Why Do Fools Fall in Love (album)

Last updated
Why Do Fools Fall in Love
Diana-fools.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 14, 1981 (1981-09-14)
Recorded1980–1981
Studio Power Station, New York City
Genre
Length35:46
Label
Producer Diana Ross
Diana Ross chronology
All the Great Hits
(1981)
Why Do Fools Fall in Love
(1981)
Silk Electric
(1982)
Singles from Why Do Fools Fall in Love
  1. "Why Do Fools Fall in Love"
    Released: September 25, 1981
  2. "Mirror Mirror"
    Released: December 11, 1981
  3. "Work That Body"
    Released: March 19, 1982
  4. "It's Never Too Late"
    Released: July 1982
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]

Why Do Fools Fall in Love is the twelfth studio album by American R&B singer Diana Ross, released on September 14, 1981, by RCA Records. It was Ross' first of six albums released by the label during the decade. It peaked at No. 15 in the United States (No. 4 R&B), No. 17 in the United Kingdom and the top ten in Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands.

Contents

Background

Why Do Fools Fall in Love was the first album Ross recorded after leaving the Motown label, when she signed a $20 million deal with RCA. Originally, Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards were slated to produce the follow-up to the platinum Diana (1980) album. However, their schedules were filled with commitments to also produce Debbie Harry's solo debut album KooKoo (1981), Johnny Mathis and another Chic album. Ross had given her word to RCA president Robert Summers to deliver an album for the 1981 holiday selling season.

The album was the first to be produced by Ross herself, and it became her second RIAA-certified platinum album. [lower-alpha 1] It was also certified gold in the UK and Canada.

After Ross returned "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" to the Top Ten in 1981, a major controversy concerning Frankie Lymon's estate ensued. Three women each were involved in lawsuits and counter-lawsuits over Lymon's copyrights and royalties, claiming to be Lymon's rightful widow. The string of court cases led to the making of the 1998 film Why Do Fools Fall in Love .

Ross embarked on a world tour in support of the album.

The album was remastered and re-released on September 2, 2014, by Funky Town Grooves, with bonus material. [4]

Singles

The album includes the US top 10 hits "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" - a cover of the 1950s Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers classic - and the rock-flavoured "Mirror Mirror".

It also includes "Work That Body", co-written by Ross with Paul Jabara and Ray Chew which was a top 10 hit in the UK and top 15 in the Netherlands. "It's Never Too Late" was also released as a single in some international territories.

Also included on the album is a solo version of "Endless Love", which was a number one duet with Lionel Richie from earlier that year, as well as a version of another 1950s rock & roll classic, "Sweet Nothings" originally recorded by Brenda Lee.

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Why Do Fools Fall in Love"2:53
2."Sweet Surrender"
  • Leonard Stack
  • Cheryl Christiansen
4:09
3."Mirror, Mirror"
6:08
4."Endless Love" Lionel Richie 4:56
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."It's Never Too Late" Dan Hartman 3:19
6."Think I'm in Love"L. Cheryl Taylor4:15
7."Sweet Nothings"
3:00
8."Two Can Make It"3:24
9."Work That Body"
5:01
Total length:35:46
2014 Expanded Edition Bonus Tracks (Funky Town Grooves)
No.TitleLength
10."Mirror Mirror" (7" Mix)3:59
11."Mirror Mirror" (7" Alternate Version)4:06
12."Work That Body" (7" Mix)3:34
13."Work That Body" (12" Mix)6:31
14."Work That Body" (Extended Remix)6:22
15."Endless Love" (Edited Version)3:46
Total length:1:05:24

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the Why Do Fools Fall in Love liner notes. [5]

Musicians

Production

Charts

Chart (1981/82)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [6] 47
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [7] 33
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [8] 3
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [9] 3
Japan Albums Chart28
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [10] 5
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [11] 6
UK Albums (OCC) [12] 17
US Billboard 200 [13] 15
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [14] 4

Certifications

Certifications for Why Do Fools Fall in Love
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [15] Gold50,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat) [16] Gold25,000 [16]
United Kingdom (BPI) [17] Gold100,000^
United States (RIAA) [18] Platinum1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Notes

  1. This is misleading, since Motown was inconsistent to joining the RIAA for most of their 1960s and 1970s releases. She would have considerably more certifications.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frankie Lymon</span> American singer (1942–1968)

Franklin Joseph Lymon was an American rock and roll/rhythm and blues singer and songwriter, best known as the boy soprano lead singer of the New York City-based early rock and roll doo-wop group The Teenagers. The group was composed of five boys, all in their early to mid-teens. The original lineup of the Teenagers, an integrated group, included three African-American members, Lymon, Jimmy Merchant, and Sherman Garnes; and two Puerto Rican members, Joe Negroni and Herman Santiago. The Teenagers' first single, 1956's "Why Do Fools Fall in Love", was also their biggest hit. After Lymon went solo in mid-1957, both his career and that of the Teenagers fell into decline. In 1968, Lymon was found dead at the age of 25 on the floor of his grandmother's bathroom from a heroin overdose. Lymon was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 as a member of the Teenagers. His life was dramatized in the 1998 film Why Do Fools Fall in Love.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Why Do Fools Fall in Love (song)</span> 1956 single by Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers

"Why Do Fools Fall in Love" is a song by American rock and roll band Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers that was released on January 10, 1956. It reached No. 1 on the R&B chart, No. 6 on Billboard's Pop Singles chart, and No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in July. Many renditions of the song by other artists have also been hit records in the U.S., including versions by the Diamonds, the Beach Boys, and Diana Ross.

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References

  1. 1 2 Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. p. 704. ISBN   9780743201698.
  2. J. Andy Taraborrelli (2007). Diana Ross: the Unauthorized Biography. ISBN   978-0-330-43600-7.
  3. AllMusic review
  4. "Why Do Fools Fall In Love (Expanded Edition)". FunkyTownGrooves.com. Archived from the original on January 28, 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  5. Why Do Fools Fall in Love (CD booklet). Diana Ross. Capitol Records. 1981.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. 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.
  7. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0439". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  8. "Dutchcharts.nl – Diana Ross – Why Do Fools Fall in Love" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  9. Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Diana Ross". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 219. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  10. "Norwegiancharts.com – Diana Ross – Why Do Fools Fall in Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  11. "Swedishcharts.com – Diana Ross – Why Do Fools Fall in Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  12. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  13. "Diana Ross Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  14. "Diana Ross Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  15. "Canadian album certifications – Diana Ross – Why Do Fools Fall in Love". Music Canada.
  16. 1 2 "Diana Ross" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  17. "British album certifications – Diana Ross – Why Do Fools Fall in Love". British Phonographic Industry.
  18. "American album certifications – Diana Ross – Why Do Fools Fall in Love". Recording Industry Association of America.