Diana Ross Revisited
The Supremes Singer's Biographer Writes A Third, More Sympathetic Book
NEW YORK, Sept. 4, 2007
"Diana Ross: A Biography" by J. Randy Taraborrelli takes a more
sympathetic look at the singer's life. (Citadel)
(CBS) Diana Ross is known as much for her unique voice as for her
diva attitude.
Ross first made her name with the Supremes -- the real Dreamgirls --
in the 1960s. Forty years later, she is still a force in the music
business, despite some well-publicized arrests and other incidents.
The recently released book "Diana Ross: A Biography" by J. Randy
Taraborrelli provides an extensive chronicle of the singer's life.
Taraborrelli has been a fan of Ross since he was 12 and founded the
first Supremes international fan club. He wrote two other books about
Ross, but says his third book is much more sympathetic.
"This was a great opportunity for me to take a look at her sort of as
an adult," he told The Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen. "My last book
came out 18 years ago. Since that time, I've written about Elizabeth
Taylor, Grace Kelly, Madonna and, you know, Michael Jackson. It was
an opportunity for me to take a look at Diana from a new perspective.
I looked back and looked at my old interviews with her. Interviews
with her father, her mother, the other Supremes and put into context
her entire life."
He first interviewed Ross when she was 26 and now she is 63.
Taraborrelli said she has changed a great deal over the years and
this book takes the most balanced look at her life. Now he defends
Ross's famed diva behavior because he says it stemmed from fear.
"When she left Motown, in 1980, she did not leave a wealthy woman,"
he said. "She says she had to pay her taxes by borrowing money at
that time in her life. And by that time, she had 18 No. 1 records at
Motown. And it's not to say that Motown didn't pay her the money she
deserved, it's to say that it wasn't very much money. So when she
left the company in the 1980s, she began her own business and she
really didn't know what she was doing and I think a lot of that diva
behavior we heard about in the 1980s and early 1990s came from her
insecurity and fear that she wanted to make sure that she would never
end up in that place again in her life."
Ross has been accused of treating people badly -- especially her
fellow Supremes. But through his research, Taraborrelli said he found
that Ross behaved very selflessly at times. He learned that Ross was
the only person who helped former Supreme Florence Ballard when she
needed money. Ballard died at the age of 32.
"There were many times over the years I wanted to pull Diana aside
and say, 'Listen, you need to defend yourself about these
accusations. You have a point of view. You need to tell it,' " said
Taraborrelli, who used to work as a publicist for the
Supremes. "She's never been the kind of a woman to set the record
straight. She's always been the kind of woman to just keep her eye on
the prize, on her career, and just move forward and not really
respond to criticism. So with this book, I wanted to take a look at
it from her point of view. And I think that it's an interesting way
to go for a biography and for a third book."
Even though he took a sympathetic look at the singer, Taraborrelli
said she didn't collaborate with him because she wasn't very pleased
with his last book, "Call Me Miss Ross," which came out 18 years ago.
Although she has had many hits as a solo artist, Ross and the
Supremes attempted a reunion tour in 2000. It was cut short.
Taraborrelli said Ross and other original Supreme Mary Wilson were
not able to see eye to eye about money so Ross recruited two other
women who worked with the Supremes in the 1970s after Ross had left.
The tour shut down due to poor ticket sales.
"I flew back with the Supremes after closing night. I was able to
find that Diana was devastated by that turn of events," Taraborrelli
said. "The public felt she was trying to force on them a reunion that
was not legitimate. And it really hurt her career."
But last year, Ross came out with her 70th album and it was the top-
selling album on the Billboard charts the week it came out. But
Taraborrelli says the singer's future is bright.
"Forty-five years of a career of ups and downs and she's really a
survivor, you know?" he said. "She survived three books by me so that
tells you something."
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