Diana Ross in Tel Aviv, Israel 1995

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Fashion week from another board.

At Meghan the theme was a rendezvous weekend at the No-Tel Motel. I was handed what is sure to be the cutest seat assignment ticket ever, a “Please Disturb Me” sign, and greeted by oily hunky bellhops. For Spring 07 Meghan invisioned a jet setter, with an arsenal of sexiness in her carry-on, inspired by “opulent and cheesy” hotel lobbies, silky soft bed sheets, and island destinations. Her large collection (90 pieces! some complained it was just too darn big) reminded me of the white hot heat of Miami, sexy, but a little sleazy. Her best dresses were the ones that played it simple, little babydolls with shimmery gold threads running through them, kimono dresses and fringey flappery kinds. I scanned the front row and just as I thought Fashion week may have fallen below celebrity radar this season, I spot, four seats away, Diana Ross. I asked her what she thought of the show, with a big smile and shaking her wild mane of curls, “It was gorgeous.” When a boob popped out on the runway, I wondered, but didn’t dare to ask Ms. Ross, how badly she wanted to give it a little tap like she did with Lil Kim…

Movieposter "Dreamgirls"

More Dreamgirls news.

The Jaime Foxx, Beyonce Knowles and Eddie Murphy movie project, Dreamgirls has finally released the official movie poster. Seeing this truly makes me believe the hype that Beyonce was born for this role. Dreamgirls is set to be release in a movie theatre by you Christmas. Be sure to hold on tight for a Jaime-Beyonce-Eddie media blitz leading up to X-Mas!


1.) Movie is loosely based on the real life experiences of Diana Ross & The Supremes.
2.) Beyonce would have "died" if she didn't get this role.
3.) Jennifer Hudson from American Idol plays 1/3 of Dreamgirls's 1960 soul black female trio. This is also her first movie role.
4.) Dreamgirls was a hit Broadway musicial. }
The cast of Dreamgirls:
Jamie Foxx {Curtis Taylor Jr.}

Beyoncé Knowles {Deena Jones}

Eddie Murphy {James 'Thunder' Early}

Jennifer Hudson {Effie White}
Keith Robinson {C.C. White}
Hinton Battle {Wayne}

Sharon Leal {Michelle Morris}

Anika Noni Rose {Lorrell Robinson}

Danny Glover {Marty Madison}

"I Love You" Diana Ross

Diana Ross

Diana Ross Supreme Being...

Sunday Telegraph interview


Her new album supposedly marks the emergence of a softer and more reflective Diana Ross. Really? As Strawberry Saroyan soon discovers, this is one diva with her superiority complex firmly intact
To read about Diana Ross is, often, to read about a sort of dragon lady. The heated fights with colleagues, the haughty insistence that she be addressed as Miss Ross (even now, when she's in her sixties), the habit of smiling scarily as she fends off journalists' questions.

'People like myself, how they feel about love and life, that feeling comes through their music and their songs'
But could it be that time has mellowed the diva? Although Ross still has the face and legs of a woman half her age, she is 62. And her latest album, I Love You, out this month, reflects it.
Not only does her voice sound richer yet less pristine - there are hints of darkness and vocal imperfection, where she used to be all perk and sunshine - but the mood is unapologetically sentimental.
'I was looking through a family photo album, and memories started to flood in about the last 35 years of my life,' she says of the genesis of the album. 'I thought, "I want to start putting something together for other people, for their memories."'
The 15-track CD is an appreciation of the classic pop era, composed of covers including 'The Look of Love' and 'You Are So Beautiful'. ('I Love You', a breathy ballad, is the only original song.)



Ross says she hopes that people will play it at weddings, anniversaries and on Valentine's Day. 'I wanted to do something that was special to me, which had to do with positive love songs,' she adds, laughing. 'I didn't want to do songs about love lost - "Oh, pity me", "Oh, sad".'
But her sweetness-and-light routine doesn't last long. We are sitting in a room above a rehearsal studio in north Hollywood where Ross is preparing for a concert in Italy.
She is dressed from head to toe in black - parachute pants, strapless top - and her hair retains its signature floating quality, resembling chocolate candyfloss.


She wraps a purple pashmina around her shoulders, and the unflappable icon look is complete. But she goes cold at the notion that this is her first studio album in seven years.
'Now, who said that?' she barks. It's in the press material accompanying the album, I tell her. 'Not true,' she snaps. 'The creative process for me is always going on. I go in the studio and I might make a children's song or a spiritual. I'm always recording.'
Maybe, I suggest, her record label, EMI, was simply trying to make the new album an event. 'I guess you might be right,' she concedes, before adding, 'It's an event for EMI.' (In a less defensive mood, Ross admitted that she's had a tough time finding a recording home at all since she and Motown parted company in 2001. 'Nobody wants me,' she told a reporter in 2004. 'It's weird.')



