Diana Ross

AKA born: Diane Earle Born Mar 26, 1944 in Detroit, MI Styles Soul, Disco, Urban, Motown, Pop-Soul Biography As a solo artist, Diana Ross is one of the most successful female singers of the rock era. If you factor in her work as the lead singer of the Supremes in the 1960s, she may be the most successful. With her friends Mary Wilson, Florence Ballard, and Barbara Martin, Ross formed the Primettes vocal quartet in 1959. In 1960, they were signed to local Motown Records, changing their name to the Supremes in 1961. Martin then left, and the group continued as a trio. Over the next eight years, the Supremes (renamed «Diana Ross and the Supremes» in 1967, when Cindy Birdsong replaced Ballard) scored 12 number one pop hits. After the last one, «Someday We’ll Be Together» (October 1969), Ross launched a solo career. Motown initially paired her with writer/producers Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, who gave her four Top 40 pop hits, including the number one «Ain’t No Mountain High Enough» (July 1970). Ross branched out into acting, starring in a film biography of Billie Holiday, Lady Sings the Blues (November 1972). The soundtrack went to number one, and Ross was nominated for an Academy Award. She returned to record-making with the Top Ten album Touch Me in the Morning (June 1973) and its chart-topping title song. This was followed by a duet album with Marvin Gaye, Diana & Marvin (October 1973), that produced three chart hits. Ross acted in her second movie, Mahogany (October 1975), and it brought her another chart-topping single in the theme song, «Do You Know Where You’re Going To». That and her next number one, the disco-oriented «Love Hangover» (March 1976), were featured on her second album to be titled simply Diana Ross (February 1976), which rose into the Top Ten. Ross’ third film role came in The Wiz (October 1978). The Boss (May 1979) was a gold-selling album, followed by the platinum-selling Diana (May 1980) (the second of her solo albums with that name, though the other, a 1971 TV soundtrack, had an exclamation mark). It featured the number one single «Upside Down» and the Top Ten hit «I’m Coming Out». Ross scored a third Top Ten hit in 1980 singing the title theme from the movie It’s My Turn. She then scored the biggest hit of her career with another movie theme, duetting with Lionel Richie on «Endless Love» (June 1981). It was her last big hit on Motown; after more than 20 years, she decamped for RCA. She was rewarded immediately with a million-selling album, titled after her remake of the old Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers hit, «Why Do Fools Fall in Love», which became her next Top Ten hit. The album also included the Top Ten hit «Mirror, Mirror». Silk Electric (October 1982) was a gold-seller, featuring the Top Ten hit «Muscles», written and produced by Michael Jackson, and Swept Away (September 1984) was another successful album, containing the hit «Missing You», but Ross had trouble selling records in the second half of the 1980s. By 1989, she had returned to Motown, and by 1993 was turning more to pop standards, notably on the concert album Diana Ross Live: The Lady Sings…Jazz & Blues, Stolen Moments (April 1993).

Motown released a four-CD/cassette box set retrospective, Forever Diana, in October 1993, and the singer published her autobiography in 1994. Take Me Higher followed a year later, and in 1999 she returned with Every Day Is a New Day. 2000’s Gift of Love was promoted by a concert tour featuring the Supremes, although neither Mary Wilson nor Cindy Byrdsong appeared — their roles were instead assumed by singers Lynda Laurence and Scherrie Payne, neither of whom ever performed with Ross during the group’s glory days. Discography (albums) 1970 Diana Ross [1970] 1970 Everything Is Everything 1971 Diana! [Original TV Soundtrack] 1971 Surrender 1971 I’m Still Waiting 1972 Lady Sings the Blues [Original Soundtrack] 1973 Touch Me in the Morning 1973 Diana & Marvin 1973 Last Time I Saw Him 1974 Live at Caesar’s Palace 1975 Mahogany 1976 Diana Ross [1976] 1977 An Evening with Diana Ross [live] 1977 Baby, It’s Me 1977 Paradise 1979 The Boss 1980 Diana 1981 To Love Again 1981 Endless Love [US] 2081 Why Do Fools Fall in Love? 1982 Silk Electric 1982 Dynamic Diana 1983 Ross 1984 Swept Away 1985 Eaten Alive 1987 Red Hot Rhythm & Blues 1988 Love Supreme 1989 Workin’ Overtime 1991 The Force Behind the Power 1993 Stolen Moments: The Lady Sings Jazz & Blues [live] 1993 Christmas in Vienna [live] 1995 Take Me Higher [US/UK] 1998 Very Special Season 1999 Every Day Is a New Day 2000 Voice of Love 2000 Take Me Higher [Import Bonus Tracks] 2000 Gift of Love 2002 Stolen Moments: The Lady Sings Jazz & Blues [live] 2002 Diana Ross [1970] [Bonus Tracks] 2003 To Love Again [Bonus Tracks] 2003 Diana [Deluxe Edition] 2003 This House