Diana Ross
Please read Kat's "Kat's Korner: No, Diana Ross, Thank You" about Diana Ross' new album THANK YOU. TV Diana Ross is a legend.
I am old. Old as dirt. I was just starting college when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. That was 1963 and it was a very dark period. 1963 could not end quickly enough. When 1964 came around, we had the Beatles and we had the Supremes. The two groups dominated radio. And the Supremes dominated TV as well. The Beatles did when they were in the country but they were from England. The Supremes were from Detroit. They dominated TV which, back then, featured a lot of music. There were music programs. There were variety programs. There were talk shows. All required musical acts.
And Diana Ross, the lead of the Supremes, was magnetic in front of the camera. As a result, she broke down numerous barriers that had prevented Black artists from being featured on television. Berry Gordy, head of the label MOTOWN, saw the Supremes as trailblazers and the group became night club entertainers and Vegas entertainers. Diana was the star. She would do a special with Lucille Ball and Dinah Shore. She would host TV programs. As more opportunities were created for all people of color by Diana's high TV visibility, there would be those who followed down the trail blazed by her who would send her up or mock her -- such as Dionne Warwick did when she finally got a TV special.
Diana could sing and dance. With LADY SINGS THE BLUES, the world would learn that she could also act. And she was nominated for an Academy Award.
Diana broke down doors.
She also sang some of the best pop songs of the 20th century -- including?
"Stop In The Name Of Love," "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," "Do You Know Where You're Going To," "Baby Love," "I Hear A Symphony," "Touch Me In The Morning," "Swept Away," "Missing You," "Upside Down," "If We Hold On Together," "Pieces of Ice," "So Close," "Surrender," "Reflections," "All Of You," ''Where Did Our Love Go," "Why Do Fools Fall In Love," "Dirty Looks," "Reach Out And Touch Somebody's Hand," "Muscles," "Telephone," "I'm Coming Out," "The Boss," "Back In My Arms Again," "No Matter What Sign You Are," "Endless Love," "Chain Reaction," "Remember Me," "Love Child," "Take Me Higher," "Mirror, Mirror," "Come See About Me," "My World Is Empty Without You," "It's My Turn," "You Can't Hurry Love," "You Keep Me Hanging On," "Last Time I Saw Him," "My Mistake Was To Love You," "One Love In My Lifetime," ""It's My House," "Forever Came Today," "Love Is Here And Now You're Gone," "Getting Ready For Love," "Workin' Overtime," "When You Tell Me That You Love Me," "Take Me Higher," "The Happening," "When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes," "Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart," "In And Out Of Love," "I'm Livin' In Shame," "The Composer" . . .
Look at all those songs and there are so many more that she sang lead on that charted.
She is a trail blazer and a legend.
And THANK YOU is an amazing album. I spent the day listening to it.
I highly recommend you stream it as well. I think you will love it.
My top five tracks from the new album?
1) "In Your Heart"
2) "If The World Just Danced"
3) "Count On Me"
4) "The Answer's Always Love"
5) "Thank You"