Diana Ross,The epitome of a diva

A quick lesson on the essence of divadom:

Originally an opera term co-opted by snarky pop music critics, "diva" is used to describe a female singer who has 1 successfully untethered herself from reality, (2) spent most of her life living in a perfumed cloud of fabulousness, (3) slapped one or more butlers.

A diva has no idea how much a quart of milk costs; a diva has 10 assistants to research that information for her. Music writers love to toss around the D-word, but few singers have actually earned it.

Beyonce? Too self-aware. Mary J.? Too humble. Christina? Too married. Mariah, however, is filling out the paperwork as we speak.

No singer defines divadom quite like R&B goddess Diana Ross. Remember a few years ago, on the MTV Video Music Awards, when Ms. Ross jiggled the bosom of rapper Lil' Kim? Only a diva can get away with that; the rest of us either go to jail or get stabbed by one of Kim's henchmen.

But also remember this: A diva gets to be a diva by having more talent than the rest of the room. And Ross, with that flirty soulful croon, is certainly in that category. Helming the most successful act in Motown history, Ross and the Supremes cranked out hit after hit: Stop! In the Name of Love, Baby Love, Where Did Our Love Go? She went solo in 1970, but the hits didn't stop: Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand), Touch Me in the Morning, I'm Coming Out, Upside Down.

She'll no doubt perform all of these hits tonight. Why? Because the one thing divas love more than themselves is the sweet sound of applause.

Diana Ross performs at 8 tonight, Ruth Eckerd Hall, 1111 McMullen-Booth Road, Clearwater. $49.50-$125. (727) 791-7400; www.rutheckerdhall.com.

Sean Daly can be reached at (727) 893-8467 or sdaly@sptimes.com His blog is at blogs.tampabay.com/popmusic.

THE CHART TOPPING HITS OF SOUL Number 1's

THE CHART TOPPING HITS OF SOUL HEARD DECADE BY DECADE IN FOUR NEW
SOUL Number 1’s COLLECTIONS COVERING THE
‘60S, ‘70S, ‘80S AND ‘90S PLUS JAMES BROWN NUMBER 1’S



Soul is at the heart of hip-hop, providing the inspiration for today’s chart-topping hip-hop tracks. Now four new compilations present the best of soul--a total of 67 recordings, every track a #1 (nearly all on the R&B chart)--from the ‘60s to the ‘90s. Each of the Hip-O/UMe Soul Number 1’s albums in the new UMe Number 1’s series is set for release April 3, 2007 and packaged in a ground-breaking environmentally-friendly packaging format. A first for the music industry, the standard package (both sleeve and tray) will be completely paper-recyclable.

In the ‘60s, soul was cool. ’60s Soul Number 1’s brings together the late-night vibe of Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through The Grapevine,” the sophistication of Ramsey Lewis’ “The ‘In’ Crowd,” the group vocals of The Dells’ “Stay In My Corner,” the Chicago cool of Jerry “The Iceman” Butler (“Only The Strong Survive”) and Curtis Mayfield (with The Impressions’ “We’re A Winner”). 60s Soul Number 1’s also includes Sam & Dave’s genre-defining “Soul Man,” James Brown’s “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag - Pt. 1” and Motown smashes “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)” (Four Tops), “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” (The Supremes), “I Can’t Get Next To You” (The Temptations) and “Shotgun” (Jr. Walker & The All Stars). Other tracks are Little Milton’s “We’re Gonna Make It,” Hugh Masekela’s “Grazing In The Grass,” Johnnie Taylor’s “Who’s Making Love,” The Originals’ “Baby, I’m For Real,” Fontella Bass’ “Rescue Me” and Joe Hinton’s take on the Willie Nelson-penned “Funny (How Time Slips Away).”

In the ‘70s, sexy cool became sexy hot. ’70s Soul Number 1’s ranges from the Godfather of Soul’s “Make It Funky” and Ohio Players’ “Fire” to George Clinton and Parliament’s “Flash Light” and Rufus and Chaka Khan’s “Sweet Thing.” Scorching the charts were Gaye’s “Got To Give It Up (Pt. 1),” Rick James’ “You And I,” Kool & The Gang’s “Hollywood Swinging,” William Bell’s “Tryin’ To Love Two,” the Pointer Sisters’ “How Long (Betcha’ Got A Chick On The Side)” and the Commodores’ “Three Times A Lady.” Other #1s are “Dancing Machine” (Jackson 5), “Float On” (The Floaters), “Love Hangover” (Diana Ross), “Reunited” (Peaches & Herb), “Strawberry Letter 23” (The Brothers Johnson), “Theme Song From Which Way Is Up” (Stargard), “(Every Time I Turn Around) Back In Love Again” (L.T.D.) and “Walk Away From Love” (David Ruffin).

