Diana Ross Songs: 12 Hits Played, 4 at No. 1

By Charlie · Published October 16, 2026

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Diana Ross songs turned a Supremes lead singer into a solo star with four Billboard Hot 100 number ones in the 1970s.

Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Touch Me in the Morning, Theme from Mahogany and Love Hangover all got there.

Between them they held the top spot for seven weeks.

This page plays twelve of her hits, from Reach Out and Touch in 1970 to The Boss in 1979.

Ten of the twelve reached the Hot 100's top 20, and two are duets with Marvin Gaye.

Press Play on every hit below, then read the story behind each one.

Diana Ross in a 1976 Motown publicity photo.

Image credit: Motown Records, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Diana Ross Songs: Play All 12 Hits

Here are twelve hits from 1970 to 1979, from Reach Out and Touch to The Boss.

Six sit on a Billboard Year-End Hot 100, and six more charted weekly without making a year-end list.

Press Play on any row to watch it here, and tap a heading to sort.

Released is the year each song came out as a single, per Wikipedia.

Year-End List and Year-End Rank show which year-end list a song is on, and its rank there.

A blank means it is on none.

Hot 100 Peak is the weekly peak, from each song's Wikipedia article or the Diana Ross discography article.

All four number ones are Hot 100 chart toppers in this site's weekly chart data.

You're a Special Part of Me and My Mistake are duets with Marvin Gaye.

Diana Ross Songs on the Charts: Four Number Ones

The four number ones came in three separate bursts across the decade.

Ain't No Mountain High Enough held the top spot for three weeks, starting September 19, 1970.

Touch Me in the Morning did it for one week, starting August 18, 1973.

Theme from Mahogany did it for one week, starting January 24, 1976.

Love Hangover followed for two weeks, starting May 29, 1976.

Hot 100 peaks of the twelve hits on this page, per Wikipedia's song and discography articles.

What the Chart Numbers Say

Ten of the twelve hits on this page reached the Hot 100's top 20.

• Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Touch Me in the Morning, Theme from Mahogany and Love Hangover all reached number one, for seven weeks in this site's weekly data.
• You're a Special Part of Me, with Marvin Gaye, reached number 12, and Last Time I Saw Him reached number 14.
• Ain't No Mountain High Enough ranks #6 on the 1970 Year-End Hot 100, the highest of her six year-end songs.
• Touch Me in the Morning ranks #10 on the 1973 list, and Love Hangover ranks #15 on the 1976 list.
• Theme from Mahogany ranks #43 on the 1976 list, My Mistake ranks #92 on the 1974 list, and The Boss ranks #97 on the 1979 list.
• Wikipedia says she made twelve top ten singles in a fifteen-year span, and that six of them reached number one.

From the Supremes to Solo: Where the Diana Ross Songs Began

The Diana Ross songs of the 70s came from the lead singer of the best-charting female group in history.

She was born on March 26, 1944, in Detroit, Michigan.

At fifteen she joined the Primettes, who were renamed the Supremes in 1961.

Berry Gordy made her the group's lead singer at the end of 1963.

Twelve Supremes Number Ones and a Last Night in Las Vegas

Wikipedia credits the Supremes with twelve Hot 100 number ones.

Someday We'll Be Together was the last of them, and the final number one of the 1960s.

Ross made her final appearance with the group at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas on January 14, 1970.

She released her first solo album, Diana Ross, in May 1970.

The Songwriters Who Built Her Solo Sound

Ashford and Simpson wrote her first solo single and her first solo number one.

Michael Masser wrote the ballads that carried her through 1973 and 1974.

Masser, Ashford and Simpson, or Pam Sawyer wrote or co-wrote ten of the twelve hits on this page.

Spin the dial on more voices from the decade with the Random Artist Picker.

1970 and 1971: Reach Out and Touch, Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Remember Me and Surrender

The first four Diana Ross songs on this page all came from the Ashford and Simpson team.

Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)

Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand) was her debut solo single, released in April 1970.

Ashford and Simpson wrote and produced it, and Paul Riser arranged it.

Wikipedia says it carried a heavy gospel influence.

It was one of the few songs she recorded to express her social conscience.

It peaked at number 20 on the Hot 100, number 10 on the Cash Box Top 100 and number seven on the R&B chart.

Cash Box said she took a slow blues-waltz message ballad and turned it into something all her own.

In concert she often had the whole crowd turn to their neighbors and reach out and touch their hands.

She also sang it as the finale of the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo in 2008.

Ain't No Mountain High Enough

Ashford and Simpson wrote Ain't No Mountain High Enough in 1966.

Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell took it to number 19 on the Hot 100 in 1967.

In early 1970 the writers had Ross record it again, and she was apprehensive at first.

The remake added spoken-word passages, strings, horns and a gospel-style backing chorus.

The Record Berry Gordy Did Not Want to Release

Wikipedia says Berry Gordy did not like the record when he first heard it.

He hated the spoken-word passages and wanted it to begin with the climactic chorus.

