Diana Ross Biography

In the wake of their success The Supremes became the first of Motown's acts to be processed through its charm school where they were groomed to perform. In 1964 the group toured Britain and were feted by The Beatles as a superstar soul group. The group were now finely honed, with slickly choregraphed dance routines and hit records full of pristine polish. Their success continued. Further American No.1's included Stop In The Name Of Love, Back In My Arms Again, I Hear A Symphony and You Can't Hurry Love. Infact between 1964 and 1967 the group had 10 US No.1 records making them the most successful black group of the decade.

In July 1967 Florence Ballard was fired from the group (she would die in poverty some years later after penning a book depicting Gordy as a manipulative tycoon and Ross as his puppet). She was replaced by Cindy Birdsong and the group was renamed Diana Ross & The Supremes, further evidence of the aspirations Berry Gordy held for his Motown star. Ross officially left the Supremes in 1970 after a show in Las Vegas amid rumours that she was having an affiar with Berry Gordy. She was replaced by Jean Terrell.

Ross soon set about recording her debut solo album. Released in the spring of 1970, the eponymously titled set was produced by Ashford & Simpson and included the Top 20 hit Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand). Ross' penchant for breathless melodrama was quickly established and was given full rein on follow up single, Ain't No Mountain High Enough, a US No.1 previously recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. The original three minute love duet was turned into a dripping 6 minute soul drama in Ross' hands. 1971's I'm Still Waiting gave Ross her first solo UK No.1.

Berry Gordy's plans for Ross' superstardom hinged on movie as well as album success. When plans were announced for Ross to star as Billie Holiday in 1973 biopic Lady Sings The Blues, jazz fans baulked. But Gordy and the newly established film division of Motown went ahead. And the result, when the film was released in 1972, was an instant hit. The film increased Ross' star clout and she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. The success of the flick spurred Gordy to find Ross another starring vehicle. 1975's Mahogany was about a young woman from the Chicago ghettos who dreams of being a model and fashion designer. But it wasn't the critical phenomenon that Gordy and Ross had hoped for although it was a reasonable box office success and gave Ross another hit with the film's theme tune, Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To). But 1978's The Wiz, in which Ross starred as Dorothy opposite Michael Jackson's scarecrow, bombed at the box office, effectively ending Ross' film career.

Time for a rethink and in 1976 Ross jumped on the disco bandwagon with the release of the seven minute dance single, Love Hangover. The record was a No.1 in the US and a UK Top 10. The success of the track led Ross to release two further dance oriented albums with 1979's The Boss and 1980's Diana. Diana, produced by Chic masterminds Nile Rodgers Bernard Edwards and featuring the foot tappingly insistent hits I'm Coming Out and My Old Piano, is recognised by most critics as probably Ross' strongest album as a solo artist and became her biggest selling album. The following year Ross topped the charts in a duet with Lionel Richie, Endless Love.

Ross decided to leave Motown in 1981 and signed with RCA Records. Her debut on the label was the hit single, Why Do Fools Fall In Love, a cover of the Frankie Lymon hit. Ross' success continued in the early 80s with hit singles Mirror, Mirror (1981) and 1982 hit Muscles, written by Michael Jackson. In 1984, she appeared on Missing You, a tribute to the deceased Marvin Gaye and the Bee Gees took her back to No. 1 in the UK with their track, Chain Reaction. The following year she married her second husband, Norwegian businessman Arne Naess Jr (with whom she had two sons. Naess died in a mountain accident in 2004)

Ross returned to Motown in 1989 with the Nile Rodgers produced Workin' Overtime. 1991's Force Behind The Power fared better in Europe than the US, spawning the Top 40 hit, When You Tell Me You Love Me. Throughout the 90's Ross tried to expand her repertoire, recording a live opera album and a jazz album to mixed success. But after the moderate success of her album, Everyday Is A New Day in 2002, Ross ended her association with Motown for a second time.

Ross' last public appearance was in 2004 when, aged 60, she began touring again. At present she doesn't have a record contract and even though she hasn't had a major hit for 15 years her status as a superstar diva is assured - the image of her in a flowing ballgown looking down on us from her 15th floor penthouse window is, somehow, unshakeable. Discography