Workin' Overtime

Following the release of her album Red Hot Rhythm & Blues (1987), Ross gave birth to her son Ross and became pregnant with Evan, which caused her to go on a hiatus from work. "I stayed off work for about a year... I was having my babies, and during that time I spent a lot of time watching BET on television, the kids doing the hip-hop and so on... and, you know, I’m a risk taker," Ross said.Nathan, David. [https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Soulful_Divas.html?id=A37uAAAAMAAJ The Soulful Divas: Personal Portraits of Over a Dozen Divine Divas, from Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin & Diana Ross to Patti LaBelle, Whitney Houston & Janet Jackson], Billboard Books, {{ISBN|9780823084302}}, Google Book Search, 1999.

Workin' Overtime marked Ross' first Motown album with new material since To Love Again (1981), after Ross left the label for a then record breaking $20 million deal with RCA. Upon Diana's return to the label, Motown founder Berry Gordy, Jr. had sold the label to MCA Records and had positioned Jheryl Busby to the head of Motown. Ross was at first reluctant to return to her old label but Gordy promised her a lot in her return: Not only would Ross return to Motown as a recording act, but she would be the label's part-owner.

{{Album ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|2|5}}Wynn, Ron. "[http://www.allmusic.com/album/workin-overtime-mw0000200099 Workin' Overtime - Diana Ross]", AllMusic, All Media Network. Retrieved 2015-02-09.

| rev2 = Robert Christgau

| rev2Score = C+{{Cite web | last = Christgau | first = Robert | title = Workin' Overtime > review | publisher = Robert Christgau | access-date = 2016-04-18 | url = http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=8313}}

| rev3 = Los Angeles Times

| rev3Score = {{Rating|2.5|4}}{{cite news|first=Paul D.|last=Grein|title=Diana Ross "Workin' Overtime"|work=Los Angeles Times|date=1989-05-21|page=|accessdate=2023-01-21|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-05-21-ca-815-story.html}}

}}

AllMusic editor Ron Wynn wrote that "this album was the first product of that new contract, and the results weren't very encouraging. There were no moderate or even small hits, and the album quickly dropped off both the R&B and pop charts within a couple of weeks of its release. Ross sounded completely lost, and the production, arrangements, and compositions sounded weak and thin next to the dominant New Jack and hip-hop works."

All songs produced by Nile Rodgers.

{{Track listing

| total_length =

| title1 = Workin' Overtime

| writer1 = {{flat list|

• Nile Rodgers
• Christopher Max

}}

| length1 = 4:17

| title2 = Say We Can

| writer2 = {{flat list|

• Rodgers
• Cathy Block

}}

| length2 = 4:20

| title3 = Take the Bitter with the Sweet

| writer3 = {{flat list|

• Preston Glass
• Steven Ray
• Steve Birch

}}

| length3 = 3:51

| title4 = Bottom Line

| writer4 = {{flat list|

• Glass

}}

| length4 = 4:05

| title5 = This House

| writer5 = {{flat list|

• Rodgers

}}

| length5 = 5:34

| title6 = Paradise

| writer6 = {{flat list|

• Rodgers
• Greg Smith

}}

| length6 = 3:54

| title7 = Keep On (Dancin')

| writer7 = {{flat list|

• Rodgers
• Smith

}}

| length7 = 4:33

| title8 = What Can One Person Do

| writer8 = {{flat list|

• Rodgers
• Smith

}}

| length8 = 3:18

| title9 = Goin' Through the Motions

| writer9 = {{flat list|

• Glass
• Ray
• Birch

}}

| length9 = 3:54

| title10 = We Stand Together

| writer10 = {{flat list|

• Rodgers
• Smith

}}

| length10 = 5:07

}}

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.{{cite AV media notes|others=Diana Ross|title=Workin' Overtime|year=1989|publisher=Motown|id=MOT-6274|type=liner notes}}

;Performers

{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}

• Diana Ross – vocals, executive producer
• Christopher Max – backing vocals, synth programming
• Curtis King – backing vocals
• Dennis Collins – backing vocals
• Fonzi Thornton – backing vocals
• Lazet Michaels – backing vocals
• Peggy Taft – backing vocals
• Nile Rodgers – producer
• Andres Levin – synth programming
• Greg Smith – synth programming, mixing
• Richard Hilton – synth programming, engineer

{{div col end}}

;Design

{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}

• Herb Ritts – photography
• Sue Reilly – art direction, design

{{div col end}}

;Production

{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}

• Budd Tunick – coordinator
• Rene Bell – coordinator
• Tom Durack – engineer, mixing
• Keith Freedman – engineer, mixing
• Patrick Dillett – engineer
• David Michael Dill – engineer
• Paul Wertheimer – engineer
• Ed Brooks – engineer
• Karen Bohanon – engineer
• Katherine Miller – engineer
• Paul Angelli – engineer
• Bob Ludwig – mastering
• Frank Cardello – mixing

{{div col end}}

{{certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for Workin' Overtime}}

{{certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Diana Ross|title=Workin' Overtime|award=Silver|relyear=1989|certyear=1989|type=album|id=8341-2600-2}}

{{Certification Table Bottom | nosales=true}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Discogs master|type=album|99322}}

{{Diana Ross}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1989 albums

Category:Diana Ross albums

Category:Motown albums

Category:New jack swing albums

Category:Albums produced by Nile Rodgers