Top 10 Alert!
Song#: 2142 Date: 12/01/1984
Debut: 82
Peak: 10
Weeks: 27
Genre: Pop, Adult Contemporary
Pop Bits: Ross returned to the Pop Top 20 for the first time in two years with the title track from her album Swept Away. That single would get to #19 Pop and #3 R&B. To follow it up, this ballad was issued. It took a while to get going, but it finally cracked the Pop Top 10. It was a terrific return for Ross, but unfortunately it would be her last single to get inside the Top 10. In fact, it would be her last to get into the top half of the Pop chart. This single was also a major hit at R&B, where it got to #1, and it would reach #4 at AC. The success of this song helped pull Ross out of a minor slump and return her to gold-level sales for the album.
ReduxReview: This is a lovely song and a wonderful tribute, not only to Gaye (see below), but to others that have passed as well. Ross gives a terrific reading and really brings it during the mid-section. It is definitely one of her better vocal performances. The song really does stand on its own and deserved to be a hit, but I've often wondered how it would have done if it wasn't tied to Gaye. Tribute songs sometimes bring out the sentimental in folks and can help to sell some copies. I'm sure that was part of the case here. However, Richie did do a nice job with the tune and I'm glad it caught on.
ReduxRating: 8/10
Trivia: This song was written and co-produced by Lionel Richie. It was done as a tribute to Marvin Gaye, who had been killed earlier in '84. Both Ross and Gaye were early Motown stars and maintained a friendship over the years. They even collaborated on an album in 1973 titled Diana & Marvin. That LP would spawn three charting singles including the #4 R&B/#12 Pop hit "You're a Special Part of Me."
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