I've been told by her publicist that Ross wants to focus on the present, and on her music at that, so I wonder what to ask her about next. Her possible role on Desperate Housewives, rumoured in the press? ('You can't believe everything you read. I have never been approached by the people on Desperate Housewives,' she says.)
Her album, Blue, a collection of jazz standards recorded in 1972 during her Lady Sings the Blues period, which was released for the first time this summer in America? ('I don't think Blue is being released in Europe,' she tells me. Actually, it is: the album was released here in June.)
Finally, I bring up Dreamgirls, the forthcoming film version of the musical about a trio of female soul singers in the 1960s. Beyoncé is playing the role based on Ross, and I've read that the singer set up a shrine to Ross in her trailer.
'This interview is not about Beyoncé, and with that I have no comment,' she replies, her smile wide and her teeth set tight. She will, though, talk about Beyoncé's music - she enjoys it - and says she admires Alicia Keyes, Mary J Blige, Mariah Carey and Christina Aguilera, too.
'I was getting ready to give advice and support to any of them that wants that,' she says. 'Because Mariah Carey used to always ask, when I would spend time with her, how to have longevity. So I am available to discuss what it takes


Ross isn't particularly expansive when it comes to what she'd offer up during such sessions - other than to say she'd lead by example: 'I'm an extremely organised person. I think I have a good work ethic' - but there is no doubt that she has a wealth of experience to draw upon. The second of six children, Ross grew up in Detroit, her mother a teacher, her father a factory worker. She started singing in a Baptist choir.
'I wasn't one of those real church singers,' she says. 'But people like myself, how they feel about love and life, that feeling comes through their music and their songs.'
What also came through early on was her ambition. In 1950, with her friends Mary Wilson, Florence Ballard and Betty McGlown, Ross formed The Primettes, a sister group to the local doo-wop group The Primes (some of whom later became The Temptations).



'Florence started singing "Night Time is the Right Time" and we started chiming in,' Wilson has said of the group's first jam session. 'It just clicked.'
In 1961, the group (which by then had lost McGlown and gained Barbara Martin) was signed by Berry Gordy, the head of Motown, and he changed their name to The Supremes.
Martin left not long after, and the trio began blazing up the charts like mercury in the summertime: The Supremes hit number one ten times in the next three years, with classics including 'Where Did Our Love Go?', 'Baby Love' and 'Stop! In the Name of Love'.
Ross and Gordy became an item, and in 1964 Gordy named her lead singer. By the time he changed the group's name to Diana Ross and the Supremes in 1967, Gordy and Ross had even bigger plans for her in place.
In 1970 Ross went solo, and garnered a number one of her own off her debut album with the song 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough'.

In 1972 she added film star to her list of accomplishments, starring as Billie Holiday in Lady Sings the Blues and receiving an Oscar nomination for her performance.
Throughout the decade she continued to act, appearing in Mahogany and The Wiz, but also transformed herself into a sexy disco goddess who gave Donna Summer a run for her money, with hits such as 'Love Hangover'. In the 1980s success continued: 'Upside Down', 'I'm Coming Out', the Lionel Richie duet 'Endless Love', and the Bee Gees-penned 'Chain Reaction' were highlights.
By 1993 Ross had created some of the most iconic music of the previous three decades.



But Ross's personal life and professional relationships were more complicated. Wilson and Ballard objected to Ross's emergence as the dominant force in The Supremes, and frustrations boiled over in 1966.
During rehearsals for an American television show that year one of Ballard's earrings reportedly fell off on stage and Ross crushed it with her stiletto heel. Ballard lunged for Ross's two earrings - which she succeeded in tearing off - and bodyguards had to break the women up.
After Ross's departure from the group bad feelings continued to simmer and in 1983, during a reunion of the group for a Motown television special, a disagreement on stage led to Ross giving Wilson a shove, though Wilson was by no means blameless.
Things briefly looked up when Ross announced a Supremes reunion tour, called Return to Love, in 2000. Ross had supposedly signed on Wilson and Cindy Birdsong, who had replaced Ballard in 1967, to join her.
But it all broke down in acrimonious rows over money, and Ross eventually toured with two lesser-knowns, Scherrie Payne and Lynda Laurence, who had sung with The Supremes in the 1970s. After several lacklustre dates, the tour ground to a halt.

'It's like the Beatles having a reunion and Sir Paul McCartney not inviting George or Ringo,' Wilson said at the time.
Then there was the difficulty of balancing work and family. One thing Ross has learnt, she says, is that 'taking time for self is very important, time to regenerate. Because I would find that there were years that I would work so hard that I would finally end up getting sick. And if I'm not well, I can't take care of the people that work for me. I can't take care of my kids.'
By the mid-1970s, she had three children, including a daughter, Rhonda Suzanne, whom she didn't publicly admit was fathered by Gordy until 22 years later on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Her other two daughters, Tracee Joy and Chudney Lane, were fathered by Ross's first husband, the music promoter Robert Ellis Silberstein, whom she married in 1971 (and who believed he was Rhonda's father until 13 years after their wedding).