In the ‘80s, soul took on the sound of the future. ’80s Soul Number 1’s includes the slow-dancin’ “Special Lady” (Ray, Goodman & Brown), “All Night Long (All Night)” (Lionel Richie), “The Rain” (Oran “Juice” Jones), “Save Your Love (For #1)” (René & Angela), and the uptempo “She Works Hard For The Money” (Donna Summer), “Let It Whip” (Dazz Band), “My Prerogative” (Bobby Brown), “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” (Jennifer Holliday) and Dance #1 “New Attitude” (Patti LaBelle). Heard too are Cameo’s “She’s Strange,” Yarbrough & Peoples’ “Don’t Stop The Music,” Smokey Robinson’s “Being With You,” Ready For The World’s “Love You Down,” Pebbles’ “Girlfriend,” New Edition’s “Can You Stand The Rain” and Jody Watley’s “Looking For A New Love.”

In the ‘90s, soul, R&B and hip-hop came together. ’90s Soul Number 1’s mixes Boyz II Men (“I’ll Make Love To You”), New Edition (“Hit Me Off”) and Vanessa Williams (“Save The Best For Last”) with BLACKstreet (featuring Dr. Dre on “No Diggity”), Dru Hill (“Never Make A Promise”) and Bobby Brown (“Humpin’ Around”). Richie (“Do It To Me”) and Quincy Jones (and El DeBarge, James Ingram, Al B. Sure! and Barry White on “The Secret Garden (Sweet Seduction Suite)”) are at home next to Brian McKnight (“Anytime”), Jodeci (“Stay”), Shanice (“I Love Your Smile”), Montell Jordan (“This Is How We Do It”), Pebbles (“Giving You The Benefit”), Soul For Real (“Candy Rain”), Aaron Hall (“Don’t Be Afraid”) and Tony! Toni! Toné! (“It Never Rains (In Southern California)”).

With James Brown - Number 1’s (available March 27), the Godfather of Soul rolls out hit after hit such as “Get On The Good Foot, Pt. 1,” “Say It Loud (I’m Black And I’m Proud),” “Hot Pants, Pt. 1,” “I Got The Feelin’,” “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag (Pt. 1),” “Get Up I feel Like Being A Sex Machine,” “Try Me” and “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World.” With tracks like “Hot Pants, Pt. 1,” “The Payback, Pt. 1,” “Cold Sweat (Part 1) and “Super Bad, Pts. 1&2, “ James Brown proves there is only room for Number 1’s.


http://www.ilovethatsong.com/

Available Titles:

James Brown - Number 1’s
Marvin Gaye - Number 1’s
Diana Ross & The Supremes - Number 1’s
Temptations - Number 1’s
Motown Number 1’s
Motown Number 1’s Volume 2
Love Songs Number 1’s
Jazz Number 1’s
Country Number 1’s
Dance Number 1’s
Soundtrack Smashes Number 1’s
60s Pop Number 1’s
70s Pop Number 1’s
80s Pop Number 1’s
60s Soul Number 1’s
70’s Soul Number 1’s
80’s Soul Number 1’s
90s Soul Number 1’s

Motown's Chart Topping hits the Number 1's

MOTOWN’S CHART-TOPPING HITS ON Motown Number 1’s and
Motown Number 1’s: Vol. 2, and Number 1’s Collections From DIANA ROSS & THE SUPREMES, Marvin Gaye and The Temptations


Motown has been home to some of the greatest artists in history and many of the most popular songs ever recorded. Now the best of the best has been collected on four Motown/UMe albums in the new and ongoing Number 1’s series from UMe, each released April 3, 2007 in a ground-breaking, environmentally-friendly packaging format. A first for the music industry, the standard package (both sleeve and tray) will be completely paper-recyclable.

