Pieces of Ice

{{Infobox song

| name = Pieces of Ice

| cover = Single cover diana ross pieces of ice.jpeg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Diana Ross

| album = Ross

| B-side = Still in Love

| released = June 17, 1983

| format =

| recorded =

| studio =

| venue =

| genre = {{hlist|Rock|post-disco|R&B|{{nowrap|new wave}}|dance-pop}}

| length = 4:58 (album version)
3:57 (7" version)
7:19 (12" version)

| label = RCA

| writer = {{hlist|Marc Jordan|John Capek}}

| producer = Gary Katz

| prev_title = So Close

| prev_year = 1983

| next_title = Up Front

| next_year = 1983

| misc = {{External music video|type=single|header=Music video|1={{YouTube|asrJtBP9xnY|"Pieces of Ice"}}}}

}}

"Pieces of Ice" is a song written by Marc Jordan and John Capek and recorded by American singer Diana Ross. It was produced by Gary Katz, and was released on June 17, 1983 as the first single from the singer's self-titled album, Ross (1983). It was the only simultaneous top forty single the singer scored on this album, which was one of her rare misses on RCA Records in the early 1980s. In the US, the song reached #31 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #15 on the soul singles chart.{{cite book |title= Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=502}} In Europe, "Pieces of Ice" peaked at #46 in the UK, and it charted best in Norway, where it reached #8. The song was released in three different version lengths: a 7-inch version at 3:57, an album version at 4:58, and the 12-inch version at 7:19. The US-released 12-inch single also includes an instrumental version as its B-side.

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Pieces of Ice" was the first to feature Bob Giraldi as director; he would direct several Ross videos during this period, and features Ross in a slithery red bodysuit. It was also the first video that showcased choreography.{{cite book| author = R. Serge Denisoff | chapter = It's the Format| chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Bb5ykQLNLn8C&pg=PA113 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Bb5ykQLNLn8C | title = Inside MTV |location= New Jersey |date = 1989 |publisher= Transaction Publishers | pages = 373| isbn = 9780887388644}}

Personnel

Charts

class="wikitable sortable"

!Chart (1983)

!Peak
position

Australia (Kent Music Report){{Cite book|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, NSW|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6 }}

| style="text-align:center;"| 73

Finland (Suomen virallinen lista){{cite book|url=https://musiikkiarkisto.fi/oa/_tiedostot/julkaisut/sisaltaa-hitin.pdf#page=219|first=Timo|last=Pennanen|year=2021|title=Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021|section=Diana Ross|page=219|publisher=Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava|location=Helsinki|access-date=2022-07-04|language=fi}}

| style="text-align:center;"| 12

{{singlechart|Dutch40|12|song=Pieces of Ice |artist=Diana Ross|access-date=2020-05-24|refname=Dutch40}}
{{singlechart|Norway|8|song=Pieces of Ice |artist=Diana Ross|access-date=2020-05-24|refname=Norway}}
{{singlechart|Sweden|14|song=Pieces of Ice |artist=Diana Ross|access-date=2020-05-24|refname=Sweden}}
{{singlechart|UKsinglesbyname|46|song=Pieces of Ice |artist=Diana Ross|artistid=14097|access-date=2020-05-24}}
{{singlechart|Billboardhot100|31|artist=Diana Ross|access-date=2020-05-24|refname=Billboardhot100}}
{{singlechart|Billboardrandbhiphop|15|artist=Diana Ross|access-date=2020-05-24|refname=Billboardrandbhiphop}}
{{singlechart|Billboarddanceclubplay|17|artist=Diana Ross|access-date=2020-05-24|refname=Billboarddanceclubplay}}
West Germany (Offizielle Top 75){{cite web|url=https://www.offiziellecharts.de/titel-details-27161|title=Diana Ross - Offizielle Deutsche Charts|language=de|publisher=GfK Entertainment|access-date=2020-05-24}}

| style="text-align:center;"| 39

Influence

The song heavily influenced the theme and title of American children’s author Timothy Bellavia‘s Young Adult graphic novel. Bellavia's book with the same title was nominated for Outstanding LGTBQ Memoir at the Lambda Literary Foundation Award in 2009.

References