Hey Marv, I wasn't around for that thread and don't know much about it, but from reading though it, Roberta doesn't seem too rude or disrespectful towards Al or his book. $75 is quite lot of money that was probably the point she was trying to make, not that the book is not worth it. And Roberta does still want to read it, just in her local library.
Forgive me for putting words in your mouth Roberta... BTW did you ever find a copy of the book in your library? Did you get to read it? Looks good.
Roberta75 was very rude and tried to get people not to buy Al Abrams book. Luckily not many people liked or respected what Roberta had to say about it and bought it any way. It is a great book and one of my treasures. You weren't around like you said, so you don't know everything about that situation.
Last edited by marv2; 07-28-2017 at 11:59 PM.
You are correct my dear TomatoTom. My post speak for themself and I stand by them and yes I did read mr Abrams book and it was a lovely book with Motown Record press releases and press clippings.
Given Mr Abrams rich history and decades in the music publicity business I doubt I hurt his feelings in anyway. Thats just another fabricattion by the resident sh*t stirrer.
In regards to the Ballards you have to keep in mind that whatever they had to say about what Flo was going through was based off of what Florence told them, not necessarily anything they witnessed themselves. Sure Mrs. Ross was impartial when she saw Diana getting out of line, but I can't imagine she was any more quick than Mrs. Ballard would have been had she ever witnessed any of Florence's out of line moments. If Flo was painting herself as this victim of Motown to her family I would think it would be hard for them to hear her side and decide to remain impartial, as it would for any family.
Florence was beaten down because she decided to fight a losing battle. She knew she made a mistake signing with ABC the minute she met the label head and he tells her he's a friend of Gordy's and it's not good to switch record labels. When she was dropped by ABC I think Flo would have made another attempt with another record label. But finding out the lawyer had stolen her money and then believing that Motown still owed her money, she enters into this all consuming legal battle, all the while having marital problems [[with a husband who surely wasn't good for her thought process), an alcohol problem [[which is known to effect a person's decision making), and raising kids [[also known to effect a person's decision making, LOL). Who wouldn't have been beaten down by all of that? That's a lot for a young woman to take on. I don't think she was tired of singing, but I do think she lost her voice [[in a metaphorical sense) in the midst of all of this. And again, when she began to get things back on track it was singing she knew she needed and where her mind was at.
As for the times she was fired I don't think she felt like there was anything more she could do. Gordy held all the power and the two people who held some power in the situation- Diana and Mary- refused to speak up for her. According to everything I've read, Florence was very vocal about how she felt in regards to the way things were going in the group. If Gordy heard her and still said "fuck Flo", what good would Florence speaking up have done at the meeting when she was fired the first time? Sure, Gordy had enough home training not to get crazy with Mrs. Ballard sitting there, but his sentiment would've still been the same: he didn't care what Florence thought or what she wanted. If she wasn't going to ride the train without an opinion, he'd shove her ass off. Lol What's a girl to do in that situation?
During the Vegas firing, according to Flo she did tell Gordy she wasn't leaving the group and she was going on stage. In the end she didn't [[boy wouldn't that have been something for folks to talk about!), probably because she knew it would do no good. The only reason Flo was even allowed back after the first firing was so Gordy could work out Cindy's contract situation at Atlantic. When that was done he just waited on the moment- any moment- that he could tell Flo to take a hike for good. There was nothing Florence could've done to get him to change his mind that night. Only possible prayer she had was Diana and Mary hemming Gordy up Brewster Project style and demanding Florence be allowed to stay. And we know that wasn't about to happen...by either Diana or Mary.
I'm a bit confused, but why would your uncle need Bluebrock's real name in order to allow you to post pics of a Diana Ross party? I could understand if your intention was to send the photos to Bluebrock privately and keep it all a private matter, but if your intention is to post the photos here on this public forum, what does Bluebrock even have to do with it? I'm going to go out on a limb here and say I speak for everyone when I say we're all a little ill at ease when someone requests personal information on the internet.
No wonder as Berry says Diana looking over her shoulder...Mary giving her a run for the money!
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