Ross has said she struggled as a single parent after divorcing Silberstein in 1976. 'You make the decisions alone, but the truth is that you really want the support of the other half.'
But, by the late 1980s, she had a routine down. In 1985 she'd met the Norwegian shipping magnate Arne Naess, when their children began playing together on a holiday in the Bahamas. Naess, who had no idea who Ross was, suggested they have dinner that evening, and the two were married five months later.
Thereafter, she spent much of her time in Connecticut raising her sons from her marriage to Naess, Ross and Evan, in surprisingly traditional fashion. 'I had people supporting me in my life,' she says, meaning nannies. 'But mostly I raised them. I like to go to the market. I like to cook. And living there allowed me that. It's a real life, and you can have one. I had a low profile.'
Of course, that profile is raised whenever Ross gets into trouble. In 1999 she was arrested in London for fighting with a female security guard at Heathrow, after the woman searched her in a way that struck Ross as a bit too intimate

Then her marriage broke down very publicly - Naess announced that he was leaving her during an interview on Norwegian television. (Ross thought the two were still working things out, but the fact that they spent so little time together, with Ross based in America and Naess in Europe, was blamed for the break-up. Naess subsequently died in a climbing accident.)
A stint in rehab followed, amid reports of depression as well as alcohol and prescription-drug abuse. But her troubles seemed far from eradicated later that year when she was stopped for driving the wrong way down a busy road in Tucson, Arizona. She couldn't recite the even numbers between 1 and 30 or write the alphabet, and giggled and fell over when officers asked her to stand on one foot. Later, she was sentenced to two days in prison for drink-driving.
Gingerly, I bring up the Heathrow incident. Ross is surprisingly game. 'Here's what happened,' she says, pushing her hair back and planting her black-booted feet firmly in front of her. 'In America, when you're going through the airport, you're searched with something they call a wand.



I had never experienced that going through the London airport. They didn't use a wand; they used their hands. And I have never had anybody touch me this way.' Ross puts her hands to her chest. 'She touched my breasts. She touched…' Ross puts her hands on her privates. 'You know?
'And I understood that I had to be searched but I said, "Why do you have to do that?" And she said, "Because it's my job," and went about doing it again. And I panicked. And then I got loud.' Ross giggles. 'And I got angry.'
Ross was told she'd have to file a written report if she wanted to complain, which would entail her missing her plane. She tried to walk away from the incident but wasn't allowed to do so. But she didn't grab the woman, as reported? 'No,' she replies firmly. 'No, no, no.'
How about the Tucson incident, I ask. But Ross stops me. 'See, I don't want to get into this. The article is about my music. It's not about the peaks and the valleys I'm going through.'



What would she like to talk about? Ross suggests fashion, and she does speak about it for a bit - 'I went to school for costume design. I'm a seamstress. I know how to knit. I know fabrics!' - but soon tires of the topic. In the end, she seems happiest to discuss family.
'By the way, me and my children are all close to my husband's children,' she says at one point, meaning Naess's three children by the Swedish designer Filippa Kumlin d'Orey.
'We are all bonded together as a family,' Ross continues. 'It's wonderful. We call ourselves the Ross-Naess bunch.' She giggles again. 'You know, like the Brady Bunch? We even wrote a song about it.'



She breaks into the familiar television tune. The Ross-Naess bunch!'
Suddenly, the dragon lady seems like little more than a goof - and, for one moment at least, a pretty likable one.
Photograph by Randee St Nicholas
Dress by Bob Mackie
'I Love You' is released this month

Diana Ross is selling her nine-acre Greenwich estate

Crooner Diana Ross, 62, is selling her nine-acre Greenwich estate in the exclusive Belle View enclave. Asking price: $39.5 million.

It is listed with Kathryn Clauss of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Greenwich, Conn., who did not return multiple calls for comment.

The 12,000 square-foot French Normandy-style home was built in 1930 and overlooks Long Island Sound. It features 11 bedrooms, eight bathrooms, a sauna, wine cellar and terraces that look out over rolling manicured lawns. Other Belle View residents include mutual fund manager Mario Gabelli and hedge fund honcho John Paul Jones.

"Her kids [Ross, 19, and Evan, 18] have graduated from school," says Round Hill Partners broker William Steel of the listing that went on the market two weeks ago. "I heard years ago that she was downsizing."

Ross, a former member of The Supremes, has had a prolific career with 18 number one singles and 70 top ten hits since 1964. She is reportedly at work on a book called Upside Down: Wrong Turns, Right Turns and the Road Ahead.

Diana Ross at Jersey Boys

Last night, we had the pleasure of meeting Miss Diana Ross after our performance. I try not to look out in the audience during the show until the finale. And I hate to know if anyone "famous" is out in the house for a performance, at least until the 2nd Act. It makes me self-conscious and takes me out of being Mary or the other characters.

But this time, we had advance notice she would be out there and desiring photos with the cast after the show. Well, my eyes went right her in the audience. She was wearing all white and the silhouette of her hair was glorious. She was so complimentary and gracious and funny. She said she knew every song, and Bob Gaudio happened to be there last night, along with our amazing writers Rick Elice and Marshall Brickman. Bob Crewe had seen the show the previous night and he's always so upbeat and enthusiastic.

