DIANA ROSS

Diana Ross was born in 1944 in Detroit. After spending her childhood here she joined the Primettes, a sisters vocal group weh she was fifteen years old. In 1960 the group was invited to audition for Motown.

In 1961 they got signed but had to change their name which was not the happiest moment for the band but finally made it to The Supremes.

A year later Barbara Martin left the group and now they were a trio gaining first success with their single "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes" in 1963. A few years and a few hits later being the most successful vocal act at Motown in the sixties, FlorenceBallard got fired and the band was renamed to Diana Ross & The Supremes, making it easier to get higher fees for a solo artist and her backing group. An early learning from Gordy with other acts at Motown.

Diana remained with the Supremes till 1970 and released her solo debut including her significant song “Ain’t no mountain high enough”. Number one Hit! Andmore Hits to come. In 1971 she had her first solo TV special “Diana!” including the Jackson 5. In the same year she started working on her first movie “Lady sings the blues”, loosely based on the biography of Billie Holiday and played by Diana. She won the Golden Globe and Academy Award for best actress. The soundtrack reached Number one on Billboard and sold 2million copies.

Next Hit stop is with label mate Marvin gaye with whom she released “Diana & Marvin”, a duet album which gained international success. Ross became the first entertainer in Japan's history to receive an invitation to the Imperial Palace for a private audience with the Empress Nagako, wife of Emperor Hirohito.

In April 1974, Ross became the first African-American woman to co-host the 46th Academy Awards.

The following years Ross released more Hit albums and singles, her second movie Mahogany, she played Dorothy in “The Wiz”, the most expensive musical movie production at this time.

In 1981 she left Motown with the music history's most expensive recording deal (20Million $) at this time with RCA. She made 6 albums until 1988.

She returned to Motown as she chose to not renew her contract with RCA and heard that Gordy wanted to sell Motown. What he did to MCA Records in 1988. Following the sale of the company, Diana was asked to return to the Motown label with the condition that she have shares in the company as a part-owner. Ross accepted the offer. The succes kept going and she made more hit albums, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, attending public and TV events, playing huge shows and earning several prizes and honours.

And the story goes on. Everybody who is really interested in her life, career and work i highly recommend Diana Ross: Going Back.

Her legacy is huge and she has influenced many artists worldwide with her music, work and life.

In 2016 she was announced as one of the 21 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.

Her catalogue includes 24 studio albums, 5 soundtrack albums and 5 live albums.

Diana Ross was named one of the Five Mighty Pop Divas of the Sixties along with Dusty Springfield, Aretha Franklin, Martha Reeves, and Dionne Warwick.