"20 Golden Greats" is a compilation album by Diana Ross, released on the Motown label in Europe in 1979. Although Ross had scored 22 single hits in the UK since leaving The Supremes in 1970, the album only contained the 18 solo tracks that had charted for Ross in the UK, together with the two tracks that had charted in partnership with Marvin Gaye. Both the hit singles Ease on Down (with Michael Jackson) and Pops, We Love You (with Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder) were excluded in favour of solo hits. By the time the album was released, Ross had already scored her 23rd post-Supremes hit single (her 19th solo) with It's My House, which was thus not included. The album was released just two years after the 20 Golden Greats compilation featuring 18 of her 21 UK hits with The Supremes. The album was certified Platinum in the U.K for sales in excess of 300,000 copies.[2] By February 1980, the album had sold 990,000 units in the UK alone.[3]
| 20 Golden Greats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Greatest hits album by | ||||
| Released | 2 Nov 1979[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1970–1979 | |||
| Genre | Pop, soul, disco | |||
| Length | 67:28 | |||
| Label | Tamla Motown | |||
| Diana Ross chronology | ||||
| ||||
The album was released for the international market and became the singer's best charting album in the UK since another greatest hits collection (released in 1976) also peaked at #2. Due to the large number of tracks included and the time limitations of the vinyl album format the running time of several titles were changed and were either slightly edited or had fade-out ends. The 20 Golden Greats album remains unreleased on CD.
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original Album, Year | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" | Michael Masser, Gerry Goffin | Mahogany – 1975 Diana Ross – 1976 | 3:21 |
| 2. | "Touch Me in the Morning" | Masser, Ron Miller | Touch Me in the Morning – 1973 | 3:59 |
| 3. | "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)" (duet with Marvin Gaye) | T. Bell, L. Creed | Diana & Marvin – 1973 | 2:51 |
| 4. | "No One Gets The Prize" | Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson | The Boss – 1979 | 3:49 |
| 5. | "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" | Ashford & Simpson | Diana Ross – 1970 | 3:33 |
| 6. | "Love Hangover" | Marilyn McLeod, Pam Sawyer | Diana Ross – 1976 | 3:44 |
| 7. | "All Of My Life" | Michael Randall | Touch Me in the Morning – 1973 | 3:21 |
| 8. | "I'm Still Waiting" | Richards | Everything Is Everything – 1970 | 3:32 |
| 9. | "Lovin', Livin' And Givin'" | Kenny Stover, Pam Davis | Thank God It's Friday – 1978 Ross – 1978 (remix) | 3:48 |
| 10. | "The Boss" | Ashford & Simpson | The Boss – 1979 | 3:41 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original Album, Year | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "You Are Everything" (Duet with Marvin Gaye) | Bell, Creed | Diana & Marvin – 1973 | 2:50 |
| 2. | "Sorry Doesn't Always Make It Right" | Michael Masser | Non-album single – 1975 Ross – 1978 (remix) | 3:30 |
| 3. | "Last Time I Saw Him" | Masser, Pam Sawyer | Last Time I Saw Him – 1973 | 2:48 |
| 4. | "Love Me" | Baird, Fekaris, Zesses | Last Time I Saw Him – 1973 | 2:55 |
| 5. | "Remember Me" | Ashford & Simpson | Surrender – 1971 | 3:29 |
| 6. | "Surrender" | Ashford & Simpson | Surrender – 1971 | 2:50 |
| 7. | "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)" | Ashford & Simpson | Diana Ross – 1970 | 3:04 |
| 8. | "Gettin' Ready for Love" | Golde, Snow | Baby It's Me – 1977 | 2:50 |
| 9. | "Doobedood'ndoobe, Doobedood'ndoobe, Doobedood'ndoo" | Richards | Everything Is Everything – 1970 | 4:10 |
| 10. | "I Thought It Took a Little Time (But Today I Fell in Love)" | Masser, Pam Sawyer | Diana Ross – 1976 | 3:23 |
Charts
edit| Chart (1979) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[4] | 6 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[5] | 2 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[6] | Platinum | 990,000[3] |
References
edit- ^ "EMI advertisement for the album" (PDF). Music Week: 7. 1979-11-03.
- ^ "UK Certified Awards Search > Diana Ross". British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
- ^ a b "Motown-The UK Connection" (PDF). Music Week. February 16, 1980. Retrieved November 13, 2022 – via worldradiohistory.com.
- ^ "Charts.nz – Diana Ross – 20 Golden Greats". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ "Diana Ross | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ "British album certifications – Diana Ross – 20 Golden Greats". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
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