Motown Number 1’s Vol. 2 follows its 2004 best-selling Motown Number 1’s. Together they offer 47 No. 1 hits, songs that topped the Pop, R&B, Dance/Disco and/or Adult Contemporary industry charts. The sequel opens with the label’s first R&B #1: “Shop Around” from The Miracles.

The Supremes are also here with the most selections: “Baby Love,” “You Can’t Hurry Love” and “Someday We’ll Be Together.” The Sixties are also represented by “Do You Love Me” from The Contours, “I Second That Emotion” from Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, “You’re All I Need To Get By” from Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, “What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)” from Jr. Walker & The All Stars and “I Can’t Get Next To You” from the Temptations.

The Temptations are heard in the Seventies with “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me).” The Jackson 5 chime in with “ABC” and “I’ll Be There”; former Temptation Eddie Kendricks with “Keep On Truckin’ (Pt. 1)”; Stevie Wonder with “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours”; Gladys Knight & The Pips with “If I Were Your Woman” and Gaye with “Got To Give It Up (Pt. 1),” which zoomed to No. 1 on three major charts – Pop, R&B and Dance. Supremes diva Diana Ross hit No. 1 in the Eighties with “Upside Down.” Other No. 1’s from that decade are Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long (All Night),” Rick James’ “Give It To Me Baby,” the Dazz Band’s “Let It Whip” and the Commodores’ “Nightshift.” The most recent track is 1994’s “On Bended Knee,” from Boyz II Men.

The original Motown Number 1’s, now reissued in the new eco-pak, kicks off with Motown’s debut Pop #1: Please Mr. Postman” by The Marvelettes. The Sixties also yield “(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave” (Martha & The Vandellas), “My Guy” (Mary Wells) and “My Girl” and “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg” (The Temptations). The Supremes contribute “Where Did Our Love Go” and “Stop! In The Name Of Love,” while the Four Tops’ No. 1’s include “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)” and “Reach Out, I’ll Be There.” The decade also adds “Uptight (Everything’s Alright)” (Wonder), “I Want You Back” (Jackson 5), “Shotgun” (Jr. Walker & The All Stars) and Marvin’s “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” and, with Tammi, “Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing.”

From the Seventies are Gaye’s “What’s Going On” and “Let’s Get It On”; “The Tears Of A Clown” (Smokey Robinson & The Miracles), “Love Machine (Part 1)” (The Miracles); “War” (Edwin Starr), “Don’t Leave Me This Way” (Thelma Houston), also No. 1 across three charts; and “Three Times A Lady” (Commodores). The lone Eighties selection is the Richie-Ross duet “Endless Love,” No. 1 for more than two months. From the Nineties is “I’ll Make Love To You” (Boyz II Men) and from 2003 is Michael McDonald’s rendition of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”

For Marvin Gaye – Number 1’s, highlights include “Let’s Get It On,” “What’s Going On,” “Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing,” “You’re All I Need To Get By,” “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” and “Got To Give It Up (Pt. 1).” Also included are Marvin’s huge comeback hit, “Sexual Healing,” plus more of his Sixties No. 1’s, “Too Busy Thinking About My Baby,” “Ain’t That Peculiar” and “I’ll Be Doggone.” From the Seventies, his other No. 1’s are “Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler),” “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)” and “I Want You.” There’s more too: as bonus tracks, the collection includes his smash No. 2 hits, from the solo singles, “Pride And Joy” and “That’s The Way Love Is,” to his duets with Tammi Terrell, “If I Could Build My Whole World Around You” and “Your Precious Love.”

The Temptations – Number 1’s features an astonishing 20 No. 1 hits, encompassing more 30 years of hits from the group. “My Girl” is here of course, plus from the Sixties the smash hits “I Can’t Get Next To You,” “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg,” “The Way You Do The Things You Do,” “Get Ready,” “Beauty Is Only Skin Deep,” “(I Know) I’m Losing You,” “You’re My Everything,” “I Wish It Would Rain,” “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” (with Diana Ross & The Supremes), “I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You)” and “Run Away Child, Running Wild.”

From the Seventies are “Ball Of Confusion (That’s What The World Is Today),” “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me),” “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone,” “Masterpiece,” “Let Your Hair Down,” “Happy People” (missing from previous Tempts collections) and “Shakey Ground.” The collection concludes with “Stay,” the group’s 1998 return to the top of the charts.

