Red Hot Rhythm & Blues

Red Hot Rhythm & Blues
Studio album by Diana Ross
Released	May 1987
Recorded	1986–1987
Genre	R&B
Length	43:56 (US: 38:11)
Label	EMI (UK) RCA (US)
Producer	Tom Dowd, Luther Vandross
Diana Ross chronology
Eaten Alive (1985) Red Hot Rhythm & Blues (1987) Workin' Overtime (1989)
Singles from Red Hot Rhythm & Blues
"Dirty Looks / So Close" Released: April 29, 1987 "Tell Me Again / I Am Me" Released: July 18, 1987 "Shockwaves / I Am Me" Released: July 18, 1987 (U.K. release only) "Mr. Lee" Released: January 12, 1988

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Red Hot Rhythm and Blues is a 1987 studio album by the American singer Diana Ross released via EMI and RCA labels.

Overview

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.^[2]

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. The tracks "Mr Lee" and "Tell Mama" did not feature on the US version of the album and the mix of "Dirty Looks" was the UK version which differs from the US version.

The cover photography was by Herb Ritts.

Re-release in 2014

The album was remastered and re-released in September 2014 by Funky Town Grooves, as an "Expanded Edition" with bonus material on a second CD.^[3]

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

European Version - Side A
Track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Dirty Looks" (European Album Mix)	Richard Scher, Lotti Golden	3:21
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
6.	"Mr. Lee"	Emma Pought, Jannie Pought, Helen Gather, Laura Webb, Reather Dixon	3:06

European Version - Side B
Track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Tell Mama"	Clarence Carter, Marcus Daniel, Wilbur Terrell	3:39
2.	"Selfish One"	Carl Smith, Wilfred McKinley	3:23
3.	"Cross My Heart"	Sharon Robinson	4:11
4.	"There Goes My Baby"	Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, George Treadwell, Lover Patterson	3:03
5.	"It's Hard For Me To Say"	Luther Vandross	4:46
6.	"Shockwaves"	Diana Ross, Mark Cawley, Bill Wray	3:49

2014 Expanded Edition CD1
Track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Dirty Looks"	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
6.	"Selfish One"	Carl Smith, Wilfred McKinley	3:23
7.	"Cross My Heart"	Sharon Robinson	4:11
8.	"There Goes My Baby"	Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, George Treadwell, Lover Patterson	3:03
9.	"It's Hard For Me To Say"	Luther Vandross	4:46
10.	"Shockwaves"	Diana Ross, Mark Cawley, Bill Wray	3:49
11.	"Mr. Lee"	Emma Pought, Jannie Pought, Helen Gather, Laura Webb, Reather Dixon	3:06
12.	"Tell Mama"	Clarence Carter, Marcus Daniel, Wilbur Terrell	3:39
13.	"Sweet Soul Music"	Sam Cooke, Arthur Conley, Otis Redding	2:12

2014 Expanded Edition CD2
Track listing
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Dirty Looks" (12" Mix)	7:49
2.	"Dirty Looks" (12" Instrumental)	5:52
3.	"Dirty Looks" (Bonus Beats)	2:47
4.	"Dirty Looks" (European Album Mix)	3:20
5.	"Shockwaves" (12" Mix)	6:40
6.	"Shockwaves" (12" Instrumental)	3:57
7.	"Shockwaves" (7" Remix)	3:56
8.	"Mr. Lee" (Swing Mix)	6:58
9.	"Mr. Lee" (Rare Groove Version)	6:47
10.	"Mr. Lee" (Swing Mix Edit)	3:10

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

References

1. Allmusic review
2. http://www.greasylake.org/the-circuit/index.php?%2Ftopic%2F116321-the-supremes-diana-ross-stevie-wonder-and-ray-charlesusa-album-sales%2F
3. "Red Hot Rhythm And Blues (2 CD Deluxe Edition)". FunkyTownGrooves.com. FunkyTownGrooves.com. Archived from the original on January 28, 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2015.