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PrintableSunday Telegraph (Australia) August 20, 2006 Sunday Inside Entertainment Edition HEADLINE: A supreme entertainer - The original diva, Diana Ross, is heading Down Under - Miss Ross still reigns supreme BYLINE: Bryan Patterson Former Motown diva Diana Ross has settled into a fulfilling groove, Bryan Patterson reports When Nelson Mandela met Diana Ross a couple of years ago, he observed: ''She's always seems to be running, never walking.'' Ross laughs at the memory. She knows it's true. Growing up in the housing projects of Detroit, little Diana Earle, the second of six children, knew she could ''make everybody happy'' if she sang. She was a skinny kid, wiry and full of energy. And she desperately wanted out of the place they called a ghetto. At some point, she can't remember exactly when, performing became a passion. The scrawny kid would sit every afternoon on the cement steps of Hitsville, Motown's Detroit headquarters, waiting for the break she knew would eventually come. Diana Earle inevitably became Miss Diana Ross, the pop diva with the exquisite honeyed tones. She was the voice of The Supremes, one of the world's most successful girl groups, then an even bigger star after going solo. At 62, she's still hot property on and off stage. Her marriages, divorces, arrests and temper tantrums are well documented. So is her impatience with journalists. But today, Diana Ross is sweetly and candidly reflective: ''This life is certainly much more than I imagined,'' she says. ''When I was a little girl, I just wanted to use my imagination and create. All I ever wanted to do was sing.'' Most singers of her generation are no longer working, but age hasn't wearied Miss Ross. She is still running fast, touring the world in glitzy shows with her big band and trademark lavish costumes. Ross's current tour, which will bring her to Australia in October for the first time since 1997, may include a couple of songs from her latest album, I Love You. ''All the songs are about an affirmation of love. They're very positive,'' Ross says. ''In a project like this, you start with one song. The first I found was Harry Nilsson's Remember, which always makes me think about my entire life. ''As I was listening to it, I was looking at a photo album of the children and our lives, and it became clear to me the album should be centred on classic, timeless love songs with positive lyrics. ''Since the early days I'd been singing about love. I believe in love. I believe it really is a healer and it works. I like to sing about love. Do you remember that first glance of first love? I do. It left me breathless.'' The album includes tracks such as John Lennon's I Will, and the classic The Look Of Love and Only You. ''This song reminded me of a time when we'd listen to records, slow dancing with one light glowing from above,'' Ross says. ''Young lovers holding each other so close, feeling that love was all that really matters.'' ''As you age, you realise record companies stay with the younger artists. It's a little more difficult to get the music released to the world the way you want it,'' says Ross. ''We used to make two or three albums a year. I'd make a jazz album, a standards album, a Christmas album, then a children's album. Now you get a chance to do one album every three years. ''And it doesn't have to do with my making music. It has to do with record companies releasing that music to the public.'' Ross says her business has changed greatly since she and The Supremes burst into prominence in the early '60s with Where Did Our Love Go? and Baby Love. ''There's no record company like Motown any more to stand behind an artist and be with them until they stop singing. ''A lot of singers of my generation don't have record deals.'' Despite the fluctuations in life, Ross believes her values haven't changed over the years. ''I'm an optimist. You have a choice with all the things that happen in your life to focus on the positive or the negative. I prefer to keep my balance somewhere in between. I'm more positive than negative. ''I always like to try to stand outside myself to watch what's going on. I really appreciate my life, and I wouldn't want to be anyone else or any different. ''I try very hard to have my privacy, and that's sometimes difficult, but there's so much good in having this career and wonder of it all. You just have to learn to balance it all. ''I schedule in time for my own happiness. I'm very much a mother and a family person. ''But I realise that what I've been put on earth to do is entertain, so if I can continue to make music and find ways to visit countries like Australia, I'll be happy. I'll never retire.'' [Edited 8/22/06 10:49am] "The first time I saw the cover of Dirty Mind in the early 80s I thought, 'Is this some drag queen ripping on Freddie Prinze?'" - Some guy on The Gear Page | |
