19 Essential Diana Ross Songs Of The 1990's

The 1990’s was an incredible decade to grow up in. There were no smart phones to distract us every second of the day. If we wanted to bootleg a song we couldn’t just go online; we had to wait for it to come on the radio and press record on our tape players. If the DJ talked over the end it was ruined. The 90’s was a time of incredible music in Pop and R&B with the rise of artists like Whitney Houston, TLC, Janet Jackson, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Boys II Men, Brandy, Toni Braxton, Babyface and Destiny’s Child. By the 1990’s Diana Ross was in the 3rd decade of her career. She’d collected almost all the accolades an artist can, including being named “Female Entertainer of the Century” by Billboard Magazine. Rather than rest on her laurels Diana turned out some of the best music of her entire career. The 90’s would bring incredible success for Diana Ross internationally where her albums were distributed by EMI. In the United States Diana's albums were marketed and distributed by Motown, the label she helped to make famous. Sadly, industry politics, and possibly some degree of sexism and ageism meant Diana’s work kept getting lost in the shuffle, never getting the full attention or marketing it deserved. September of 2014 marked the 19th anniversary of the release of Diana’s landmark 1995 album TAKE ME HIGHER. In honor of that anniversary we take a look back at The 19 Essential Diana Ross Songs of the 1990’s.

When You Tell Me That You Love Me

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The early nineties were a time dominated by big diva ballads and on this track Diana proves that she is still the original diva. Produced by Peter Asher and featured on Diana’s “Force Behind The Power” album, “When You Tell Me That You Love Me,” is inarguably one of the greatest love songs of Diana’s entire career. Although it was only a modest R&B hit in the U.S. it reached #2 on the UK pop charts twice: once upon it’s original release in 1991 and then again when it was rereleased as a duet with british pop group Westlife in 2005.

Waiting in the Wings (Remix)

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An ode to friends with benefits, “Waiting in the Wings” was originally featured on the “Force Behind The Power” album. This laid back and contemporary remix, featured on "Forever Diana," lends itself to the sexy lyrics that offer a “love with no strings...”

Your Love

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In 1993 Diana Ross released her musical memoirs in a box set entitled “Forever Diana.” The set included a handful of new songs including “Your Love,” produced by Nick Martinelli. The song is best described as a power ballad. Diana shows off the power of the higher end of her range and she uses her crystal soprano to move effortlessly through key changes at the end of the song.

The Best Years of My Life

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The final new song on Diana’s “Forever Diana” collection, “The Best Years of My Life” is another excellent Nick Martinelli-produced song. The song tells of a love that has stood the test of time, through good and bad. This song exemplifies Diana’s incredible vocal gift to deliver a song with simultaneous strength and restraint. Her emotional gift to deliver the message of the song to the listeners heart through the dramatic yearning quality of her vocals is also on display here.

Take Me Higher

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In 1995, after 30 years and countless accolades Diana released the album “Take Me Higher.” The look and sound of this album signified that after three decades in the music business Diana was still an incredibly viable and relevant artist, not to mention SEXY. The first single from the album was the title track. After many years of ballad releases “Take Me Higher” is a house song with a driving beat and was a heralded return to the the dance floor for Diana. The song, produced by Narada Michael Walden, shot to #1 on Billboards hot dance songs.

If You're Not Gonna Love Me Right

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“If You’re Not Gonna Love Me Right” is a cool R&B jam from the “Take Me Higher.” album. This song, like many on the album, finds Diana not rushing to keep up, but instead landing squarely on the musical trends and style of the R&B genre of the era. Diana plays the role of a scorned lover giving an ultimatum. “If you’re not gonna love me right, baby don’t love me at all.” As she croons through this song she sounds both sexy and sophisticated. She is in full ownership of her performance, allowing her to be contemporary without seeming like she’s trying to keep up with younger artists. She has no need to, 30 years into her career she is still blazing the trail they will all follow her down.

Swing It

Swing it” was released on the international versions of “Take Me Higher.” It is a sexy new jack swing tune co-written by hit-maker Babyface and Jon-John. Motown felt the song was too young for Diana and decided in favor of leaving it off the US release of the album. To the contrary Diana sounds youthful on this track and sells the lyrics like “I’m the roni that’ll give you what you need,” with a sly cheekiness. At 51 Diana has a self confidence and sexiness that can only come with life experience and she shows it off here.