We are really blessed to be surrounded by such amazingly gifted giants, with huge hearts and gentle humility. I love that quality in any person.

Diana Ross and Me at The Waldorf Astoria

Good Morning and welcome to Norma's Ark. ;) I am writing a new, illustrated book about my life as a bandleader, musician, & singer in New York's Waldorf Astoria. To the left is a photo taken with Diana Ross. Love that wig Diana.;D
For my band to get this job at The Waldorf was nothing short of a miracle since we had to audition against hundreds of fabulous orchestras. Diana's opening night was also mine. In order to make entry into the hotel police had to help us through three thick crowds circling around the full length of Lexington to Park, and 49th Street to 50th. It was surreal to see all the people there standing for hours on end just to get a glance of Diana Ross in her first solo performance since leaving The Supremes. Berry Gordy and all of Motown were in the audience. Believe me when I say, I was one nervous puppy.

She and I used to stand backstage talking about sewing beaded gowns. Did you know that when Diana worked with The Supremes, she carried a sewing machine with her in order to create many of the lovely garments they wore? I am so blessed to have seen the many top performers of the day in that stunning hotel's Empire Room. It was a thrill to meet her and here is our photo.

My book will contain many pictures of stars like, Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, Della Reese, Ed Sullivan, Johnny Mathis, baseball hero Roberto Clemente, and even politician Adam Clayton Powell.... The vignettes I so lovingly treasure and hold close to my memory are all true and mostly flattering to the great performers....
Many of my life's lessons were learned at The Waldorf.

What About Love from the broadway musical The Color Purple

Now sung by Diana Ross on the New Album "I Love You "





This is LaChanze and Elizabeth Withers-Mendes singing the amazing love song between Celie and Suge Avery in The Color Purple called "What About Love?"

DIANA ROSS – I LOVE YOU cd 2006

www.dianrossfanclub.net

More news to come!!!

Diana Ross Promo "I Love You" 2006

www.dianarossfanclub.net

Interview with J.Randy Taraborrelli about the new book "Diana Ross", By Jim Hoogendorp.

Hello Randy

I have some questions. I want to ask you about your upcoming book for some more news than that I hear around on the Diana Ross Yahoo groups.

About the book: is it true it's a remake of your book “Call Her Miss Ross”??

Hi Jim,

The new book is not an update of Call Her Miss Ross, but it does contain some elements of it. It's really a new book, though. I think the fans will be pleasantly surprised by it. It's a totally new and I think empowering way of looking at Diana.

CHMR was published more than 18 years ago, and so this is the first time I have tackled this subject, really, as a mature and seasoned writer. I also did a book about her in 1985 (called Diana) that was sort of a fan's look at her. So, this one is very different than Diana and Call Her Miss Ross. The 1980s were a different time and different place, and biographies were different back then. This edition is not of the tone of Call Her Miss Ross -- though I do love that book and consider it to be perfect for the time in which it was published. Since that book, though, I have written about the Kennedy’s, Madonna, Princess Grace, Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson ... and I now bring to the Diana Ross story all of that experience, and also a sense of empathy and a much deeper understanding of what she has endured in her life, the importance of who she has become and how much she truly means to our culture.

Is it positive???

I have had a couple of true and loyal Diana Ross fans read the new book in advance for their opinions, and they've loved it. So, while some fans may find it hard to be objective about such a thing -- and I can understand that there are people who really don't want to read anything critical at all, and I accept that -- I believe that most will love it, and I know the general reader will appreciate it. Let me put it this way: when you finish the book, you will love Diana more than ever. My goal was for the reader to appreciate and respect her by the end of the book, and I am told I achieved that goal with this book. I'm also very protective of her.

Maybe you can tell me how it's going to look like??

I truly hope the fans will give it a chance and not jump to conclusions about it until they read it. This is the real deal. This book is the one that underscores her legendary status like no other... I'm serious about it and took this task very seriously. At this stage of my career, I would never write another Diana Ross book unless I had something new to say and a new way to say it. There would simply be no reason for me to take on this project unless I could bring something new to it. So, I truly think this book is my life's work, and my best work ... it's also my 14th book!

And are there more new pictures included??

The pictures, too, are amazing. There are 50 b/w photos and 25 colours, and I went for pictures on the interior that has never been published. The back jacket of the UK edition is a photo of Diana, Mary and Cindy that even I had never seen before!

And is the lay-out what I saw on Amazon indeed the new lay-out of the book??

Yes, that is the cover on Amazon.

My Elizabeth Taylor biography which has just been released hits the New York Times best seller list on September 17. "Diana Ross" will be out in January in the UK and in May in the USA.

Also, the discography is extremely comprehensive and includes lots of interesting "behind the scenes" trivia that the fans will love.

Thanks for asking, Jim... Hope you are feeling better.

Thanks for your time,

F2F Jim

http://www.dianarossfanclub.net/

Diana Ross U.S Open...

