''Silk Electric'' is the thirteenth studio album by American R&B singer

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups ...

, released on September 10, 1982 by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

. It was Ross' second of six albums released by the label during the decade. It reached No. 27 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 (No. 5 R&B), No. 33 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

and the Top 20 in Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands. The album cover was designed by

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

. The album contains Ross' US Top 10,

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

-nominated single, "

Muscles Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of musc ...

", which was written and produced by

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

. All other tracks were produced by Ross, including the US Top 40 follow-up single "So Close" featuring prominent background vocal arrangements by

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive P ...

. The song "In Your Arms", written by

Linda Creed Linda Diane Creed (December 6, 1948 – April 10, 1986), also known by her married name Linda Epstein, was an American songwriter and lyricist who teamed up with Thom Bell to produce some of the most successful Philadelphia soul groups of the 1 ...

and

Michael Masser Michael William Masser (March 24, 1941 – July 9, 2015) was an American songwriter, composer and producer of popular music. Early life Born to a Jewish family in Chicago to Ester Huff and William Masser, he attended the University of Illinois ...

, was covered by

Teddy Pendergrass Theodore DeReese Pendergrass (March 26, 1950 – January 13, 2010) was an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter. He was born in Kingstree, South Carolina. Pendergrass spent most of his life in the Philadelphia area, and initially rose to musi ...

and

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Voice", she is Whitney Houston albums discography, one of the bestselling music artists ...

as " Hold Me" the following year. The song "I Am Me" was co-written by Ross (and incorrectly listed as co-written by

Cindy Birdsong Cynthia Ann Birdsong (born December 15, 1939) is an American singer who became famous as a member of The Supremes in 1967, when she replaced co-founding member Florence Ballard. Birdsong had previously been a member of Patti LaBelle & The Blu ...

instead of

Janie Bradford Janie Bradford (born June 2, 1939 in Charleston, Missouri, United States) is an American songwriter, most known for her tenure with Motown. With Berry Gordy, she co-wrote "Money (That's What I Want)", originally recorded by Barrett Strong, and ...

on the ''Greatest Hits: The RCA Years'' compilation album). The album was certified Gold in the US and Silver in the UK. Ross toured in support of the album in the US, Europe, Australia and Asia. The album was remastered and re-released on September 2, 2014 by Funky Town Grooves as an "Expanded Edition", with bonus material.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the ''Silk Electric'' liner notes. * Diana Ross – lead vocals, arrangements (3, 4, 5), backing vocals (3-10) * Michael Jackson – uncredited backing vocals (1) *

Patti Austin Patti Austin (born August 10, 1950) is an American R&B, pop, and jazz singer and songwriter. Music career Austin was born in Harlem, New York, to Gordon Austin, a jazz trombonist. She was raised in Bay Shore, New York on Long Island. Quincy ...

– backing vocals (1) * Julia Tillman Waters – backing vocals (1) * Maxine Willard Waters – backing vocals (1) *

– backing vocals (2), background vocal arrangements (2) *

Tawatha Agee Tawatha Agee (born November 14, 1954) is an American backing vocalist and songwriter. Her voice has been described in ''The New York Times'' as an "acrobatic, gospel-charged soprano." She was the lead singer of funk and soul band Mtume; her soulf ...

– backing vocals (2) *

Cissy Houston Emily "Cissy" Houston ( ''née'' Drinkard; born September 30, 1933) is an American soul and gospel singer. After a successful career singing backup for such artists as Roy Hamilton, Dionne Warwick, Elvis Presley, and Aretha Franklin, Houston embar ...

– backing vocals (2) * Paulette McWilliams – backing vocals (2) * Denzil Miller – keyboards (1) *

Michael Boddicker Michael Lehmann Boddicker (born January 19, 1953) is an American film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. He is a three times National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (N.A.R.A.S.) Most Valuable Player "Synthe ...

– synthesizers (1) * Greg Smith – synthesizers (1) * Bill Wolfer – synthesizers (1) *

Rob Mounsey Rob Mounsey (born December 2, 1952) is an American musician, composer, and arranger. Music career Mounsey was born in Berea, Ohio, and grew up in Seattle, Washington, spending a few years each in Findlay and Granville, Ohio. At the age of 17 ...

