Diana Ross by Diana Ross

Diana Ross (later reissued rarely as Ain't No Mountain High Enough) is the debut solo album of American-singer Diana Ross. It reached number 19 on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The album would later go onto sell 500,000 copies in America.The album was the ultimate test to see if the former Supremes frontwoman could make it as a solo act. With the help of the songwriting-producing team of Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson, Ross turned out a successful album. Ross did extensive work with other producers before settling with Ashford & Simpson, including Johnny Bristol, producer of her final single with The Supremes, "Someday We'll Be Together". Bristol here produces "These Things Will Keep Me Loving You" (which was a UK hit when originally recorded by The Velvelettes); the rest of the LP is fully written and produced by Ashford & Simpson. Ross' first solo single, "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)", sold over 500,000 copies in the USA, but was somewhat of a disappointment in terms of chart success, when it charted at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. Its follow-up, a cover of Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", peaked at number one on the Hot 100, selling approximately 1,245,000 copies in the USA, and garnering a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. As a result of the single's success, Diana Ross was reissued as Ain't No Mountain High Enough, and another Ross solo LP (her 1976 LP featuring "Love Hangover") would be issued as an eponymous release.