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"Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)" | ||||
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Single by Diana Ross | ||||
from the album Diana Ross | ||||
B-side | "Dark Side of the World" | |||
Released | April 1970 | |||
Recorded | 1969 | |||
Genre | Soul | |||
Length | 2:59 | |||
Label | Motown M 1165 | |||
Songwriter(s) | Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson | |||
Producer(s) | Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson | |||
Diana Ross singles chronology | ||||
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"Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)" is the debut solo single of singer Diana Ross, released in April 1970 as the first single from her solo self-titled debut 1970 album by Motown Records.
Diana Ross, having just left The Supremes after a decade of serving as that group's lead singer, went through a difficult situation trying to piece a solo album together. With Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson writing and producing for her, and Paul Riser arranging, [1] Ross recorded "Reach Out and Touch", which carried a heavy gospel influence, and was one of the few songs the singer recorded to express her social conscience, previously experimented with Supremes singles such as "Love Child" and "I'm Livin' in Shame". [2] While the song's initial success fell short of expectations, "Reach Out and Touch" became one of Ross' most popular and notable songs. During her concert performances of the song, Ross often had the whole crowd turn to their neighbors, and "reach out and touch" their hands. Ross also performed this song as the finale for the Nobel Peace Prize Concert held in Oslo, Norway, in 2008.
Cash Box said that "Diana Ross takes hold of a slow blues-waltz message ballad and turns it into something all her own," and praised the vocal performance and the production. [3] Record World reviewed the single, saying that "Diana Ross is great on her own." [4]
"Reach Out and Touch" peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, [5] number 10 on the Cash Box Top 100, [6] and number 7 on the R&B charts with 500,000 copies sold. It was also a hit in the United Kingdom, making number 33 on the UK Singles Chart in August 1970.
Chart (1970) | Peak position |
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Canada RPM Top Singles [7] | 23 |
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [8] | 13 |
UK Singles (OCC) [9] | 33 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [10] | 20 |
US Best Selling Soul Singles ( Billboard ) [11] | 7 |
US Adult Contemporary ( Billboard ) [12] | 18 |
US Cash Box Top 100 [13] | 10 |
In 1970, the same year that Ross released "Reach Out and Touch" as her first solo single, the song was also covered by the group that she had just left at the start of that year, The Supremes (now fronted by Jean Terrell, along with other members Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong). The Supremes' version was a duet with fellow Motown Records artists The Four Tops on the two group's joint album The Magnificent Seven released by Motown toward the end of 1970. In one of her autobiographies, Mary Wilson mentioned that some fans at the post-Ross Supremes concerts used to call out requesting that The Supremes would sing this record live, as some fans erroneously recalled that it had been The Supremes' version, and not Ross's, that had charted as a hit Billboard single in early 1970.
Chart (1970) | Peak position |
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Australia (Kent Music Report) [14] | 56 |
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"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" is a song written by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson in 1966 for the Tamla label, a division of Motown. The composition was first successful as a 1967 hit single recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, and became a hit again in 1970 when recorded by former Supremes frontwoman Diana Ross. The song became Ross's first solo number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
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Diana Ross is the debut solo studio album by American singer Diana Ross, released on June 19, 1970 by Motown Records. The ultimate test to see if the former Supremes frontwoman could make it as a solo act, the album was overseen by the songwriting-producing team of Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson, who had Ross re-record several of the songs the duo had recorded on other Motown acts. Johnny Bristol, producer of her final single with The Supremes, contributed on The Velvelettes cover "These Things Will Keep Me Loving You."
"My World Is Empty Without You" is a 1965 song recorded and released as a single by the Supremes for the Motown label.
The Magnificent 7 is a collaborative album combining Motown's premier vocal groups, The Supremes and The Four Tops. Issued by Motown in 1970, it followed two collaborative albums The Supremes did with The Temptations in the late 1960s. The album featured their hit cover of Ike & Tina Turner's "River Deep – Mountain High", which reached number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. In the UK, the album peaked at number 6. In December 1971, Billboard reported UK album sales of 30,000 copies.
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Live at Caesars Palace is a live album by the American singer Diana Ross, released in 1974. It was recorded during a 1973 performance at Las Vegas' Caesars Palace. It was the first of two live albums Ross recorded for Motown. It reached No. 64 in the USA.
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