The Making Of Motown 25

[sup_fan]

I can believe she was apprehensive about the whole thing, since she and Berry weren't on good terms. The fact that she wanted to say something nice about the whole thing, on stage, in front of Berry, tells me that ultimately she was glad to be able to do something that might smooth things over.

I think the biggest problem she had was reuniting with Mary and Cindy, emphasis on Mary. Not that I think she had any real issues with either one of them, but they represented, again, especially Mary, things she would rather forget. I imagine standing onstage with Mary again, she might feel more like DianE Ross, when she would always prefer to be DIANA Ross. Even the culling of the medley down to one song probably had more to do with Diana not wanting to be a Supreme for too long rather than her being too sick. After all, she looks like she's having a ball when she cuts into Adam Ant's performance. Even her sickness, I now wonder if she made her self sick with apprehension about the event as opposed to really having a bug.

the play Dreamgirls also came out around this time and Diana was very upset about that. she had left motown less than 2 years prior to the taping of the Motown 25 special. she hadn't seen or talked to Berry since the day she met privately with him and told him she was leaving the label. She had received a massive contract with RCA and was desperate to prove she was worthy of that investment by the label and that she hadn't made a mistake by leaving Motown. WDFFIL sold very well [[even if critically it wasn't hailed as a masterpiece). SE did ok but now she was moving onto the new Ross 83 project and about to do her enormous Central Park. in addition she was still attempting to do the Josephine Baker project.

So 110% of her energy was focused on moving forward. and meanwhile there's the play DG and then this tv special.

Plus let's face it - it's pretty clear Diana has some mixed feelings about the "good ole days." this isn't 100% focused on the angst within the group. but the whole thing. nearly all of the rest of the roster of artists resented her and her success, as if she was somehow personally responsible for Berry focusing primarily on her and not them. she worked like a dog during these years, there were all of the issues with Flo and the group. Sure there were some magical moments and memories but there was a LOT that wasn't. and we probably all only know the tip of the iceberg.

And now she's being expected to participate in the show, smile and be warm and loving with all of these people. that's a lot to burden

[RanRan79]

the play Dreamgirls also came out around this time and Diana was very upset about that. she had left motown less than 2 years prior to the taping of the Motown 25 special. she hadn't seen or talked to Berry since the day she met privately with him and told him she was leaving the label. She had received a massive contract with RCA and was desperate to prove she was worthy of that investment by the label and that she hadn't made a mistake by leaving Motown. WDFFIL sold very well [[even if critically it wasn't hailed as a masterpiece). SE did ok but now she was moving onto the new Ross 83 project and about to do her enormous Central Park. in addition she was still attempting to do the Josephine Baker project.

So 110% of her energy was focused on moving forward. and meanwhile there's the play DG and then this tv special.

Plus let's face it - it's pretty clear Diana has some mixed feelings about the "good ole days." this isn't 100% focused on the angst within the group. but the whole thing. nearly all of the rest of the roster of artists resented her and her success, as if she was somehow personally responsible for Berry focusing primarily on her and not them. she worked like a dog during these years, there were all of the issues with Flo and the group. Sure there were some magical moments and memories but there was a LOT that wasn't. and we probably all only know the tip of the iceberg.

And now she's being expected to participate in the show, smile and be warm and loving with all of these people. that's a lot to burden

I'm sure all of this played a part as well. Regarding all the others, it's a good case for why everyone should be careful how we treat other people. You never know when you'll have to face them again, and under what circumstances. I think there was some resentment by those who felt like Gordy paid Diana more attention at their expense, but I suspect most of the hard feelings were about Diana's actions, attitudes and treatment of her peers, as Marvin, Stevie, and even Smokey seem to have avoided the issues with the old Motown crew. If true, that scene JRT writes about Diana announcing that it was her birthday after Motown 25 ended and only a few people congratulated her while everyone else walked away, is very sad. Luckily, I think 99 percent of her peers are over all that stuff today. One thing about the Motown family, they usually show up for each other when necessary. Diana doesn't do much in the way of publicly showing up, but she certainly has privately. They're a family, dysfunctional as they may have been, like most families. Lol

[LoveSupreme]

Regarding this unfortunate incident in Supremes' history all I know is this: Diana and Mary seriously needed to grow up and put their differences aside for the fans and for the legacy of the group. But no, their egos prevailed and de-railed this reunion and 15 years later they still didn't know any better and did it again. Poor Cindy gets caught in the cross-fire of all this and the fans ultimately lose out. I blame both of them.

[woodward]

Regarding this unfortunate incident in Supremes' history all I know is this: Diana and Mary seriously needed to grow up and put their differences aside for the fans and for the legacy of the group. But no, their egos prevailed and de-railed this reunion and 15 years later they still didn't know any better and did it again. Poor Cindy gets caught in the cross-fire of all this and the fans ultimately lose out. I blame both of them.

How about the legacy of Motown? You forgot that as something they should have remembered.

[lucky2012]

Regarding this unfortunate incident in Supremes' history all I know is this: Diana and Mary seriously needed to grow up and put their differences aside for the fans and for the legacy of the group. But no, their egos prevailed and de-railed this reunion and 15 years later they still didn't know any better and did it again. Poor Cindy gets caught in the cross-fire of all this and the fans ultimately lose out. I blame both of them.

Truth, LoveSupreme, still, 41 years on.