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Live at Caesars Palace

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This article is about the Diana Ross album. For the Checkmates, Ltd. album, see Live! At Caesar's Palace.
Live at Caesars Palace
Live album by
Diana Ross
ReleasedMay 1974
RecordedFebruary 1973
VenueCaesars Palace (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Genre
Length46:13
LabelMotown
ProducerBerry Gordy (exec.)
Diana Ross chronology
Last Time I Saw Him
(1973) 		Live at Caesars Palace
(1974) 		Diana Ross
(1976)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[3]

Live at Caesars Palace is a live album by the American singer Diana Ross, released in 1974.[4] It was recorded during a 1973 performance at Las Vegas' Caesars Palace.[5] It was the first of two live albums Ross recorded for Motown. It reached No. 64 in the USA (#15 R&B).[6]

Critical reception

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AllMusic wrote that "the staged conversations, often awkward monologues, and rough pacing were balanced by some excellent performances, and the album was produced well enough to keep her voice at the core of the sound."[1]

Track listing

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Side A:

  1. "Overture" - 0:49
  2. "Don't Rain on My Parade" [from Funny Girl] (Jule Styne, Bob Merrill) - 2:21
  3. "Big Mable Murphy" (Dallas Frazier) - 3:02
  4. "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)" (Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson) - 6:57
  5. "The Supremes Medley: Stop! In the Name of Love / My World Is Empty Without You / Baby Love /I Hear a Symphony" (Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland, Brian Holland) - 5:19
  6. "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson) - 4:57

Side B:

  1. "Corner of the Sky" [from Pippin] (Stephen Schwartz) - 4:04
  2. "Bein' Green" (Joe Raposo) - 2:49
  3. "I Loves You, Porgy" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, DuBose Heyward) - 1:37
  4. "Lady Sings the Blues Medley: Lady Sings the Blues / God Bless the Child / Good Morning Heartache / 'Tain't Nobody's Biz-ness if I Do"" (Billie Holiday, Ervin Drake, Porter Grainger, Arthur Herzog Jr., Dan Fisher, Irene Higginbotham) - 7:24
  5. "The Lady Is a Tramp" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) - 2:29
  6. "My Man" (Channing Pollack) - 4:25

Personnel

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  • Diana Ross - vocals
  • Gil Askey - arranger, conductor
  • Marty Harris - piano
  • Gene Pello - drums
  • Greg Poree - guitar
  • Jerry Steinholtz - percussion, conga
  • Nat Brandwynne and His Orchestra
  • Devastating Affair - background vocals
  • Pepito Hernandez - bass
Technical
  • Armin Steiner - recording engineer
  • John E. Mills, Ralph Lotten - remix engineers
  • Bill "The Blade" Lazerus - engineer
  • David Larkham, Ed Caraeff, Michael Ross - art direction, package concept
  • Ed Caraeff - photography

The Devastating Affair

[edit]
The Devastating Affair
GenresR&B, soul
Years active1970-1975
Labels
Past membersAndrew Porter
Greg Wright
Harold Johnson
Karin Patterson
Olivia Foster

The Devastating Affair, consisting of Andrew Porter, Greg Wright, Harold Johnson, Karin Patterson, and Olivia Foster, were an American quintet of soul vocalists signed to MoWest that evolved into a Motown travelling opening and backing vocalist act for Diana Ross.

Heralded as the first in a "new generation of hugely promising soul acts" from the Los Angeles-headquartered Motown subsidiary label MoWest Records, Motown launched their MoWest imprint with their debut single "I Want To Be Humble", a crossover-soul record that has become a sought-after collector's item.[7] Both albums the group recorded (the first, Devastating Affair Mountain (1972) on MoWest, and then a second album, titled The Devastating Affair (1973) on Motown) were unfortunately shelved. [8] The group performed backing vocals on Ross & Marvin Gaye's hit single "You're a Special Part of Me" from the 1973 album Diana & Marvin, after the 3 male members of the group co-wrote the single and submitted the demo for inclusion, as well as Ross's 1970 album Everything Is Everything.

During their tenure as a group, three singles were released: "I Want To Be Humble/My Place" (1971 - MoWest), "That's How It Was (Right From The Start)" (1973 - MoWest), and "You Don't Know (How Hard It Is To Make It)" (1974 - Motown). [8][9]

Charts

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Chart (1974) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[10] 92
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[11] 40
UK Albums (OCC)[12] 21
US Billboard 200[13] 64
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[14] 15

References

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  1. ^ a b "Live at Caesars Palace - Diana Ross | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  2. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 7. MUZE. p. 150.
  3. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 605.
  4. ^ "Diana Ross | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  5. ^ Taraborrelli, J. Randy (June 13, 2007). Diana Ross: An Unauthorized Biography. Kensington Books. ISBN 9780806528496 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ "Diana Ross". Billboard.
  7. ^ Ochs, Ed (March 11, 1972). "Soul Sauce". Billboard Magazine.
  8. ^ a b Betts, Graham (June 2, 2014). Motown Encyclopedia. AC Publishing. ISBN 9781311441546 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ Thomson, Graeme (June 30, 2011). "Mowest, mo' problems: the glorious failure of Motown's Californian outpost" – via The Guardian.
  10. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 259. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  11. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 5087a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  12. ^ "Diana Ross | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  13. ^ "Diana Ross Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  14. ^ "Diana Ross Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
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