"Lovin', Livin' and Givin'" is a song recorded by American singer

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

. It was produced by

Hal Davis Harold Edward Davis (February 8, 1933 – November 18, 1998) was an American songwriter and record producer. Davis was a producer and writer for Motown Records for nearly thirty years, and was a key figure in the latter part of the Motown ...

and written by Kenneth Stover and Pam Davis. The song was included in the film soundtrack to '' Thank God It's Friday'' and peaked at number thirty-five on the disco charts.

Background and release

In 1976, Ross released her first disco song, "

Love Hangover "Love Hangover" is a song by the American singer Diana Ross, recorded in 1975 and released as a single on March 16, 1976. It rose to number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and Hot-Selling Soul Singles. It also hit number one on the Record Wor ...

", which became popular in the United States and abroad. Its producer was

, together with him the singer conducted a number of sessions in 1977, intending to create a new

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

album. In the same period, the song "Lovin' Livin' and Givin'" was recorded. Initially, it was an ordinary dance melody. Soon the song was included in the film '' Thank God It's Friday'', largely due to the fact that

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

, with which Ross collaborated, was working on the film. In the film, an almost

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

version sounded in the background. In May 1978, the song was released on the soundtrack (in some editions of the album, the length of the song varies). At the same time, a new studio album ''

Ross Ross may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ross (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan Places Antarctica * Ross Sea ...

'' was being prepared for release (more precisely, a compilation of old and new tracks). For it, the song was remixed, elements of electronic music were added—in the wake of the popularity of "

I Feel Love "I Feel Love" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Donna Summer. Produced and co-written by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, it was recorded for Summer's fifth studio album, '' I Remember Yesterday'' (1977). The album concept was to ha ...

", many artists began to introduce it into their songs. Motown decided to release it as a single in the USA (but it never took place) and the rest of the world. The song performed well, reaching number 54 in the UK, as well as number 35 on the US dance chart along with " What You Gave Me". In 1979, the song was released as a B-side on some editions of the single " The Boss".

Critical reception

The song received mostly negative reviews from critics. Jason Elias of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

stated that Ross performs this song through force, pretending that there is enthusiasm in it. Paul Sexton, in his review for ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'', called it an "charmless disco song" and noted the end of the Ross' creativity.

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control Diana Ross songs 1978 songs 1978 singles American disco songs Song recordings produced by Hal Davis