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Best Diana Ross Songs: 20 Essential Solo Tracks By The Queen Supreme

Rightfully known as the queen Supreme, the best Diana Ross songs reveal just how much the Motown icon achieved when she stepped out as a solo artist.

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Diana Ross
Photo: Larry Ellis/Express/Getty Images

Born on March 26, 1944, the lead singer of Motown’s biggest girl group was gradually shaped by the company to become a solo star. When Diana Ross left The Supremes in 1970, she had the opportunity to work with the best producers and writers Motown could offer, plus she made the most of her dazzling personal style, which gave her the ability to reach audiences other soul artists could not. It was not 100 percent certain at the time that she’d make it alone – but it would have taken the total destruction of the world to stop it from happening. Diana became a distinctly adult-oriented artist, the sort of star that Motown craved but had never really found until that point. Here are the 20 best Diana Ross songs that helped create the legend. Think we’ve missed any? Let us know in the comments section, below.

Listen to the best Diana Ross songs on Apple Music and Spotify.

20: I’m Coming Out

Let’s start with a bright slice of 1980 disco, as Diana delivers an anthem for those longing to shrug off inhibitions – especially those who felt they had to keep their sexuality a secret. A beautiful result of Diana’s first collaboration with Chic; she disliked the original masters, but “I’m Coming Out” ultimately became a triumph.

19: Surrender

Wave a white flag: Diana demands the love you owe her. Punchy, climactic, and powerful soul music from 1971, produced by songwriting giants Ashford & Simpson, and a hit title track from an album that ought to be more lauded.

18: Touch Me In The Morning

In the early 70s, Diana stopped making records for teens, singing adult-oriented songs about complex relationships, regrets, complications, and joys. “Touch Me In The Morning” was an elegant, profoundly grown-up pleasure, written by Michael Masser and released in 1972.

Touch Me In The Morning

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17: It’s My House

Diana Ross hadn’t worked extensively with Ashford & Simpson since 1973, but Motown’s wonderful husband-and-wife team had conferred magic on her solo career from the start, and still worked their spell on her 1979 album, The Boss. It delivered this deceptively simple groove, celebrating female independence with a feather-light touch.

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16: I’m Still Waiting

One of the great lovelorn singles of the 70s. Diana has been waiting years for a fella to get around to fulfilling his romantic promise in this nuanced 1971 production by Deke Richards. A gloriously breathy performance from Motown’s queen sells this story perfectly.

I'm Still Waiting

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15: Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To)

More music for adults in the lilting theme song from the 1975 romantic drama Diana starred in, Mahogany. Mellow and questioning, this version is almost chamber soul. Michael Masser, its producer and co-writer (with Gerry Goffin), had created the song for Thelma Houston in 1973, but it was Diana who delivered the huge hit.

Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To) (Alternate Version #2)

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14: Doobedood’ndoobe, Doobedood’ndoobe, Doobedood’ndoo

The story goes that Diana was voicing this song, but its writer-producer Deke Richards had not completed the lyrics, so the singer filled in with nonsense words. Berry Gordy, Motown’s boss, thought those curious non-lyrics made it distinctive. It was released like that and it became a big UK hit in 1972.

13: Ease On Down The Road (with Michael Jackson)

The dynamic, brassy duet from the movie The Wiz, released in 1977 and bursting with joie de vivre.

12: Take Me Higher

Yes, Diana could do uplifting house: this 1995 sizzler found her perfectly comfortable in a then-contemporary dance groove. She had been happy in a disco setting; why shouldn’t this new floor-filling sound work for her? It did.

11: My Old Piano

And staying in the clubs, Lady Di and Chic deliver a quirky tribute to the musical instrument with the 88-note smile. A grand hit across Europe.

10: You’re A Special Part Of Me (with Marvin Gaye)

It took some time to get Diana and Marvin together, with Marv reluctant to partake in another duet after the 1970 death of Tammi Terrell, but it eventually worked perfectly. This super-soulful ballad, with Marvin bringing a raw edge to Diana’s precision, is a joyful 1973 tribute to romantic passion.

You're A Special Part Of Me

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9: Brown Baby/Save The Children

Diana at her most political – and her most caring, as she wishes pride, love, and success on an infant. Her vocal is amazing on Tom Baird’s “Brown Baby,” which has something of the feel of Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, making it logical that the song should segue into Diana’s version of one of the key tunes from that album. Gorgeous and thoughtful stuff from 1973.

Brown Baby/Save The Children

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8: One Love In My Lifetime

Killer funky-soul grooves that still boast a touch of the classic Motown sound despite emanating from 1976. Not a massive hit single, but it sounds fresher than ever today.

One Love In My Lifetime

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7: The Boss

The title cut from Diana’s 1979 album is bustling, hustling disco with the big-city vibe that producers Ashford & Simpson specialized in. Boogie down: here come the handclaps.

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6: Reach Out And Touch (Somebody’s Hand)

It’s 1970 and Diana Ross is launching her career as a solo artist after years of hits with The Supremes. She needs an amazing record. Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson supply a song that chimes with the togetherness ideal of the era, has anthemic qualities, and offers a touch of gospel. Diana delivers it perfectly, and her solo path begins on a huge high.

