Red Hot Rhythm & Blues – 1987
Red Hot Rhythm and Blues is a 1987 studio album by the American singer Diana Ross released via EMI and RCA labels.
The album made the charts in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Austria, as well as reaching the top 20 in Sweden and Norway. It was Ross’s final album for RCA Records. It peaked at No. 73 on the “Billboard album chart in the US despite an Emmy nominated television special that was a ratings success. It sold around 125,000 copies in the USA.
The album included “Dirty Looks” (US R&B #12, UK #49) written by Richard Scher & Lotti Golden, and the ballad “It’s Hard for Me to Say”, produced by Luther Vandross. It also included cover versions of several R&B classics, including The Bobbettes’ “Mr. Lee” (UK #58), Jackie Ross’ “Selfish One,” Etta James’ “Tell Mama”, and The Drifters’ “There Goes My Baby”. A Shep Pettibone remix of “Shockwaves” was released as a single in the UK which peaked at #76.
The album was promoted with a TV special featuring Etta James, Little Richard, Billy Dee Williams, Leslie Nielsen, LL Cool J, Bernadette Peters and Wolfman Jack.
Track listing
Side A
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. “Dirty Looks” (US Album Mix) Richard Scher, Lotti Golden 4:09
2. “Stranger In Paradise” John Capek, Amy Sky 3:59
3. “Summertime” Leonard Cohen, Sharon Robinson 4:05
4. “Shine” Mick Hucknall 3:31
5. “Tell Me Again” Wintley Phipps 3:14
Side B
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. “Selfish One” Carl Smith, Wilfred McKinley 3:23
2. “Cross My Heart” Sharon Robinson 4:11
3. “There Goes My Baby” Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, George Treadwell, Lover Patterson 3:03
4. “It’s Hard For Me To Say” Luther Vandross 4:46
5. “Shockwaves” Diana Ross, Mark Cawley, Bill Wray 3:49
Personnel
Diana Ross – vocals
Luther Vandross – background vocals
John Capek – keyboards
Chuck Rainey – bass
Tommy Vig – drums, percussion
Darryl Tookes – background vocals
Jocelyn Brown – background vocals
Dennis Collins – background vocals
Francisco Centeno – bass
Paulinho Da Costa – percussion
Benny Diggs – background vocals
Nathan East – bass
Steve Farris – guitar
Steve Ferrone – drums, percussion
Sammy Figueroa – percussion
Steve Gadd – drums, percussion
Eric Gale – guitar
Steve Goldstein – synthesizer
Lani Groves – background vocals
Ivan Hampden – drums
Joseph Joubert – keyboards
Jason Miles – synthesizer
Jeff Mironov – guitar
Greg Phillinganes – keyboards
Richard Tee – keyboards