Workin' Overtime World Tour
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''Workin' Overtime'' is the eighteenth 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 ...
, released on June 6, 1989, 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 ...
. Her first Motown album with new material since '' To Love Again'' (1981) after a short stint with RCA Records, Ross reunited with frequent collaborator
Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, record producer and composer. The co-founder of Chic, Rodgers has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million ...
, chief producer of her most successful album to date '' Diana'' (1980), to make this album which was an attempt to gear her to a much younger audience bringing in
new jack swing New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle, new jack swing was mos ...
productions and
house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...
. Upon its release, ''Workin' Overtime'' received negative reviews from music critics and failed commercially despite the title track reaching number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The album reached the top thirty in Sweden and the United Kingdom and peaked at number 116 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, earning the distinction of becoming the lowest-charting studio album of Ross' entire solo career. Additional singles "This House" and "Bottom Line" were issued, as well as a Shep Pettibone remix of "Paradise", but all failed to revive the album's sales. The album was supported by a concert tour, the ''Workin' Overtime World Tour''.


Background

Following the release of her album ''
Red Hot Rhythm & Blues ''Red Hot Rhythm and Blues'' is the seventeenth studio album by American R&B singer Diana Ross, released on May 8, 1987, by RCA Records and EMI Records. It was Ross' last of six albums released by the label during the decade. It was produced by ...
'' (1987), Ross gave birth to her son Ross and became pregnant with Evan, which caused her to go on a hiatus from work. "I stayed off work for about a year... I was having my babies, and during that time I spent a lot of time watching BET on television, the kids doing the hip-hop and so on... and, you know, I’m a risk taker," Ross said. Nathan, David
''The Soulful Divas: Personal Portraits of Over a Dozen Divine Divas, from Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin & Diana Ross to Patti LaBelle, Whitney Houston & Janet Jackson''
Billboard Books, , Google Book Search, 1999.
''Workin' Overtime'' marked Ross' first Motown album with new material since '' To Love Again'' (1981), after Ross left the label for a then record breaking $20 million deal with RCA. Upon Diana's return to the label, Motown founder
Berry Gordy, Jr. 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 l ...
had sold the label to MCA Records and had positioned
Jheryl Busby Jheryl Busby (May 5, 1949 – November 4, 2008) was an American recording company executive who was the former President and Chief Executive Officer of Motown Records. Biography Busby grew up in South Central Los Angeles, where he went to ...
to the head of Motown. Ross was at first reluctant to return to her old label but Gordy promised her a lot in her return: Not only would Ross return to Motown as a recording act, but she would be the label's part-owner.


Critical reception

AllMusic editor Ron Wynn wrote that "this album was the first product of that new contract, and the results weren't very encouraging. There were no moderate or even small hits, and the album quickly dropped off both the R&B and pop charts within a couple of weeks of its release. Ross sounded completely lost, and the production, arrangements, and compositions sounded weak and thin next to the dominant New Jack and hip-hop works."


Track listing

All songs produced by
Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, record producer and composer. The co-founder of Chic, Rodgers has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million ...
.


Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. ;Performers *
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 ...
– vocals, executive producer *Christopher Max – backing vocals, synth programming *Curtis King – backing vocals *Dennis Collins – backing vocals *
Fonzi Thornton Alfonso "Fonzi" Thornton is a U.S. songwriter/producer and vocal contractor. In a career spanning 40 years, Thornton has sung backing vocals for top artists across many genres of music. His vocal credits can be found on the recordings of Aret ...
– backing vocals *Lazet Michaels – backing vocals *Peggy Taft – backing vocals *
Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, record producer and composer. The co-founder of Chic, Rodgers has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million ...
– producer *
Andres Levin Andrés Levin is a Venezuelan-born American record producer, bandleader, filmmaker, recording engineer and philanthropist. After several nominations, Levin won a Grammy Award in 2009 for his production of the ''In the Heights'' cast recording. Hi ...
– synth programming *Greg Smith – synth programming, mixing *Richard Hilton – synth programming, engineer ;Design * Herb Ritts – photography *Sue Reilly – art direction, design ;Production *Budd Tunick – coordinator *Rene Bell – coordinator *Tom Durack – engineer, mixing *Keith Freedman – engineer, mixing *
Patrick Dillett Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name *Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick or ...
– engineer *David Michael Dill – engineer *Paul Wertheimer – engineer *Ed Brooks – engineer *Karen Bohanon – engineer *Katherine Miller – engineer *Paul Angelli – engineer *
Bob Ludwig Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Qu ...
– mastering *Frank Cardello – mixing


Charts


Certifications


References


External links

* {{Authority control 1989 albums Diana Ross albums Motown albums New jack swing albums Albums produced by Nile Rodgers