Diana Ross sang Ain't No Mountain High Enough and God Bless America at the tribute for Billie Jean King at the U.S. Open. It was the dedication of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The USTA National Tennis Center opened in 1978, and inaugurated Arthur Ashe Stadium, the world’s largest tennis stadium, in 1997. Louis Armstrong Stadium is the second tennis stadium of the U.S. Open. More pictures to find on www.dianarossfanclub.net

Photographer Francesco Scavullo Gets Exhibition at New World Stages

By Robert Simonson25 Aug 2006

New World Stages, the Off-Broadway complex in Midtown, will host an exhibition entitled "Francesco Scavullo: A Photographic Retrospective" beginning Sept. 28 and continuing through Nov. 2.

Francesco Scavullo, who died in 2004, was a celebrity photographer who shot every cover of Cosmopolitan for thirty years and created numerous photographs for Vogue, Rolling Stone, Interview, Town & Country, Seventeen, Harper's Bazaar, Elle and other top fashion magazines.

Among his subjects were Grace Kelly, Brooke Shields, Rene Russo, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Paulina Porizkova, Cindy Crawford, Burt Reynolds and Madonna. He conceived movie posters and album covers for Edgar Winter, Diana Ross, and Barbara Streisand. Scavullo's photographs are part of the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MOMA, Guggenheim and the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Gallery’s inaugural exhibition featured the work of photographer Patrick McMullan.
The Gallery at New World Stages will be open Monday through Saturday, from 11 AM to 6 PM, as well as one hour prior to and after performances at New World Stages. The Gallery entrance is located at 343 West 49th Street.

Diva Dearest

By Karu F. Daniels, AOL Black Voices

Why did Diana Ross make her daughters sleep on the floor?

"My mother is a regular person who happened to make it big," her eldest child, Rhonda Ross rationalized in a recent interview with 'Vibe Vixen' magazine.

"Her parents and her sisters are regular working folk. So she did not want us to be a part of the rich, trust-fund socialite life that some of our peer group was in."

While the family kept an apartment in Manhattan and lived in a palatial Connecticut home with maids and servants, they stayed in Detroit every summer, sleeping on their cousins' bedroom floor, reports writer Aliya S. King in the new edition of the urban female magazine -- on newsstands now.

It was an attempt to keep them grounded.
Literally!

Her younger sister Tracee Ellis Ross (star of the long-running sitcom 'Girlfriends') graces the cover of the magazine for a feature titled "The Anti Diva," in which Rhonda, a jazz singer and actress, is quoted heavily in.

In her first big cover story, Tracee talks about her life as the daughter of a diva and as a television star in her own right.

"Finding identity in the shadow of a well-known parent was awkward for Tracee," Rhonda added. "And our mom was not always well-liked.

"I can't tall you how many people have said, 'You are so normal and grounded that my idea of who your mother is must have been wrong."

"As I got older, I was so self-conscious of being labeled a diva that sometimes I allowed myself to be walked over," Tracee revealed. "I could cry about it right this minute."

Tracee also talked extensively about the drama about co-star Jill Marie Jones abruptly leaving 'Girlfriends.'

But let's not rush things.

Diana Ross to perform; Jimmy Connors, Evert, John McEnroe to honor King

NEW YORK -- Diana Ross will perform, and Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Chris Evert and Venus Williams will participate in next week's opening night ceremony at the U.S. Open.
The focus will be the renaming of the U.S. Tennis Association National Tennis Center in honor of former player and pioneer Billie Jean King.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg also will take part in the Aug. 28 ceremony, which will be shown live on USA Network.
Diana Ross is expected to perform one of her classics as a tribute to King and "God Bless America." She'll be joined by members of the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts Concert Choir.

Tracee Ellis Ross on Vibe Vixen.

Tracee Ellis Ross from the hit show "Girlfriends" graces the new edition of Vibe Vixen, Vibe Magazine's sister publication. She looks fab (and SO much like her momma).

DIANA ROSS – I LOVE YOU cd 2006

DIANA ROSS
“I LOVE YOU”
Album release date: 2nd October 2006
“When I was in the studio, surrounded by these very talented singers and musicians, sharing these songs, I was filled with deep emotion. What a gift love and music is to me.
My gift to you.” Diana Ross

Diana Ross has built her life on love; from a self-acknowledged childhood growing up in a house filled with family love, through those chart topping wistful teenage love songs (Baby Love, Where Did Our Love Go) which shaped the career of one of the most successful artists of all time, to today, when she talks often of the love of her children, and her gift of the love of life.

It is not surprising then, that for her first studio album in over seven years, “I Love You”, – remarkably almost her 60th album, that Diana chooses to dedicate the entire album to this most constant factor in her life.

The genesis of project and the creative journey of making the album are explained by Diana and co-executive producer Marylata E. Jacob:

THE SONGS

Each of the 14 songs chosen for this project has a very specific purpose or meaning to Diana. We researched and listened to hundreds of songs, literally, to find these 14. We wanted this CD to be played at celebrations of love and life: weddings, family gatherings, intimate moments.