Voice of the Heart

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One of the reasons Diana’s “Take Me Higher” project was so prolific for her career and for her 90’s catalog is because she carefully covers all the genre’s she is most skilled at. On “Voice of the Heart” Diana once again shows her prowess at singing an uplifting ballad, tailer made for adult contemporary radio, landing her a top 30 AC hit. Although Diana is rarely the song writer, it is clear that she takes great care in selecting songs with well crafted lyrics, “Voice of The Heart,” being no exception. The lyrics fall into the introspective and inspirational vein that runs through Diana’s material through out her career. Diana’s incredible gift for song interpretation allows her to deliver this type of song with sincerity, never coming off as preachy or contrived.

Gone

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Written by Jon-John from Babyface’s team “Gone” is a beautifully melodic ballad. Not only one of her best ballads of the 90’s but of her career, “Gone” has a complex production and features flawlessly executed vocals from Diana. The song winds down with Diana singing a gorgeously wistful string of “la’s” over the ending cords of the song conveying the heartache of a relationship that has run it’s coarse. “Gone” ended up being one of the best music video’s of Diana’s 90’s era work. The dramatic end of relationship tale finds Diana in many melancholy vignettes set cinematically in only black and white.

Don't Stop

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“I wanted this to be a grown up album, very grown up and lady like,” Diana has said of her work on “Take Me higher.” Diana accomplishes this with the track “Don’t Stop,” marking her first foray into hip hop. “Don’t Stop” features Diana’s sweet jazz soprano layered smartly over a hip hop beat. Diana is on the cutting edge of 90’s musical trends with “Don’t Stop,” her laid back sexy performance shows she has this material tight in hand. The song was produced by “The Boom Boom Brothers,” also from the Babyface camp. “Don’t Stop” features an incredible background performance by singer Natasha Pearce who would tour with Diana along with The Boom Brothers in support of her “Take Me Higher” album.

Only Love Can Conquer All

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“Only Love Can Conquer All” is a classic Diana Ross song, denoted not by chart position but by relevance and timelessness. The societal conversation about race, equality and the example one generation sets for the next continues to this day. Produced and written by Narada Michael Walden with Sally Jo Dakota and Preston Glass, the song lays out simply what we should all know but sometimes need to be reminded of.

I Thought That We Were Still In Love

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As mentioned earlier the album “Take Me Higher” earned it's iconic and cult classic status because of the diversity of the genres Diana so flawlessly covers. “I Thought That We Were Still in Love” returns Diana to the jazz genre and is by far the weightiest track on “Take Me Higher.” Diana navigates the sadness of the lyrics perfectly, providing a depth that only a singer with an actor's intuition could. Diana uses a delicate, controlled approach to her vocals, turning in one of the best studio performances of her career, as she leads listeners through the heartache of this story song.

I Never Loved A Man Before

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On “I Never Loved a Man Before” Diana once again shifts genre lanes with ease. Underscored by a sensual spanish guitar the song has a quiet storm vibe. Diva’s like Sade and Janet scored big hits with this style ballad in the 90's. Here Diana once again uses restraint to draw listeners in, allowing them to experience the richness of her voice in it's lower register on the verses, while showcasing the beautiful lightness with which her voice can float on the melody during the high parts.

You Are Not Alone

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In 1996 after the success of the “Take Me Higher” project, EMI released a love songs collection called “Voice of Love.” The collection featured many of the love songs mentioned here as well as great songs from Diana’s 70’s and 80’s catalog. The collection also featured two new songs, I hear(The Voice of Love), the UK hit single “In The Ones You Love” and this sonically stunning cover of Michael Jackson’s “You Are Not Alone.” As with all the songs Diana chooses to cover she really makes this her own. The song is beautifully produced by Nick Martinelli and the arrangement is perfect for Diana's voice. Though Diana chooses to keep her friendship with Michael Jackson part of her private life, it has been said that this song was a nod to him to let him know she was there for him and that she liked the song. In 2010 Diana dedicated her “More Today Than Yesterday” Tour to Michael and added this song to a medley with “Missing You” and “I Love You” to close the show. A hits collection featuring the set list from the “More Today than Yesterday” Tour was put on iTunes marking the first time this song was commercially available in US.

