(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please CLICK HERE)
Diana Ross - "Love Hangover"
Hit Number 1: May 29, 1976
Stay at Number 1: 2 Weeks
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Everyone knew at this time that disco was taking over the world. Everyone that would have never thought of performing the genre was giving it a shot and you couldn't go out without hearing it. It was literally everywhere. But despite that, there were still some artists/labels that were hesitant on trying it out. I'm mainly talking about Berry Gordy and the Motown label. Even though disco was dominating the charts, Gordy still would rather release the slower ballad-type stuff that artists like Diana Ross were putting out for the label, which to be fair, was still working. Even Ross herself preferred these songs, as she was most comfortable recording them. It wasn't until Motown producer, Hal Davis, decided to try disco for the first time that that would change. He put together "Love Hangover," a seductive song about a woman "feeling it" after sex, and wishing that special way of feeling would never end. And as far as Motown goes, who better to record it than the label's pride and joy of Diana Ross?
It's hard to believe that the same artist who gave us "Touch Me in the Morning" and "Theme from Mahogany" would give us something like this, and initially Ross wasn't sure about it. In fact, because Ross didn't care for disco, Davis made sure that the setting was just right for her so that she was comfortable, and could give him a good product. The story goes that Ross liked to do her recording sessions really late at night, so Davis booked her for 2 a.m. Flashing lights were set up in the studio to give Ross that "disco feel," and Davis even helped Ross to her drink of choice, vodka, before it was time for her to start recording the song. It's actually possible that when we listen to "Love Hangover," we're listening to a very tipsy Ross. This helped her to unwind, and when the time came for recording, she kicked off her shoes and improvised a great amount of the song. She was very comfortable while recording the song, and ended up having a hell of a fantastic time.
The song starts as a slower song, but not necessarily a ballad. It sounds like something Barry White would do, an obvious disco-infused tune that's slow, which makes it sound very seductive as a result. But eventually it picks up, and it thrusts the listener into a disco wonderland, with Ross bringing her vocals in and out of the song. To be fair, Ross doesn't really do much in the song. The main highlight of "Love Hangover" is when the song transitions to a much faster tempo, and Ross brings her improvisations here and there. That part could work just fine as an instrumental. Even still, it's kind of entertaining to hear Ross having fun on the track. She sings her improv, imitates Billie Holiday and even laughs at one point on the track, which might have had something to do with the vodka she drank beforehand, but it worked. She gave Hal Davis exactly what he was looking for. Motown had their first potential big disco smash on their hands.
Even after hearing Ross' take on "Love Hangover," though, Gordy still wasn't convinced. It wasn't until others were pegging for it to be hit, including club DJs playing it, that Gordy changed his mind. He released "Love Hangover" as a single, where it unsurprisingly got to #1. This proved to be a new era for Motown, as well as Ross. Ross would be all about disco after the overwhelming success of "Love Hangover." Not even good ol' Motown was safe from the surging popularity of disco. I wasn't alive in the time disco was at its peak, but I can only imagine how insane all of this really was.
If you're strictly looking at disco, though, I think you can find more songs that are more exciting than "Love Hangover." To me, the song clearly sounds like a label and an artist that were trying something for the first time, and were unsure how exactly to go about it. Granted, being in this situation, they made the right calls. Ross gives some orgasmic sighs at the beginning, and overall is very seductive-sounding in the first part of the song, but that's not the part everyone remembers. That's the latter half of the song, which is where everything gets carried away. Ross isn't at the forefront anymore, and most of that part of the song is this same bass riff being played over and over again, along with some other sparse instrumentation here and there. It's not overly exciting, but it works. When the song first makes that transition from slow to upbeat though, that part is pretty awesome. You can almost hear Diana Ross transitioning from a sweet ballad singer to a disco diva when that part hits. There are some cool things going on in the song, but once it makes that transition, it sticks with that for the rest of the song. That's not bad necessarily, but I can't shake the feeling that I'm hoping there was a little bit more to it.
Surprisingly, this is the last time we'll hear from Ross in the '70s. But she would completely reinvent herself as a music artist, and would find her way back to #1 again in 1980 with another disco song. Considering all the backlash disco would eventually face in 1979 (Disco Demolition Night, anyone?) the fact she was able to score another disco #1 hit in 1980 is pretty crazy. Yet, I don't think that would have happened in a world without "Love Hangover."
GRADE: 7/10
IN POP CULTURE:
I know nothing about this show, but "Love Hangover" was played during an episode of the show Pose, so here's that scene where it plays:
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