''The Boss'' is the tenth studio album by American singer Diana Ross, released on May 23, 1979 by Motown Records.

Background

This album was written and produced by longtime Ross collaborators

Nickolas Ashford Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, ...

Valerie Simpson Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, ...

and marked her return to Top 40 radio based on the strength of the title track, which peaked at number 19 on the pop singles chart, and number 12 on the US R&B Chart. In addition, all the LP tracks went to number one on the dance charts, and the album itself peaked at number 14 on the ''Billboard'' 200. It was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). For its 20th Anniversary in 1999, the album was remastered and released on CD with 12" versions of "The Boss" and "It's My House" as extra tracks. The 12" versions of "I Ain't Been Licked" and "No One Gets the Prize"/"The Boss" appear on '' Diana: Deluxe Edition'', and a rare remixed single version of "No One Gets the Prize" on ''The Motown Anthology – Diana Ross''. Ross also promoted the album on her first HBO special, ''

Standing Room Only An event is described as standing-room only when it is so well-attended that all of the chairs in the venue are occupied, leaving only flat spaces of pavement or flooring for other attendees to stand, at least those spaces not restricted by occup ...

''. The special was culled from her successful "Tour '79" stop at Caesars Palace, and the setlist included the title song, " The Boss", plus " It's My House", "No One Gets the Prize", "I Ain't Been Licked" and "All for One".

Track listing

All tracks were written and produced by

Ashford & Simpson Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, ...

. Side A #"No One Gets the Prize" – 4:40 #"I Ain't Been Licked" – 4:09 #"All for One" – 4:20 #" The Boss" – 3:52 Side B #"Once in the Morning" – 4:54 #" It's My House" – 4:34 #"Sparkle" – 5:23 #"I'm in the World" – 4:04 1999 Remastered Edition bonus tracks #

" The Boss" (Original 12" Remix) – 7:15 #" It's My House" (Original Promotion-only 12" Remix) – 6:07

Personnel

*Diana Ross – lead vocals *

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of M ...

– saxophone *

Rob Mounsey Rob Mounsey (born December 2, 1952) is an American musician, composer, and arranger. Music career Mounsey was born in Berea, Ohio, and grew up in Seattle, Washington, spending a few years each in Findlay and Granville, Ohio. At the age of 17 ...

– horn & string arrangements (tracks: A1-A3) *Errol Bennett – percussion *Francisco Centeno – bass *Ray Chew – keyboards * Sammy Figueroa – percussion *

Eric Gale Eric Gale (September 20, 1938 – May 25, 1994) was an American jazz and R&B guitarist. ''Early life and career'' Born in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York, Gale grew up in a diverse household. His paternal grandfather was from Yorksh ...

– guitar * Anthony Jackson – bass *

Paul Riser Paul Riser (born September 11, 1943) is an American trombonist and Motown musical arranger who was responsible for co-writing and arranging dozens of top ten hit records. His legacy as one of the " Funk Brothers" is similar to that of most of ...

– horn and string arrangements (tracks: B1, B3-B4) *John Davis – horn and string arrangements (tracks:A4, B3) *

– piano, backing vocals *

– backing vocals *Maxine Waters – backing vocals *Julia Waters – backing vocals *Stephanie Spruill – backing vocals *John Sussewell – drums *Greg Arnold – re-mix engineer, Marathon Recording NYC *

Douglas Kirkland Douglas Morley Kirkland (August 16, 1934 – October 2, 2022) was a Canadian-born American photographer. He was noted for his photographs of celebrities, especially the ones he took of Marilyn Monroe several months before her death. Early life ...

– photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boss 1979 albums Diana Ross albums Albums arranged by Paul Riser Albums produced by Ashford & Simpson Motown albums