– keyboards (2, 3, 7), arrangements (2, 3, 7) * Steve Goldstein – synthesizers (2, 5, 10), arrangements (5) *

Ray Chew Ray Chew is an American musician who specializes in keyboards and contemporary and orchestral arranging. He is the music director of ABC's Dancing with the Stars (2014–present). Chew was music director for Fox's American Idol from 2010 to 20 ...

– keyboards (4, 5, 6, 8, 10), arrangements (4, 6, 10) * Ed Walsh – synthesizers (6, 7) *

Paul Shaffer Paul Allen Wood Shaffer (born November 28, 1949) is a Canadian singer, composer, actor, author, comedian, and multi-instrumentalist who served as David Letterman's musical director, band leader, and sidekick on the entire run of both ''Late Ni ...

–

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, t ...

(9), rhythm arrangements (9) * Joe Bargar – acoustic piano (9) * David Williams – guitar (1) * Eric Gale – guitar (2, 5, 6, 8, 9) * Jeff Mironov – guitar (2, 5, 6, 8, 9) *

Bob Kulick Robert Joel Kulick (January 16, 1950 – May 28, 2020) was an American guitarist and record producer, who worked with numerous acts such as Kiss, W.A.S.P., Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, Meat Loaf and Michael Bolton. He was born in Brooklyn, New York ...

– lead and rhythm guitars (3, 4, 7, 10) *

Nathan Watts Nathan or Natan may refer to: People *Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name *Nathan (surname) * Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible * Nathan (son of David), biblical figure, son of King David a ...

– bass (1) *

Neil Jason Neil is a masculine name of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish ''Niall'' which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion".. ...

– bass (2-9) * Lucio Hopper – bass (10) *

Jonathan Moffett Jonathan Phillip "Sugarfoot" Moffett (born November 17, 1954) is an American drummer, songwriter and producer from New Orleans, Louisiana. Beginning in 1979, Moffett collaborated with the Jackson family, particularly Michael Jackson, over the co ...

– drums (1) *

Yogi Horton A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions.A. K. Banerjea (2014), ''Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha'', Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. xxiii, 297-299, 331 Th ...

– drums (2-7, 9, 10) *

Rick Marotta Richard Thomas Marotta (born January 7, 1948) is an American drummer and percussionist. He has appeared on recordings by leading artists such as Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, Steely Dan, James Taylor, Paul Simon, John Lennon, Hall & Oates, Ste ...

– drums (8) * Errol "Crusher" Bennett – percussion (10) *

Bill Reichenbach Jr. William Frank Reichenbach Jr. (born November 30, 1949) is an American jazz trombonist and composer. He is the son of Bill Reichenbach, who was the drummer for Charlie Byrd from 1962 to 1973. He is best known as a session musician for television, ...

– string arrangements (1) *

Paul Riser Paul Riser (born September 11, 1943) is an American trombonist and Motown musical arranger who was responsible for co-writing and arranging dozens of top ten hit records. His legacy as one of the " Funk Brothers" is similar to that of most of ...

– string arrangements (6, 8, 9), rhythm arrangements (8) *

Randy Brecker Randal Edward Brecker (born November 27, 1945) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, and composer. His versatility has made him a popular studio musician who has recorded with acts in jazz, rock, and R&B. Early life Brecker was born on No ...

– horn arrangements (9)

Production

* Producers – Michael Jackson (Track 1); Diana Ross (Tracks 2-10). * Engineers – Ross Pallone and Tom Perry (Track 1); Larry Alexander (Tracks 2-10). * Assistant engineer on Tracks 2-10 – Dave Greenberg * Track 1 recorded at Hollywood Sound Recorders (Hollywood, CA); Tracks 2-10 recorded at the

Power Station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many ...

(New York, NY). * Mastered by

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Biography T ...

at Sterling Sound (New York, NY). * Cover art –

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1982 albums Diana Ross albums Capitol Records albums RCA Records albums Albums produced by Michael Jackson Funk albums by American artists Albums with cover art by Andy Warhol