard''
Top Jazz Albums
The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...
, also logging a single week on the
''Billboard'' 200 at number 146.
Its final sales figure was slightly higher than 100,000 US copies.
Track listing
All songs produced and conducted by
Gil Askey
Gilbert Askey (March 9, 1925 – April 9, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, producer and musical director who was born in Austin, Texas, and emigrated to Australia in 1988.
Personal life
Askey was born in Austin, Texas, on March 9 ...
.
Notes
*Tracks 12-15 were originally recorded for ''
Lady Sings the Blues'' (1972) but some were left out of the movie or were included in different versions.
Personnel
*
Gil Askey
Gilbert Askey (March 9, 1925 – April 9, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, producer and musical director who was born in Austin, Texas, and emigrated to Australia in 1988.
Personal life
Askey was born in Austin, Texas, on March 9 ...
– Conductor, Musical Arrangements, Producer
*
Oliver Nelson
Oliver Edward Nelson (June 4, 1932 – October 28, 1975) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger, composer, and bandleader. His 1961 Impulse! album '' The Blues and the Abstract Truth'' (1961) is regarded as one of the most signifi ...
,
Benny Golson
Benny Golson (born January 25, 1929) is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a performer, before launch ...
- Arrangements
* Guy Costa – Engineer
* Cal Harris, Sr. – Engineer
* Michele Horie – Producer, Artwork
* Harry Langdon – Photography, Cover Photo
* Pat Lawrence – Executive Producer
* Ralph Lotten – Assistant
* Bill MacMeeken – Engineer
* Larry Miles – Engineer
* John B. Norman – Engineer
* Ryan Null – Photo Coordination
* Kevin Reeves – Mastering, Mixing
* David Ritz – Liner Notes
* Greg Ross – Design
* George Solomon – Consultant
*
Art Stewart
Arthur Stewart (February 6, 1927 – November 11, 2021) was an American baseball front-office executive and scout. He began his Major League Baseball (MLB) scouting career with the New York Yankees in 1953. He later joined the Kansas City Roya ...
– Engineer
* Russ Terrana – Engineer
* Harry Weinger – Liner Notes, Compilation Producer
Charts
References
External links
* ''Blue'' a
Motown.com
{{Authority control
Motown albums
2006 albums
Diana Ross albums
Albums produced by Gil Askey