The foundation of the concept started with Harry Nilsson’s “Remember”. Diana was listening to this song, while looking through family photo albums and became inspired to record a new CD. “Remember” has a dreaminess that sets up getting in touch with fond memories and present feelings. Diana has a connection with Nilsson’s work as she performed live, songs from his acclaimed animated musical, “The Point”.

Continuing with the search, we concentrated on songs with real craftsmanship in songwriting. Songs that haven’t been heard from in a long while but are completely timeless and recognisable. Lyrics that were affirmations of love.

“More Today Than Yesterday” was originally recorded by Spiral Starecase in the mid 60’s. It had this great upbeat vibe and always makes us smile. For live performances it is a strong, true audience participation sing-along with Diana song.

Marvin Gaye originally released “I Want You” in 1974. A little known fact is Diana’s brother, T-Boy Ross co-wrote this song with Leon Ware. While it is an homage to the talent of the Ross family, the reality is, it just grooves for days. It’s sensual and intimate. This song bridges the classics with the newer generation of line dancing songs made popular recently by R Kelly.

“I Love You (That’s All That Really Matters) is the only original song recorded for the CD. The writer, Fred White, has been touring with Diana as a back up singer for six years. His experience of her live persona and vocal range really came into play when he was writing this song, always with her in mind. It was serendipitous, as I had called Fred looking for the phone number of a singer, when he asked me if he could send me a song for Diana. When I heard it, I felt it was perfectly suited for the album’s concept. While Diana and I were on the way to a meeting, I popped the CD into my car stereo for her. She immediately took to the song.

“What About Love” was written for and released on the soundtrack of Oprah Winfrey’s stage production of “The Colour Purple”. The composers are Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray. Having recently been involved with Oprah’s Legends’ Ball and her relationship with Brenda Russell, interest in the soundtrack was piqued. The day the soundtrack CD was released, Diana chose it to record. Its offering is to be the ballad that Diana is renowned for performing.

Hal David and Burt Bacharach, two of the finest songwriters of all time, wrote the classic song “The Look of Love”. Artists ranging from Dusty Springfield to Sean Lennon have recorded this song. Why? Because it is brilliantly written. Diana’s made this song in to her own by having lived the lyrics. Guitarist, Heitor Pereira, a Brazil native and formerly of Simply Red, beautifully and tastefully captured the spirit and aura of Diana.

Bill Withers recently received a Lifetime Achievement Award from ASCAP here in Los Angeles, and with good reason. “Lovely Day” has a groove and simple lyric that has universal appeal to each of us, whether in or out of a relationship. Everyone is game for a lovely day.
This song makes Diana dance.

“Crazy Little Thing Called Love” went through a metamorphosis to emerge as this energetic version. This playful and fun-filled rendition was solely Diana’s vision, everything from the marching drums and brass, the New Orleans jazz vibe, and the Brian May guitar solo. Brian, having heard the final version, remarked simply, “Freddie would be proud”.

Diana, growing up in Detroit, listening to records, while slow dancing under a single source of light, was as close to heaven as it could get. Diana envisioned “Only You” in a new light. Her romantic, ultra slow sultry version is truly unique and decidedly Diana. The vocal is heartfelt and comes from DR’s own personal experience of young love.

“To Be Loved” was written by the legendary Berry Gordy and originally recorded by Jackie Wilson in 1958. It is the ultimate declaration of love.

While Diana and her son were watching Paul McCartney perform in Los Angeles, “I Will” captivated them. The simplicity of the lyric and strong melody made it a welcomed song into the heart of the CD. Peter Asher’s long history with the Beatles, gave this song depth.

“This Magic Moment” originally recorded by the Drifters, was brought to new life with Diana’s rendition.

Billy Preston passed away, shortly after we recorded the vocal on his song “You Are So Beautiful”. This song was chosen for its universal message. It reaches out and speaks not only to lovers, but also to relationships of all kinds, mother to child, child to grandparent, sister to sister, friend to friend.

“Always And Forever” was written by famed songwriter Rod Temperton and originally recorded by Heatwave. It’s a classic love song for all generations. A song to play as your first dance as husband and wife.

Book ending the sequence is a reprise of the song that started it all “Remember”. Love is a journey, as is this CD.

THE PRODUCERS

Co Executive producer Marylata E Jacob was first on board. “Miss Ross and I have a longstanding history of working together. 22 years ago, I was first hired as her personal secretary and album coordinator. My career rose over the years to become the Head of Music for DreamWorks film studios from its inception for it’s first seven years. The highlight resulted in a Grammy nomination for Best Producer, Soundtrack for Shrek.”

Next was up was Diana’s long time producer, Peter Asher. Together, their collaborations have sold millions of records. The single highlights are “When You Tell Me That You Love Me”, “One Shining Moment” and “If We Hold On Together” from the Spielberg/Lucas animated film, The Land Before Time. Peter produced ten songs, in his hometowns of Los Angeles and London.

Co-producer Steve Tyrell was introduced to Diana Ross when he produced Rod Stewart’s “Thanks For The Memory: Great American Songbook IV” CD, released in Autumn 2005. The first single was the duet with Rod and Diana, “Crush On You”. This album went to number two in the US, upon the release of the first single. Steve, working with his favourite New York arrangers and players, produced five songs.

