Alex Henderson

Diana Ross
Silk Electric

For many years, the thought of Diana Ross leaving Motown Records seemed unthinkable. The Detroit-born R&B/pop superstar began recording for Motown in 1960 and enjoyed considerable success at that label—first as the lead singer of the Supremes, then as a solo artist in the 1970s. Ross enjoyed one solo smash after another in the 1970s, and 1980’s Diana (which was written and produced by Chic leaders Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards) was a multi-platinum blockbuster. But Ross left Motown after Diana and moved to RCA Records with 1981’s Why Do Fools Fall in Love—a self-produced effort that boasted the major hits “Mirror, Mirror” and “Work That Body.” The title song, a remake of the Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers doo wop favorite from 1956, was also a big hit for Ross. And in 1982, Ross’ commercial winning streak continued with her second RCA album, Silk Electric, which was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of more than 500,000 copies in the United States alone.

Boasting a front cover that was designed by Andy Warhol, Silk Electric reached #5 on Billboard’s R&B albums chart in the U.S. and had an impressive list of participants that included, among others, Luther Vandross, Patti Austin, Cissy Houston (Whitney Houston’s mother) and Maxine Willard Waters on background vocals, Eric Gale on guitar and Nathan Watts (currently Stevie Wonder’s musical director) on bass. Rob Mounsey, who has worked with everyone from Phil Collins, Steely Dan and Madonna to Usher, contributed string and horn arrangements.

The song that did the most to help Silk Electric achieve its gold status was “Muscles,” a sexy, jazz-influenced single that was written and produced by the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. “Muscles” took off in a hurry, reaching #4 on Billboard’s R&B singles chart in the U.S. and #10 on the Billboard Hot 100—and the song was also a #15 pop hit in the UK and a top 10 pop hit in Sweden and the Netherlands.

Except for “Muscles,” Silk Electric was produced by Ross herself. And she makes certain that the album is quite diverse, incorporating everything from reggae on “I Am Me” to pop-rock on “Love Lies.” The exuberant, danceable “Who” has a strong Chic influence—which isn’t surprising in light of how successful Diana had been—while the ballads “Still in Love” and “In Your Arms,” a.k.a. “Hold Me,” go for both R&B/pop appeal and adult contemporary appeal. Written by Michael Masser and the late Linda Creed, “In Your Arms” became a major hit for Teddy Pendergrass and Whitney Houston when they covered it as a male/female duo in 1984.

Although “Love Lies” and “Fool for Your Love” are both rock-minded, they’re two very different songs: “Love Lies” is a power ballad, whereas the aggressive, uptempo “Fool for Your Love” is straight-up hard rock. Had Ross brought in Pat Benatar and Heart’s Ann Wilson to join her on “Fool for Your Love,” they would have been right at home.

The unapologetically retro single “So Close” (which made it to #13 on Billboard’s adult contemporary singles chart in the U.S.) underscores the fact that even after Ross left Motown, she didn’t forget her long history at that label. With its early 1960s influence, “So Close” is not unlike something Ross would have recorded with the Supremes 20 years earlier. This expanded edition of Silk Electric contains four bonus tracks, which include the single version of “So Close,” two versions of “Muscles” (including the 12” single version) and the single version of “I Am Me” (which wasn’t a single in 1982 but was used as the b-side of Ross’ 1987 single “Shockwaves”—a song from her last RCA album, 1987’s Red Hot Rhythm & Blues).

Another participant on Silk Electric was Bill Wolfer, who played synthesizers on “Muscles” and worked with Michael Jackson extensively in the 1980s. Wolfer played keyboards on the Jacksons’ 1981 tour, and it was the King of Pop himself who selected Wolfer to play on “Muscles.” 

Interviewed in early August 2014, Wolfer had an interesting memory from the day he went to Westlake Recording Studios in West Hollywood, California to work on “Muscles.” Westlake was also where Jackson recorded his album Thriller, which was released about three months after Silk Electric and became the best-selling album of all time thanks to sales that eventually reached a stunning 50 million copies worldwide. Wolfer played synthesizers on parts of Thriller, including the smash hits “Beat It,” “Billie Jean” and “Wanna Be Starting Something.”

When Ross sang “Muscles,” she was singing about a muscular man. But Muscles was also the name of Jackson’s pet boa constrictor. “I met the creature the song was named after, which was Michael Jackson’s snake Muscles,” Wolfer remembers with amusement. “Michael had this seven-foot-long boa constrictor named Muscles, and he brought the snake to the recording studio. Michael wanted to show me the snake and said to me, ‘Do you want to hold it?’ I said, ‘No, not really,’ and Michael said, ‘Oh, come on. He’s really cool.’ It took both Michael and Nelson Hayes—who was an assistant—to lift that thing up, and they draped it around my shoulders. I’m not really afraid of snakes, but all of a sudden, the thing started tightening up. Imagine, a big-ass boa constrictor named Muscles is hanging around my shoulders, and it starts to squeeze. It starts to contract. I said, ‘Man, get this thing off me.’ They were just laughing.”

Ross’ vocals on “Muscles,” however, were recorded during a different session. “The only thing that was a bummer about that day,” Wolfer says with a laugh, “was that Miss Ross wasn’t in the studio. I got squeezed by a snake, and I didn’t get to meet Diana Ross.” 

After Silk Electric, Ross went on to record four more albums for RCA—1983’s Ross, 1984’s Swept Away, 1985’s Eaten Alive and 1987’s Red Hot Rhythm & Blues—before returning to Motown with 1989’s Nile Rodgers-produced Workin’ Overtime. Ross wasn’t afraid to experiment and take risks in the 1980s, and she takes plenty of them on Silk Electric.

—Alex Henderson, August 2014

Alex Henderson’s work has appeared in Billboard, Spin, Salon.com, Creem, The L.A. Weekly, AlterNet, JazzTimes, Jazziz, Cash Box, HITS, CD Review, Skin Two, Black Beat, The Pasadena Weekly, Black Radio Exclusive (BRE), Music Connection, The New York City Jazz Record, Jazz Inside Magazine and many other well-known publications. Henderson (alexvhenderson.com) also contributed several thousand CD reviews to the popular Allmusic.com website and The All Music Guide’s series of music reference books.