Reach Out And Touch (Somebody's Hand)

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5: Upside Down

Which way is up? Diana was looking for a song to flip her career on its head, and Chic took her request literally in this awesome 1980 smash.

4: I Heard A Love Song (But You Never Made A Sound)

A funky-rock thriller from Diana’s The Last Time I Saw Him album (1973), which is better known for dalliances with country and jazz. Written by Bob and Brit Gaudio, more usually associated with The Four Seasons, you can hear that group’s 70s sound echoed in this mighty but way too brief gem.

I Heard A Love Song (But You Never Made A Sound)

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3: Love Hangover

Diana switches to sultry, seductive diva mode in a two-headed dancefloor monster. It’s a sexy slow throbber, it’s a killer four-to-the-floor riffer, it’s a disco smash from 1976. There is no cure.

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2: Ain’t No Mountain High Enough

The original version of ”Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, released by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, was so awesome, who’d dare attempt to remake it in her own image? Diana Ross, that’s who. And what’s more, she’d already sung it for the 1968 album Diana Ross & The Supremes Join The Temptations. Undaunted, under the production supervision of writers Ashford & Simpson, she delivers it in a way that only she could, and scores a No.1 in 1970.

Ain't No Mountain High Enough

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1: Remember Me

Ashford & Simpson created this story of love spurned but still worth cherishing in a mature and heavenly 1970 hit. “Remember Me” is unforgettable.

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Looking for more? Discover why Diana Ross was Motown’s most supreme talent.

10 Comments

10 Comments

  1. Eric

    October 7, 2019 at 8:58 pm

    Top of the world was a great song too!

  2. J. Moran-Dias

    October 8, 2019 at 4:50 am

    That is a pretty awesome list – blockbusters and some subtle album tracks like Brown Baby/Save the Children.
    I would – in my humble opinion offer Strange Fruit, Good Morning Heartache from The Lady Sings the Blues and R&B stunner Surrender from the early seventies. Long live SOUL and one of the more unique voices on the music universe!

  3. Dennis Edwards

    October 8, 2019 at 10:26 am

    This is a great list, acknowledging some deep tracks that had fallen off my radar. In that spirit, I suggest “You Were the One” from Ross (1978) and “Let’s Go Up” from Ross (1983). Favorite hits to add would be “Swept Away” from Swept Away and “Chain Reaction” from Eaten Alive. Maybe we need to make a list of 50 essential tracks!

  4. Luis Boki

    October 8, 2019 at 5:55 pm

    Very interesting choices with a pure surprise on undderrated recordings like “Doo Be Doo Bee Doo”, the intelligent and moving self-produced “Brown Baby/Save the Children”, never count out La Diva with her 90s classic “Take Me Higher” and what an interesting #1 on “Remember Me”. “The Boss” is anthemic and should have placed even higher and how could any of her “Lady Sings the Blues” bravura performances especially from “Stolen Moments”!!!! But, hey, this is a well thought out list if it includes “I Heard a Love Song”!

  5. Luis Boki

    October 8, 2019 at 6:00 pm

    One more thing…..I would definitely include songs from “The Force Behind the Power” her international smash that the Godry-less Motown of the 90s flubbed in the states. From the engaging “Change of Heart” to the plaintive “One Shining Moment” to the amazing “Heavy Weather”…..it remains as significant as “The Boss” album to most die-hard fans. I also certainly agree that neglecting some of the EMI/RCA sonnets like “Let’s Go Up” and “Missing You” makes this list incomplete.

  6. Reed

    October 9, 2019 at 3:01 am

    Lifelong fan here. I don’t 100% agree with each selection here, but I Love seeing the UK HIT ‘Doobedood’ndoobe, Doobedood’ndoobe, Doobedood’ndoo’ and the deep cut ‘I Heard A Love Song (But You Never Made A Sound) from Last Time I Saw Him, however there are much better songs off The Boss than It’s My House and My Old Piano could have been left off

  7. Gene

    May 22, 2020 at 12:31 am

    I really like the song Home from the movie the wiz

  8. garth D

    March 28, 2023 at 8:49 pm

    Brilliantly selected list. Remember Me is lyric and vocal gold and an all time favorite. I totally understand its placing here.

  9. Vicky Lewis

    July 9, 2023 at 8:30 pm

    This is a great list !!! However, you have missed some of her great work of the ’80s, ’90s, and beyond. Here is my list :
    Why DO Fools Fall in Love
    Mirror, Mirror,
    All For One
    Missing You
    Blame It On The Sun
    Chain Reaction
    Gone
    If the World Just Danced
    I Still Believe
    Time to Call
    If We Hold On Together
    When You Tell Me That You Love Me

  10. Jay

    March 19, 2024 at 2:29 am

    I’m happy to see “Remember Me” at number one on your list – I’m not sure it is remembered the way some of her other adult themed songs are. I always liked her country pop hit, “Last Time I Saw Him” from the early 1970s.

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