THE SINGERS AND MUSICIANS

The best players from Los Angeles, New York and London were involved with this CD. Diana attended every session from the initial demos, tracking, overdubs and mixing. The players were blown away by her collaborative spirit, musicianship and direction. They gave their all on these tracks. Diana even flew to London to attend two days of orchestral recording sessions at EMI’s own, Abbey Road studios.

DIANA’S VOCALS

Diana is honest in her love of words. These song’s lyrics were true expressions of her depth and delight of love.

FROM CO-PRODUCER PETER ASHER:

Says Peter Asher, who returns to working with Diana having produced her 1991 hit album The Force Behind The Power: “On the 11th May, 1965 a callow young philosophy student recently turned pop star fell in love. As part of the so-called “British Invasion” his duo got to be on a major American TV show, Hullabaloo, with the Supremes. Their records were number ones in the UK. Their unbearably beautiful lead singer exuded a kind of glamorous professionalism and sense of style that was overshadowed only by the genius of her singing. The spirit, power and history of American soul music condensed into a voice of such understated elegance and sung with phrasing of such precision and subtlety that it could make you cry.

“41 years later I am proud that not only have Diana and I remained friends, but that I have again been given the opportunity to work with that extraordinary voice in the studio. Her contribution in the studio was very significant, above and beyond her singing – itself seemingly unchanged by the passing years in its emotional intensity and brilliance, yet having gained a certain wisdom and clarity that makes you believe every word she sings. On this record she tells us an eternal story, and does so with ineffable brilliance and accuracy.

“We must remember love in the past, nurture it in the present and dream of it in the future.”

Words surely Diana would herself echo.

TRACKLISTING

1. Remember
2. More Today Than Yesterday
3. I Want You
4. I Love You (That's All That Really Matters)
5. What About Love
6. The Look Of Love
7. Lovely Day
8. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
9. Only You
10. To Be Loved
11. I Will
12. Magic Moment
13. You Are So Beautiful
14. Always And Forever
15. Remember Reprise

The Supreme Ms Ross. By Sandra McLean (Australian interview)

THERE have been so many stories about Diana Ross's bad behaviour, it makes sense to approach a phone interview with this legendary soul diva with care.Yes, I will call her Ms Ross as directed.

No, I won't stray from the list of questions that have been sent to her home in Los Angeles. Of course, I won't bring up anything about the nasty tell-all book written by Supremes bandmate Mary Wilson or Ross's arrest for drink driving in 2002.

As it turned out there was no real need to be alert or alarmed. Ms Ross wasn't cranky, rude or even watching the clock.

"I wonder why my phone keeps ringing?" she ask playfully, our interview having gone over the allotted time.

She was happy to chat and who wouldn't want to keep talking to a woman described by record producer Peter Asher as the "spirit, power and history of American soul music condensed into a voice of understated elegance"? If her singing on stage is a fraction as good as her phone manner, her concerts must be sublime.

Ms Ross doesn't need to give interviews often. After a 40-year career, nine Top 10 albums and a multitude of hits both as a solo artist and with those fabulous soul sisters, The Supremes, her reputation as a musical artist of note means she needs little introduction to anyone who has listened to music in the past half century.

True, many of her biggest hits and stellar moments were in the 1960s and 1970s, but Ross has proved adept at keeping pace with the times, taking note of emerging young female singers such as Beyonce Knowles who all want to be like her, briefly swapping soul for disco in the 1970s and teaming up with pop acts such as Westlife.

These smart musical moves, as well as an uncanny ability at 62 to sound and look like a woman half her age, have kept Ross in the picture.

The odd angry headline has also kept her on the pop culture radar. Seven years ago she created controversy at the MTV Music Awards when she grabbed the breast of rapper Lil'Kim during an awards presentation. Bizarrely, Ross was in trouble again later that year for a similar misdemeanour when she grabbed the breast of a security guard whom she felt had frisked her improperly at Heathrow Airport. The photographs of Ross taken at that time jar with the woman on the end of the phone who is talking happily about her new album that is all about love and her belief that her children are a vital part of her life.

Ross's album, her first in six years, is called I Love You and it indicates she is perhaps in a better place in her life now than four years ago when she was pulled over by Arizona police for driving on the wrong side of the lane to a video store.

The songs, written by her favourites such as John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Burt Bacharach, are "affirmations of love", says Ross.

A personal choice on the album is the Lennon McCartney song, I Will. "I had to work hard to find that song," she says. "I saw Paul McCartney perform the song here in Los Angeles and when I was looking around the entire arena there was one little girl on the shoulders of her father she could not have been more than 10 and she was singing every word. I thought I don't even remember that song I have to find it. It was such a personal affirmation of love."

Talk of love brings Ross to her children. The second of six children, she has five of her own, three girls and two boys. She has had two husbands, the second, Arne Naess Jr, who fathered her two sons, was killed while mountain climbing in 2003.

