The Psychological Horror of Diana Ross' "Upside Down"
A close look at the mysterious underpinnings of a disco classic.
About a year ago, some friends and I were hanging out in a bar backyard before a gig, talking about the craft of songwriting. The conversation prompt: If you were asked to give a lecture about a particular song, getting into its nuts and bolts and so that your audience might glean some wisdom and techniques to try out in their own work, what song would you choose? For me, the answer came quickly: “Upside Down,” the indelible 1980 disco jam that helped propel Diana Ross of the Supremes into a new era of solo superstardom, written by Chic masterminds Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards.
Ever since then, I’ve had it in mind to write something about the song for Hearing Things, the closest outlet I have to a lectern, but I kept pushing it off in favor of more timely subjects. Now, it’s early January, historically a fallow period for new music; plus, a few weeks ago, I heard “Upside Down” on the radio, and the DJ informed me that it’s been prominently featured in the fifth and final season of Stranger Things, which just wrapped up on New Year’s Eve. I haven’t watched that show since season two or so, and I won’t be doing any research on how the song figures into its elaborate lore. But it’s enough of a peg to get me to finally write this thing.
You know “Upside Down.” Dancefloor staple. Good-time classic. Sounds like champagne, cocaine, and sequins. What I’d like to posit is this: While “Upside Down” may be all those things, it’s also the most haunting and effective exploration of the subconscious ever to hit No. 1 on the pop charts. Allow me to explain.
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