B-side "I Am Me" Format 7" single, 12" single Genre R&B, Pop | Released September, 1982 Recorded 1982 Length 3:59, 6:38 | |
"Muscles" is a 1982 hit single written and produced by Michael Jackson, and performed by American singer Diana Ross. It was the first single release from Ross's Gold-certified album Silk Electric.
Contents
The single reached number #7 in Cash Box magazine and #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It climbed as high as #4 on the Billboard Soul chart. The kinky song, which was supposedly named after Jackson's pet snake, was written for Ross and her "desire" for a muscle-bound lover. It earned Ross a twelfth and latest Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. (Although Ross never won a competitive Grammy, she was awarded an honorary Lifetime Achievement Award from NARAS in 2012.)
The song was recorded in 1997 by producer/DJ Peter Rauhofer recording as Club 69 and was a featured single on the Club 69 album Style. The vocals on this version of "Muscles" are performed by singer-songwriter, Suzanne Palmer.
Lil' Kim sampled "Muscles" for her rap "Diamonds" but it was not included in the final cut of her album The Notorious K.I.M. Young Jeezy also sampled "Muscles" for the title track of his album The Inspiration.
Music video
The single's erotic music video featured Ross in bed dreaming of muscular men. In one scene she is shown floating through the air over a landscape which turns out to be a man's musclebound body. The video features a young Gil Birmingham (The Twilight Saga film series) in one of his first-ever media appearances.
Track listing
- "Muscles" – 4:36
- "I Am Me" – 3:50
- "Muscles" – 6:38
- "I Am Me" – 3:50
- "Muscles" – 3:59
- "I Am Me" – 3:50
- "Muscles" – 3:59
- "Pieces of Ice" – 3:57
- "Muscles" – 3:59
- "I Am Me" – 3:50
- "Muscles" – 4:35
- "I Am Me" – 3:47
- "Muscles" – 3:59
- "I Am Me" – 3:50