Continuing my look at the albums of 1976…
When I saw that Diana Ross released an album in 1976, I decided it had to make the cut this week. Through more than 6,000 Songs of the Day, I’ve never featured a solo song by Ross (though I’ve written about quite a few by The Supremes).
Ross’ seventh album, titled Diana Ross, came out in ’76. It was her second self-titled album (the first was her debut). She later released albums titled Diana and Ross, so she more than covered her bases.
The record kicks off with ‘Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To),’ a track that was a hit for Ross the year before when she starred alongside Billy Dee Williams in the romantic drama Mahogany.
The song was initially recorded by Thelma Houston in 1973 but never officially released, a technicality that made it eligible for a Best Song nomination at the Academy Awards. It lost to Keith Carradine’s ‘I’m Easy’ from Nashville.
That song feels like a bit of an outlier on this album, which makes sense given that it was more than a year old. The rest of the tracks lean a little more into disco and upbeat soul. Epic disco banger ‘Love Hangover,’ like the Mahogany theme, reached #1 on the Hot 100.
I wasn’t familiar with that song or any of the others, but they all went down super easy. More than a half dozen producers worked on the album but it sounds like a unified statement, anchored by Ross’ peerless vocals.
This was a good place to start my Diana Ross education. With 26 solo albums on top of her work with The Supremes, she seems like a good candidate for a shallow dive one of these days.
Do you know where you’re going to?
Do you like the things that life is showing you?
Where are you going to?
Do you know?
Do you get what you’re hoping for?
When you look behind you, there’s no open doors
What are you hoping for?
Do you know?
[Verse 1]
Once we were standing still in time
Chasing the fantasies that filled our minds
You knew I loved you, but my spirit was free
Laughing at the questions that you once asked of me
[Chorus]
Do you know where you’re going to?
Do you like the things that life is showing you?
Where are you going to?
Do you know?
[Verse 2]
Now, looking back at all we’ve passed
We let so many dreams just slip through our hands
Why must we wait so long before we see
How sad the answers to those questions can be?
[Chorus]
Do you know where you’re going to?
Do you like the things that life is showing you?
Where are you going to?
Do you know?
Do you get what you’re hoping for?
When you look behind you, there’s no open doors
What are you hoping for?
Do you know?
Meet Me In Montauk 
I’ve never heard of”Love Hangover” either. Meanwhile, I can’t imagine it’s a great marketing move to name 2 albums the same, but, by 1976, I doubt Diana Ross cared.