Not Over You Yet (Metro Mix)

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In 1999 Diana released the album “Every Day is a New Day.” The long awaited follow up to 1995’s “Take Me Higher,” “Every Day is a New Day” has been nicknamed “the divorce album.” The album chronicles all the stops of the emotional journey of a break up. It is the closest to a concept album Miss Ross has in her catalog. The album would became a fan favorite for it’s strong song choice and quality vocal performance with great emotional depth. In England the single “Not Over You Yet” was remixed for the clubs by the same producers who had worked on Cher’s smash, “Believe” of that same year. The Metro Remix of the single “Not Over You Yet” became a top 10 hit with a stunning music video to accompany it. “Not Over You Yet” landed at #9 on the UK charts and #3 on the Belgium charts, and spent several weeks on MTV UK’s top ten video countdown “TRL.” Domestically Motown sadly missed the opportunity to have a hit with this single, and it was never released in the U.S. much to the disappointment of the fans.

Free (I'm Gone)

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Released only in Japan as a bonus track to “Every Day is a New Day,” "Free(I'm Gone)" is a notable stand out track of Diana’s 90’s catalog. It features an exaggerated low base sound effect that would later be duplicated by Jennifer Lopez and JaRule on their smash hit “Ain’t It Funny,” proving Diana to be just ahead of the curve on this track. The song also features Diana on something of a rap verse. Always known for her skill using spoken verses to great affect, Diana smoothly delivers a sort of sung rap stanza in this song that works quite well adding to the song's overall charm. Diana proves again on this track that she can be a genre chameleon. She is able to sing songs in many different styles due to her genuine delivery and commitment to the lyrics and her audience.

Sugar Free

The Last U.S Single pulled from the concept like album “Every Day is a New Day,” “Sugar Free” is a contemporary R&B groove produced by Chuckii Booker. The Song began gaining traction on U.S. radio, however it is speculated that Miss Ross was at odds with Motown over their lack of support for the project and lack of budget for promotional video’s. Diana pulled her support of the album and began preparing for a European tour where the album had been much more successful. Motown stopped pushing the single causing it to die out on radio, never becoming the hit it may have been.

Until We Meet Again (Love To Infinity Remix)

Although Motown didn’t release the smash single “Not Over You Yet” stateside they did release club mixes of the melancholy ballad “Until We Meet Again.” Remixes were prepared by two of the hottest remixers of the time, Hex Hector and Love to Infinity. These remix treatments helped Diana reach the #2 spot on Billboards Hot Dance Songs chart. Making this song one of Diana’s biggest U.S. hits of the 90’s and helped Diana find a new young audience in the U.S. at the close of the decade.

Every Day is a New Day (Radio Mix)

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The title track of Diana’s 1999 album and one of four tracks, including the previously menitoned, “Not Over You Yet,” produced by Malik Pendleton. This song is a smooth, easy to listen to RNB groove with a funky base guitar giving it just the right amount of edge for it be a really stand out track. As the album chronicles the different stages of a break up, “Every Day is a New Day” is about that feeling of relief when you know you can start over with a clean slate. The radio mix featured here is shorter and features a spoken word verse from Diana towards the end letting on that while the song is about feeling better and moving on, perhaps it’s really more about telling yourself you feel better and you’ve moved on, until you actually do feel better. It’s another example of Diana’s artistry at bringing out the full depth of a song that a less artist may have missed.

The Encore: I Will Survive

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This song is an ENCORE to our list of 19 as it’s been Diana’s encore since it was released as the final track on “Take Me Higher” in 1995. The song was a top 40 hit on the US Dance charts and a top 20 hit on the UK pop charts. In the 90’s Diana, who has a genuine love for her audiences and performing, was notorious for coming back for as many encore’s as the audiences clapping and screaming would warrant. This was much to the delight of her fans who relished in each of the stolen moments that make Diana’s shows so special.