Love Hangover

This is a very sexual song where Diana Ross sings about the feeling after making love, and wishing it wouldn't end. Apparently, love hangovers are much more benign than traditional hangovers caused by excessive alcohol consumption.

This was the first disco hit for Motown Records. The label was slow to embrace the sound, which was coming out of places like Miami, New York and Sweden - not Detroit. Hal Davis, a producer at the label, thought it was time to try disco, so he put together this track, which changes from the relaxed, slow, cool opening to a rapid uptempo groove. The backing musicians included The Crusaders pianist Joe Sample, guitarist Art Wright (overdubbed later), bass player Henry Davis and drummer James Gadson. According to Davis, the session took place at 2 a.m., and he plied the musicians with shots of Remy Martin.

Diana Ross was not keen on recording a disco song, so producer Hal Davis went out of his way to set the right tone when she recorded her vocals. He scheduled the session at night, when Ross was most agreeable, and had engineer Russ Terrana set up flashing lights in the studio. Before sending her in, Davis had Ross relax with a drink of vodka (her libation of choice). When it came time to record, she kicked off her shoes and got into it, improvising and having a good time. At one point, Ross let out a laugh that made its way onto the record. The vocal was exactly what they were looking for.