"Workin' Overtime" 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 ...

for her seventeenth studio album of the same name (1989). The song was written by Christopher Max and

Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. The co-founder of Chic, he has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 750 million albums and 1 ...

and produced by Rodgers. It was released as the album's

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

on April 24, 1989, by

Motown Records 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 ...

Background and release

In 1988, Ross left

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

and returned to

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 ...

, where she once started and which she left in the early 80s due to creative lack of freedom. Now, the singer became a co-owner of the company. Ross decided to record a new album in the mainstream sound –

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, Bernard Belle, Jimmy Jam and Te ...

. Nile Rodgers was involved in the production. He also became the producer of the song "Workin' Overtime", as well as the author together with Christopher Max. Initially, the label planned the song "Bottom Line" as the first single from the new album, but Ross insisted that "Workin' Overtime" be released first. It was released on April 24, 1989. In the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, the song failed to chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, but it became a huge hit on the

Hot Black Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 po ...

chart, reaching the third position and remaining on the chart for 13 weeks. The song showed a good result on the

Hot Dance Club Play The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

chart, rising to 11th place. A warmer reception on the pop charts for the singer was in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, where the single took 28th and 32nd places, respectively.

Music video

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

was also shot to promote "Workin' Overtime". The video got into the heavy rotation of the

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

TV channel, however, the video was criticized for the fact that Diana Ross "is trying to look too young."

Critical reception

Jerry Smith of ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' said this "slick and sprightly dance track that could well get Ross back into the charts."

Track listing

* 7" single #"Workin' Overtime» – 4:18 #"Workin' Overtime" (Instrumental) – 4:16 * 7" single #"Workin' Overtime» – 4:16 #"Workin' Overtime" (Instrumental) – 6:10 * 12" single #"Workin' Overtime" (Extended Version) – 7:31 #"Workin' Overtime" (7" Version) – 4:17 #"Workin' Overtime" (House Mix) – 7:00 * CD single #"Workin' Overtime" (Radio Edit) – 5:16 #"Workin' Overtime" (Extended Version) – 7:39 #"Workin' Overtime" (7" Version) – 4:17 * 12" single ancin' Danny D Remix#"Workin' Overtime" (The Boss Mix) – 8:50 #"Workin' Overtime" (The Boss Instrumental) – 4:37 #"Workin' Overtime" (The Boss Beat) – 3:59 #"Workin' Overtime" (The Bossapella) – 2:20 * 12" single

romo Romantic Modernism, more commonly known as Romo, was a musical and nightclubbing movement, of glam/style pop lineage, in the UK circa 1995–1997, centred on the twin homes of Camden-based clubnight Club Skinny and its West End clone Arcad ...

ref> #"Workin' Overtime" (Radio Edit) – 5:15 #"Workin' Overtime" (Extended Version) – 7:40 #"Workin' Overtime" (7" Version) – 4:17 #"Workin' Overtime" (House Mix) – 7:00 #"Workin' Overtime" (Club Dub) – 6:20 #"Workin' Overtime" (Instrumental) – 6:15

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1989 singles 1989 songs Dance-pop songs Diana Ross songs Motown singles New jack swing songs Songs written by Nile Rodgers Song recordings produced by Nile Rodgers