Additionally, UMe is re-releasing in the eco-pak the successful Diana Ross & The Supremes – Number 1’s collection, first released in 2003: 23 era-defining tracks, 15 from the Motown group, from “Where Did Our Love Go” through “Stoned Love” (with Jean Terrell replacing Ms. Ross); plus eight more from Ms. Ross solo, from “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” through Endless Love” with Lionel Richie. Included is a bonus track, the Almighty Mix of “You Keep Me Hangin’ On.”


www.ilovethatsong.com


Available Titles:

James Brown - Number 1’s
Marvin Gaye - Number 1’s
Diana Ross & The Supremes - Number 1’s
Temptations - Number 1’s
Motown Number 1’s
Motown Number 1’s Volume 2
Love Songs Number 1’s
Jazz Number 1’s
Country Number 1’s
Dance Number 1’s
Soundtrack Smashes Number 1’s
60s Pop Number 1’s
70s Pop Number 1’s
80s Pop Number 1’s
60s Soul Number 1’s
70’s Soul Number 1’s
80’s Soul Number 1’s
90s Soul Number 1’s

###

Diana Ross;Reflections on a Diva Who Withers Not

By STEPHEN HOLDEN
Published: April 9, 2007
Diana Ross didn’t wield a scepter or a magic wand during her concert on Friday evening, but she might as well have. During a show at the Theater at Madison Square Garden that lasted barely an hour and a half Ms. Ross disappeared every 20 minutes or so, only to re-emerge swathed in new shades of ruffles and feathers, and swan around the stage in a glittering, form-fitting gown.

Richard Termine for The New York Times
Diana Ross performing at Madison Square Garden on Friday night.

The word queen came to mind: beauty queen, disco queen, fashion queen, queen of Motown, fairy queen, queen of the mermaids (in the skin-tight salmon outfit chosen for her grand entrance to the strains of “I’m Coming Out”). Flashing her Miss America smile and brushing back the forest of jet-black hair that has been her tonsorial trademark since the 1970s, Ms. Ross graciously bestowed her royal blessings on her besotted subjects, one of whom kept shouting at the stage, “You look 35!” And she did.

Talk about illusion. On March 26 Ms. Ross turned 63. Not since Marlene Dietrich has a pop diva staked so much on maintaining a fixed image of time-resistant, hard-shell glamour. That image is carried off much more effectively on the stage than on television. As a guest coach on “American Idol” recently Ms. Ross looked and acted closer to her actual age and sang not half as well as Melinda Doolittle, the contest’s front-runner.

Onstage, however, she reigned. Her perfectly groomed beauty was as reassuring as the parade of Supremes hits that she performed with an efficient band and two backup singers. As long as we can sing along with “Where Did Our Love Go?,” “Baby Love” and “Stop! In the Name of Love,” and shake our collective flabby booty, we are all forever youthful in the Sound of Young America.

It has been a long time since Ms. Ross sold records in significant quantities, and her recent album, “I Love You” (Manhattan/EMI), from which she sang two numbers on Friday, hasn’t burned up the charts. Produced by Peter Asher and Steve Tyrell, this studious attempt at a personalized oldies museum on the order of Rod Stewart’s “Still the Same: Great Rock Classics of Our Time” is as sterile as its prototype, polite but lifeless.

Those two numbers were the 1969 Spiral Starecase hit, “More Today Than Yesterday,” arranged with a toughened disco beat, and a treacly new ballad, “I Love You (That’s All That Really Matters),” written by Fred White, which Ms. Ross poured over the audience like watered down corn syrup.

Her voice, never powerful to begin with, has diminished in strength and flexibility. In particular her version of “Don’t Explain” during a brief Billie Holiday segment faltered on several sour notes. As she did in “Lady Sings the Blues” all those years ago, Ms. Ross translated Holiday’s animal woundedness into a weepy, soap-opera pseudo-sincerity.

It would be foolish, however, to underestimate the influence of Ms. Ross’s singing, which established a style of sassy, streetwise girl talk as a permanent strain of pop. You could even argue that she was pop’s original Mean Girl, who enabled Madonna, Britney and the rest.

Ms. Ross’s most revealing performance on Friday was her version of “It’s My House,” from the 1979 album “The Boss.” While singing this curt expression of self-empowerment, she coyly shimmied and did some discreet bumps and grinds.

