The Boss is the tenth studio album by American singer Diana Ross, released on May 23, 1979 by Motown Records.
Background
This album was written and produced by longtime Ross collaborators Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson and marked her return to Top 40 radio based on the strength of the title track, which peaked at number 19 on the pop singles chart, and number 12 on the US R&B Chart. In addition, all the LP tracks went to number one on the dance charts, and the album itself peaked at number 14 on the Billboard 200. It was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
For its 20th Anniversary in 1999, the album was remastered and released on CD with 12" versions of "The Boss" and "It's My House" as extra tracks. The 12" versions of "I Ain't Been Licked" and "No One Gets the Prize"/"The Boss" appear on Diana: Deluxe Edition, and a rare remixed single version of "No One Gets the Prize" on The Motown Anthology – Diana Ross.
Ross also promoted the album on her first HBO special, Standing Room Only. The special was culled from her successful "Tour '79" stop at Caesars Palace, and the setlist included the title song, "The Boss", plus "It's My House", "No One Gets the Prize", "I Ain't Been Licked" and "All for One".
Track listing
All tracks written and produced by Ashford & Simpson.
Side A
"No One Gets the Prize" – 4:40
"I Ain't Been Licked" – 4:09
"All for One" – 4:20
"The Boss" – 3:52
Side B
"Once in the Morning" – 4:54
"It's My House" – 4:34
"Sparkle" – 5:23
"I'm in the World" – 4:04
1999 Remastered Edition bonus tracks
"The Boss" (Original 12" Remix) – 7:15
"It's My House" (Original Promotion-only 12" Remix) – 6:07
Personnel
Diana Ross – lead vocals
Michael Brecker – saxophone
Rob Mounsey – horn & string arrangements (tracks: A1-A3) Errol Bennett – percussion Francisco Centeno – bass Ray Chew – keyboards Sammy Figueroa – percussion Eric Gale – guitar Anthony Jackson – bass Paul Riser – horn and string arrangements (tracks: B1, B3-B4) John Davis – horn and string arrangements (tracks:A4, B3) Valerie Simpson – piano, backing vocals Nickolas Ashford – backing vocals Maxine Waters – backing vocals Julia Waters – backing vocals Stephanie Spruill – backing vocals John Sussewell – drums Greg Arnold – re-mix engineer, Marathon Recording NYC Douglas Kirkland – photography