| "The Boss" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 German 7' vinyl | ||||
| Single byDiana Ross | ||||
| from the albumThe Boss | ||||
| B-side | "I'm in the World" | |||
| Released | May 22, 1979 | |||
| Recorded | 1979 | |||
| Genre | Disco | |||
| Length | 3:52 | |||
| Label | Motown | |||
| Songwriter | Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson | |||
| Producers | Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson | |||
| Diana Ross singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"The Boss" is a 1979 song written and produced byAshford & Simpson and recorded by American singerDiana Ross, who released it as a single on theMotown label. It was the first release fromthe album of the same title (1979). The song was released on May 22, 1979, a day before the album release.
The single peaked at number 19 on theBillboard Hot 100 chart,[1] reached #12 on theHot Soul Singles chart, and went to number 1 on theBillboardHot Dance Club Play chart.
The song debuted at number 64 in theUK Singles Chart on July 21, 1979, reaching its highest peak on August 4, 1979.[2][3] The song spent 7 weeks in the top 75 before leaving the chart on September 1, 1979.[4]
The track was remixed byDavid Morales in 1993 and included on Ross' albumDiana Extended: The Remixes.The track was also remixed byAlmighty Records in 2009 and was included on their album "Almighty – We Love Diana Ross". In 2019, a remix byEric Kupper, entitled "The Boss 2019" went to number one on the Billboard, US Dance Club Songs chart.[5]
"The Boss" was featured as the "lip sync for your legacy" song in the fifth episode of thethird season ofRuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (2018).BeBe Zahara Benet andTrixie Mattel competed in the lip sync, with Benet winning.[6]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
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| "The Boss" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byThe Braxtons | ||||
| from the albumSo Many Ways | ||||
| Released | March 17, 1997 | |||
| Recorded | 1996 | |||
| Length | 9:41(album version) 4:27(video version) 4:13(radio edit) | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Songwriter | Ashford & Simpson | |||
| Producers |
| |||
| The Braxtons singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
AmericanR&B groupthe Braxtons released a cover of "The Boss" in 1997. The song was written byAshford & Simpson and produced byKenny "Dope" Gonzalez and"Little" Louie Vega. It was released on March 17, 1997 as the third single from their first studio album,So Many Ways (1996).
In his review of theSo Many Ways album, Peter Miro fromCash Box wrote, "Can't say "The Boss" byDiana Ross belongs on the collection, unless it's there to appeal to atechno-oriented dance crowd. Its straight-uphip-hop intro would have made a nice tune if it was fleshed out, but the rest of it sounds incongruous on this otherwise tranquil, luxuriant disc."[12] Jeremy Newall fromMusic Week'sRM Dance Update praised the track, rating it five out of five. He added, "Live bass, real strings anddisco drums capture the lush feeling of the original in breathtaking style."[13]
On February 1, 1997 theMasters At Work produced track topped theBillboardHot Dance Club Play chart for one week a #1 in the United States.[14] The song stayed in the chart for 14 weeks.[15]
On March 29, 1997, the song debuted at number 31 on theUK Singles Chart.[16] The song spent a total of three weeks on the chart at numbers 50 and 69 respectively before leaving the Top 75 on April 12, 1997, becoming their second top 40 in the UK.[17][18]
Amusic video was produced to promote the single. The video starts with Towanda Braxton kissing her husband goodbye as he rushes off to work. Then, Towanda is shown in a living room withTrina Braxton andTamar Braxton singing and dancing.
The video also shows The Braxtons talking on the phone to each other and singing by a tree. The plot of the video revolves around Towanda acquiring photos of her husband with another woman, and after he leaves for work, the sisters have a garage sale clearing out the entire house. The video ends with Towanda's husband coming home to an empty house with the pictures left in an envelope on the floor.[19]
|
|
| Chart (1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[28] | 20 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[29] | 26 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[30] | 24 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[31] | 10 |
| Scotland (OCC)[32] | 49 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[16] | 31 |
| UK Dance (OCC)[33] | 6 |
| USHot Dance Club Play (Billboard)[15] | 1 |
| Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Late 1996 | Vinyl 12", Promo | Atlantic Records | [20][21] |
| United Kingdom | [22][24] | |||
| United States | 1997 | CD | [23] | |
| Europe | [26] | |||
| Germany | [27] | |||
| Australia | Warner Music Australia | [25] |
On February 12, 2008,Americandance-pop singerKristine W released a cover of this song as the first single off her albumThe Power of Music. Kristine's version also hit number one on theBillboard Hot Dance Club Play chart[34] in March 2008, becoming her eleventh US dance chart-topper and the third version of the song to top that chart.
The song wascovered by Ashford and Simpson during a televised live concert special in 1982, and byWhitney Houston during her live shows in 1997 and 1998.
Korean pop singerJ covered the song on her 2001 special English albumChocolate.
Louise performed the song on herHeavy Love Tour in 2020.