The song may be about real estate, but Ms. Ross transformed it into an expression of physical self-possession, a celebration of the body beautiful. I imagine that she will be singing it into her 80s and that — with the help of makeup, costumes and lighting — she will still look approximately the same as she did on Friday: as the man said, 35.

From Diana Ross, hits and a few misses

By Kevin L. Carter
For The Inquirer


Associated Press, File
Diana Ross . Visual highs and some musical onesat the sold-out Borgata.
For a self-described "aging diva," Diana Ross certainly looked beautiful Saturday night at the Borgata. As she always does when performing, she made a series of wardrobe changes during the show, each more spectacular than the next.

Shame that her music wasn't always as beautiful as she was.
The majority of Ross' hits, especially during her Supremes and post-Supremes period, were characterized by sophisticated, multilayered orchestral backdrops that surrounded her soft but dramatic - even melodramatic - singing style.

But at the Borgata, Ross, 63, performing with a stripped-down seven-piece band, only sometimes achieved the intended effects of her three-decade array of hits.

"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" is, arguably, one of the greatest pop songs ever written and recorded. The lyrics (by Ashford and Simpson), the meticulous, clockwork-precise instrumental and vocal charts, and Ross' partly spoken, partly sung lead on the recording were all spectacular then and remain so today. But live, the song came out as little more than a weak, ghostly projection of the original. A quarter-century after the fact, you would have a right to expect a bit of a dropoff, but this was just too disappointing.

Nevertheless, Ross did provide the sold-out crowd with some nice moments in the quick-moving 90-minute show, even a few that were gorgeous. She was sassy on the assertive "My House" and "The Boss," shaking and shimmying her shoulders sexily.

"Love Child" began earnestly but lost focus and passion, which she and her band regained by adding an exuberant Latin coda.

Later, an instant of pure beauty: playing an intimate version of "Don't Explain," Ross commanded full attention with her exacting, jazzily enunciated wordplay. While she never had a jazz diva's voice, she always had the attitude and certainty. It came out to great effect when Ross was at her most quiet and vulnerable.

Diana Ross still reigns supreme.

Diana Ross still reigns supreme
Saturday, April 07, 2007
By RAY KELLYrkelly@repub.com

MASHANTUCKET, Conn. - Fresh from a stint as a coach on "American Idol," Diana Ross continues to show would-be pop divas how to do it right.

Ross kicked off her North American tour Thursday night at Foxwoods Casino's intimate 1,463-seat Fox Theater. The sold-out show served as a warm up for last night's scheduled stop at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

In a 75-minute set, Ross managed to pack in 18 fabulous songs and five dazzling costume changes.


She teasingly opened the show by singing "I'm Coming Out" off-stage before making a grand entrance in a form-flattering, red sequin gown. Her slightest shake or shimmy provided squeals from the audience.

Ross quickly followed with a faithful cover The Spiral Starecase's "More Than Yesterday," which is featured on her new album, "I Love You," a collection of classic love songs.

"We're going back to the good old days," Ross promised the audience before beginning a trio of No. 1 hits from her days with The Supremes: "Where Did Our Love Go," "Baby Love" and "Stop! In the Name of Love."

Those early Motown classics were followed by two solid Ross solo hits, "Touch Me in the Morning" and "Love Hangover."

Ross' five-piece band and two backup singers continued to play "Love Hangover," while she exited the stage for a quick costume change. Returning in a yellow sequin gown with feathered cape that would have made other women resemble Big Bird, Ross launched into "The Boss" and "It's My House."

Ross and company shined on a calypso-tinged "Love Child," the well-received "Upside Down" and the jubilant "Ease on Down the Road" from the box office dud "The Wiz."

The musical high point of the night came in a pair of songs from the 1972 Billie Holiday film biography "Lady Sings the Blues," which earned Ross an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. "Fine & Mellow" and "Don't Explain" showcased Ross sans back-up singers and most of her band and revealed how well her 63-year-old voice has aged.

The full-band returned for a rousing "Why Do Fools Fall in Love," the stirring "Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" and Ross' first solo hit "Ain't No Mountain High Enough."

Ross ended the night with the Gloria Gaynor disco-era hit "I Will Survive," which she recorded for her 1995 disc "Take Me Higher."