All her children are involved in show business either as singers, actors or entrepreneurs.
"It's in the genes," Ross says, "and I've been very happy to pass it on to them."

The eldest, Rhonda, was born in the 1970s when Ross was busy with her career across two continents and making movies as well as hit songs. However, her career has never really stopped and last year Ross was reported as saying her fame had a negative effect on all her children's lives and stopped her from doing all the things she wanted to do with them.

"How did I manage having children? Well, that's a funny question," she laughs. "You mean, how did I manage with my career?

"It actually does require a lot of organisational skills and planning because it is quite hard figuring out how you are going to get balance in your life. My priorities were always in the right place as far as what was most important to me in my life and family is at the top. You have to really work on it and have really good mentors and people around you who will support you.

"We used to live in Connecticut when the kids were younger and I tried really hard to have a normal life, to raise my children so they could go to school and live in a neighbourhood and ride their bicycles. I fought for that little piece of normality."

Looking at Ross in her glamorous costumes at her 2004 Wembley concerts in Britain, it's hard to imagine her in slippers and dressing gown getting the children ready for school. During her career, she has sung lead vocals on at least one hit for 33 consecutive years between 1964 and 1996, including songs such as Where Did Our Love Go? and Ain't No Mountain High Enough. In 1976 she was named by Billboard magazine as the female entertainer of the 20th century. In 1993 The Guinness Book of World Records pronounced her the most successful female artist because of her 18 No.1 singles.

Are such accolades a boost or a burden? "It is wonderful. It says more about the music than about me. Or maybe it says more about the audience. I have made music which has touched the lives of so many people. But you continue to want excellence and to try and create excellence in all you do. I just try being the best Diana Ross I know how to be."

Diana Ross, Sanctuary Cove, November 4.

SUPREME LADIES by John Burfitt THE SUPREMES WERE ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS GIRL GROUPS OF ALL TIME AND SOME PAST MEMBERS ARE TOURING

AS THE FORMER LADIES OF THE SUPREMES.

The backstage dramas of the 1960s iconic girl group The Supremes have kept the publishing industry busy since the group finally broke up almost 30 years ago.

First there was Mary Wilson’s bitter bestseller Dreamgirl in which she told how Diana Ross had turned on all those around her, and then the sequel Supreme Faith. Ross hit back with her spleen-venting Secrets Of The Sparrow.

Then came the exposé Call Her Miss Ross, which further put the boot into Ross, while All That Glittered left none of the divas unscathed.

Now Cindy Birdsong has announced she too has finished her book about her time in The Supremes, while the backstage musical Dreamgirls has been made into a movie and is due for a Christmas release.

So, with their infighting now almost as famous as the legendary music they created, it is refreshing when former member Scherrie Payne says she has no plans to write her memoirs.

Speaking from her home in Los Angeles on the eve of the Australian tour of The Former Ladies of The Supremes, Payne says, “I have been asked – many times – but no, there will be no book from me.

“If I was to write a book, I would have to tell the truth, and there are things I don’t want to sugarcoat.

“There were good things and bad things, but I’d rather move ahead. What it should be all about is the music, because there is real joy in that music. They are songs that made you feel good.”

Payne was the lead singer of the group for four years in the 1970s after Ross had departed.
She is joined in The Former Ladies of The Supremes by another former Supreme, Lynda Laurence, as well as singer Freddi Poole.

In the show, Payne, Laurence and Poole share the vocals on such classics as Stop! In The Name Of Love and Love Child, as well as later Supremes hits like Stoned Love and Up The Ladder To The Roof.

While they share lead vocals now, Payne and Laurence stepped back six years ago to let Diana Ross take centre stage when they joined her on the infamous Return To Love Supremes reunion tour.

The tour eventually fell apart as Ross and Wilson engaged in a public slanging match over the contract terms. But Payne has only high praise for Ross, claiming she was nothing like the diva she is reputed to be.

“Anyone who says something bad about her, I am not sure where they are coming from as she could not have been lovelier,” she says.

“Don’t believe everything you read because she really is so warm and gracious – a great lady.
“People change with time. When The Supremes began, those three original girls were so young and just starting out. Everyone is a little older now with more experience to themselves.

“You hear this side of the story and that side of the story, and then the truth is in there somewhere as well. I have to say working with Diana was a pleasure.”

With some of the old wounds set to be picked over again with the movie Dreamgirls, Payne says it is more important to remember the impact The Supremes had when they first hit.

“They were three young black girls whose music took the world by storm in a very different time. They really made a difference,” she says. “As another young black woman watching them, they did nothing but inspire me, and then I eventually became one.”

Payne had a solo hit in the mid-1980s with the Dreamgirls disco number, One Night Only. She is currently working on a new remix of the song to coincide with the release of the movie.

“You just want to move with that song – it is wonderful. We also have a new single, Sisters United, which is the first new Supremes song in 30 years. The Supremes music has always made people happy.”

The Former Ladies of The Supremes appear at the Capitol Theatre on Saturday 23 September. Bookings on 136 100.