Radio stations then began editing their own versions and adding them to their playlists.

That let Ashford and Simpson convince him to release an edited three-minute single.

Motown released it on July 19, 1970, as the second single from her debut album.

It reached number one on both the pop and R&B charts, higher than the Gaye and Terrell version.

This site's weekly data gives it three weeks at the top, starting September 19, 1970.

It ranks #6 on the 1970 Year-End Hot 100, and it earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Its year-end company is on the page for top songs of 1970.

Remember Me

Remember Me was released on December 8, 1970, as the first single from her second album, Surrender.

Ashford and Simpson wrote and produced it.

It is told from the view of a spurned woman who asks an ex to remember the good she brought to his life.

It peaked at number 16 on the Hot 100 and number 10 on the soul chart.

Wikipedia calls it her third top 40 pop hit within a year.

It reached number seven in the UK.

Surrender

Surrender was the third single from the album of the same name, released on July 6, 1971.

Ashford and Simpson wrote and produced it, and the Funk Brothers played on it.

It peaked at number 38 on the Hot 100 and number 16 on the R&B chart.

In the UK it reached number 10, her fourth straight top ten hit there.

Her soul ballad I'm Still Waiting reached number one in the UK in 1971.

Wikipedia calls it her first solo number one there.

It stalled at number 63 on the Hot 100, so it sits in the table of other singles below.

1973 and 1974: Touch Me in the Morning and the Marvin Gaye Duets

Lady Sings the Blues, her film debut, opened in October 1972 and earned her an Academy Award nomination.

The next single returned her to number one.

Touch Me in the Morning

Touch Me in the Morning was written by Ron Miller and Michael Masser, and produced by Masser and Tom Baird.

Motown released it on May 3, 1973, as the first single from the album of the same name.

Masser said she pushed hard to get the vocal right and called it a draining experience.

She recorded it in the early morning hours, as was her custom after she began raising her children.

Her Second Solo Number One

It reached number one on the Hot 100, her second solo chart-topper.

This site's weekly data puts that in the week starting August 18, 1973, for one week.

It also spent a week at number one on the adult contemporary chart, her first on that chart.

It ranks #10 on the 1973 Year-End Hot 100.

Wikipedia says it stayed on the chart for 21 weeks, her longest run until 1980.

Sherlie Matthews, Clydie King and Venetta Fields sang backing vocals, and Gene Page arranged it.

Find more songs with the same late-night mood in the Mood Song Matcher.

You're a Special Part of Me

You're a Special Part of Me was a duet with her Motown label mate Marvin Gaye, released in September 1973.

It came from their album Diana & Marvin, and Berry Gordy produced it.

Harold Johnson, Andrew Porter and Greg Wright wrote it.

It reached number 12 on the Hot 100 and number four on the R&B chart.

Record World said the combination of the two voices was beautiful.

More of his own story is on the page for Marvin Gaye.

Last Time I Saw Him

Last Time I Saw Him was written by Michael Masser and Pam Sawyer.

Motown released it on December 6, 1973, as the first single from the album of the same name.

The narrator waved a man off on a Greyhound bus and has heard nothing for six months, so she sets out to find him.

It peaked at number 14 on the Hot 100 in February 1974, her seventh top 40 hit.

It spent three weeks at number one on the Easy Listening chart.

Wikipedia says it was the biggest Easy Listening hit of 1974.

Billboard called it a light romp in the Tony Orlando and Dawn style.

Dottie West covered it for the country market, and her version reached number eight on the country chart in February 1974.

My Mistake (Was to Love You)

My Mistake (Was to Love You) was the second single from Diana & Marvin, released in February 1974.

Gloria Jones and Pam Sawyer wrote it, and Hal Davis produced it.

It peaked at number 19 on the Hot 100 and number 15 on the R&B chart.

It ranks #92 on the 1974 Year-End Hot 100.

Sawyer also co-wrote Last Time I Saw Him and, two years later, Love Hangover.

1975 and 1976: Theme from Mahogany and Love Hangover

1976 was the year the Diana Ross songs hit the top twice, and Casey Kasem noticed.

Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)

Michael Masser and Gerry Goffin wrote Theme from Mahogany.

Thelma Houston recorded it first, in 1973.

Ross cut it as the theme to her 1975 film Mahogany, and Motown released it on September 24, 1975.

It was the lead single for both the film soundtrack and her album Diana Ross.

Number One in January 1976

It reached number one on the Hot 100, her third.

This site's weekly data puts that in the week starting January 24, 1976, for one week.

It ranks #43 on the 1976 Year-End Hot 100.

Masser and Goffin received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.

Ross sang it at the 48th Academy Awards ceremony by satellite from Amsterdam.

Mariah Carey later included it as a promotional single on international versions of her compilation #1's.

Anthony Perkins photographing Diana Ross in a still from the 1975 Mahogany film trailer.

Image credit: Paramount Pictures, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

A Troubled Film Behind the Theme

Wikipedia says the film was a troubled production.

