Touch Me in the Morning
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| "Touch Me in the Morning" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Touch Me in the Morning - Diana Ross.jpg | ||||
| Single by Diana Ross | ||||
| from the album Touch Me in the Morning | ||||
| B-side | "I Won't Last a Day Without You" | |||
| Released | May 3, 1973 | |||
| Recorded | 1973 | |||
| Genre | Pop, R&B | |||
| Length | 3:26 (single version) | |||
| Label | Motown | |||
| Writer(s) | Ron Miller, Michael Masser | |||
| Producer(s) | Michael Masser, Tom Baird | |||
| Diana Ross singles chronology | ||||
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"Touch Me in the Morning" is a popular song recorded by Diana Ross on the Motown label. In 1973 it became her second solo No. 1 single (and 14th over her career) on the Billboard Hot 100 .
It was conceived by then-unproven songwriter and producer Michael Masser. He had been recruited by Motown CEO Berry Gordy and A&R chief Suzanne de Passe. Masser teamed up with the proven ballad lyricist Ron Miller to write it.
According to Masser, in a video documentary about Ross, she "always tried to push hard to get the vocals right for this particular song", calling it a "draining experience" that resulted in several near-emotional breakdowns when she wasn't up to her abilities. It was recorded in the early morning hours, as was her custom after she began raising her children. In a Barbara Walters Mother's Day interview special, her second-oldest daughter, Tracee Ellis Ross, said Diana would put them to bed and record all night, in order to wake her children and send them to school the next morning.
Motown released the song as a single and it hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, becoming her longest-charting record until 1980, remaining on the chart for 21 weeks. It also spent a week at No. 1 on the adult contemporary chart, her first No. 1 on that chart. Sherlie Matthews, Clydie King and Venetta Fields sang background vocals.
It marked a turning point in both the careers of Diana Ross and Michael Masser: it reinvigorated her singing career, coming immediately after her Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in her acting debut, Lady Sings the Blues; it introduced Masser to an audience that would become accustomed to his prowess at writing good love songs.
Contents
Chart performance
Weekly singles charts
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Year-end charts
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Cover versions
- Andy Williams released a version in 1974 on his album, The Way We Were.
- Marlena Shaw released a disco version of the song on her 1979 album, Take a Bite.
References
- ↑ http://australian-charts.com/forum.asp?todo=viewthread&id=35092
- ↑ http://50.6.195.142/archives/70s_files/19730224.html
- ↑ http://australian-charts.com/forum.asp?todo=viewthread&id=35092
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1973.htm
- ↑ http://50.6.195.142/archives/70s_files/1973YESP.html
- Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)
External links
| Preceded by | Billboard Easy Listening Singles number-one single July 28, 1973 (one week) |
Succeeded by "Delta Dawn" by Helen Reddy |
| Preceded by | Billboard Hot 100 number one single August 18, 1973 (one week) |
Succeeded by "Brother Louie" by Stories |
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