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dammme said: SoulAlive said: Yes,Diana Ross is the ultimate diva bitch,but come on...this is a Prince site! He's never been known as the nicest personality either  But Prince is not a Diva, isnt he?  can men be "divas"? If so,Prince would be the ultimate male diva | |
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I love Dionne's music (especially the Burt Bacharach/Hal David collaborations). Never met her, but then, from the stories I hear about them, I probably wouldn't want to spend a whole lotta personal time around many "stars"...I'm sure some are really kool, and others I really wouldn't wanna know...Like others here have said, I can appreciate the art in itself, separate from the person... My favorite Dionne songs : Alfie Walk On By Window Wishing Paper Mache' You'll Never Get To Heaven Weakness(with Stevie Wonder) Don't Make Me Over Reach Out For Me So Amazing I say A Little Prayer Who Can I Turn To Looking With My Eyes Deja Vu It's You(with Stevie Wonder) Message To Michael Trains And Boats And Planes I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself Windows Of The World Just As Long As We Have Love (with The Spinners) Valley Of The Dolls (theme) Then Came You (with The Spinners) Do You Know The Way To San Jose Always Something There To Remind Me Promises, Promises The April Fools I'll Never Fall In Love Again The Green Grass Starts To Grow ... [Edited 8/23/06 11:20am] " I've got six things on my mind --you're no longer one of them." - Paddy McAloon, Prefab Sprout | |
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Yay I guess.... For some reason, where I work, I tend to hear "Deja Vu" a lot. Nice song. I really like "Heartbreaker" and I love The Spinners. Any decent compiltions out there of hers? | |
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respect for her as a professional singer yes but full package...nay | |
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Chaka sang Alfe in a jazz concert in the early 90's, closed the per4mance by saying "That girl(Dionne) is one mad sangin' heffa"(its in a DVD btw).
Dionne confronted the wild one in some award show about that quote, Chaka just shrugged, giggled and went on her way without saying a word | |
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YAY, muthafuckas. | |
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AlexdeParis said: 'kay.
She's not a great singer, but she can work a tune (especially one by Bacharach). I love all her Bacharach collaborations. She was so chic and iconic! | |
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HELL YAY!  And anyone who says she can't sing is deaf [Edited 8/28/06 10:58am] 2010: Healing the Wounds of the Past.... http://prince.org/msg/8/325740 | |
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YAY-YAY-YYYY!!!!! NOW PASS THA JOINT!!!!!
 | |
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"YOU'RE GONNA NEED ME"!!!!!
-as sampled by Usher & the late, GREAT J. DILLA!!!!! | |
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Greetings, all.
I give Dionne Warwick a YAY. She's not someone I get excited to hear on the radio, but she's a classic pop/soul artist whose songs have a natural middle-of-the-road appeal. In addition to having a long career, you have to respect for the most part Warwick wasn't making corny or mawkishly watered-down songs for the sole purpose of a pop audience. Songs like "Don't Make Me Over," "Say a Little Prayer," "Walk on By," "Message to Michael," "Then Came You" with The Spinners, etc. are staples, while album tracks like "What the World Needs Now Is Love" and "A House is Not a Home" are solid evergreens. IMO, there are a lot worse artists than Warwick, who is equally respected among both the pop and soul circuits (a rarity, for the most part). And as far as Warwick singing other people's songs on "Solid Gold," I thought Marilyn McCoo did a far worse job butchering them. THE TRAFFIC JAMMERS, The Org's house band: VAINANDY -- lead singer; NAJEE -- bass; THE AUDIENCE -- guitar; PHUNKDADDY -- rhythm guitar; ALEX de PARIS -- keyboards; Da PRETTYMAN -- keyboards; FUNKENSTEIN -- drums. HOLD ON TO YOUR DRAWERS! | |
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I know...I'll never....love this way again
So I keep holdin' on....before the good is gone She'll do, she'll do. Andy is a four letter word. | |
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