Swept Away (Diana Ross song)

Last updated
"Swept Away"
SweptAway.jpg
Single by Diana Ross
from the album Swept Away
B-side
  • "Fight for It"
  • "We Are the Children of the World"
ReleasedAugust 14, 1984 (1984-08-14)
Recorded1984
Studio Unique Recording Studios (New York City) [1]
Length5:25 (album version)
4:01 (single edit)
Label RCA
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Diana Ross singles chronology
"All of You"
(1984)
"Swept Away"
(1984)
"Touch by Touch"
(1984)
Music video
"Swept Away" on YouTube

"Swept Away" is a song by American R&B singer Diana Ross for her album of the same name. Ross released the song as the album's second single on August 14, 1984 by the RCA. It was written by Daryl Hall, Sara Allen and produced by Hall and Arthur Baker. Ross wrote the spoken lyrics at the beginning of the song and Hall also provided background vocals on it.

Contents

The song talked about how the narrator thought she was in love with a special person only to find out that she had just been "swept away" after catching her lover cheating on her sending her into a rage and panic.

Baker had been a club DJ turned remixer who was just breaking into production, and the twelve-inch version became one of Ross' most successful, reaching number one on the Billboard Dance/Disco chart and #3 on the Cash Box 12" singles sales chart. [2] The single also reached nineteen on the US pop singles chart and number three on the R&B singles chart. [3]

Music video

In the sensual music video, directed by Dominic Orlando in Manhattan and on location in Long Island, Diana is seduced by a Frenchman and falls in love with him only to find out, after arriving unannounced in a bar, that he's cheating on her with another French girl in a stylized Apache Dance. She then confronts the man - hitting him repeatedly - who ends up being knocked unconscious by the singer. Later in the video, the Frenchman tries to fight his way back into her life only to have Ross push him from a lighthouse tower into the water. It was one of her most popular videos, and her first to air on MTV.

The music video was blown up to 35mm for projection during Diana Ross' live performances at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. There's also an extended version of the video edited for the 12" dance club remix.

Charts

Chart performance for "Swept Away"
Chart (1984)Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [4] 28
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [5] 17
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [6] 36
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [7] 36
US Billboard Hot 100 [8] 19
US Dance Club Songs ( Billboard ) [9] 1
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ( Billboard ) [10] 3
West Germany (Official German Charts) [11] 63

Personnel

See also

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References

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