The original director, Tony Richardson, was fired, and Berry Gordy took over.

Ross had designed the costumes herself.

Love Hangover

Marilyn McLeod and Pam Sawyer wrote Love Hangover, and Hal Davis produced it.

Motown released it as a single on March 16, 1976.

Davis had engineer Russ Terrana install a strobe light so that Ross would be in a disco mindset.

As the song changed from ballad to uptempo, she hummed, laughed, danced and even imitated Billie Holiday.

A Hangover Race Against the 5th Dimension

The 5th Dimension released their own version of Love Hangover, and both versions entered the chart the same day.

By the time Ross reached number one, the 5th Dimension had peaked at number 80.

Hers reached number one on the Hot 100 on May 29, 1976, for two weeks in this site's weekly data.

It ranks #15 on the 1976 Year-End Hot 100.

A Record Fourth Number One

That week Casey Kasem reported on American Top 40 that Ross had broken the record for most number ones by a female vocalist.

Her fourth passed Connie Francis, Helen Reddy, Roberta Flack and Cher, who each had three.

It also earned a Grammy nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.

The beat behind it is explored in the page on 70s disco music.

Janet Jackson sampled it on My Need in 1997, and Monica sampled it on The First Night in 1998.

A 2020 remix by Eric Kupper reached number one on the Dance Club Songs chart.

Wikipedia says that was the final number one single on that chart.

1977 to 1979: Gettin' Ready for Love and The Boss

The last two Diana Ross songs on this page came after the decade's biggest run, and both went in new directions.

Gettin' Ready for Love

Gettin' Ready for Love was released on October 16, 1977, as the first single from Baby It's Me.

Tom Snow and Franne Golde wrote it, and Richard Perry produced it.

It reached number 27 on the Hot 100 and number eight on the adult contemporary chart.

Wikipedia's personnel list includes Steve Lukather on guitar, Jeff Porcaro on drums and Tom Scott on the saxophone solo.

Gene Page arranged the strings.

In the UK it reached number 23.

The Boss

The Boss was written and produced by Ashford and Simpson.

Motown released it on May 22, 1979, a day before the album of the same name.

It reached number 19 on the Hot 100 and number 12 on the soul chart.

It went to number one on the dance club chart.

Wikipedia calls it her first top 20 pop hit since Love Hangover.

It ranks #97 on the 1979 Year-End Hot 100.

The album gave her her first gold-certified album.

She performed the song in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in November 1979.

The next chapter was Diana in 1980, with Upside Down and I'm Coming Out.

Those fall just outside this decade.

The Other Diana Ross Singles on the 70s Hot 100

Not every one of the Diana Ross songs fit on the playable list.

Wikipedia's discography shows ten more singles on the Hot 100 in the decade.

Among them are I'm Still Waiting, which reached number one in the UK, and the Michael Jackson duet Ease On down the Road from The Wiz.

Beyond the Charts: Films, Awards and Later Honors

The Diana Ross songs above sit beside a film career and a stack of honors.

Wikipedia lists these milestones.

• 1972: Lady Sings the Blues, her film debut as Billie Holiday, brought an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
• 1972: The Lady Sings the Blues soundtrack reached number one on the Billboard 200 for two weeks and sold two million copies.
• 1974: She became the first African-American woman to co-host the Academy Awards.
• 1975: Mahogany reunited her with her Lady Sings the Blues co-star Billy Dee Williams.
• 1976: She launched her An Evening with Diana Ross tour, and its success earned her a Special Tony Award.
• 1978: She played Dorothy in The Wiz, and Ease On down the Road with Michael Jackson earned a Grammy nomination.
• 1988: The Supremes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Wikipedia says she has sold more than 100 million records worldwide as a solo artist.

Counting her time with the Supremes, she has 18 number one singles.

Six of those came as a solo artist, with Upside Down and Endless Love still to come after this decade.

Who Wrote and Released Each of the Diana Ross Songs

The table lists the release date, first album and writers for each of the twelve hits.

Ashford and Simpson wrote five of them, and Pam Sawyer co-wrote three.

Keep Exploring

These Diana Ross songs gave the decade four number ones and a long run of polished Motown hits.

Ten of the twelve reached the top 20.

Another act with a Motown start is covered on the page for Jackson 5 songs.

Sources

Year-end ranks come from this site's own Billboard data, described on the methodology page.

Every list on Music of the 70s plays inside the page.

Peaks, dates and stories behind the Diana Ross songs above can be checked against these outside sources:

• Wikipedia: Diana Ross and her discography for the biography, honors, singles and chart peaks.
• Wikipedia: Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand), Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Remember Me and Surrender for 1970 and 1971.
• Wikipedia: Touch Me in the Morning, You're a Special Part of Me, Last Time I Saw Him and My Mistake (Was to Love You) for 1973 and 1974.
• Wikipedia: Theme from Mahogany and Love Hangover for 1975 and 1976.
• Wikipedia: Gettin' Ready for Love and The Boss for 1977 and 1979.

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