[REMOVE ADS]




Page 3 of 3 FirstFirst 1 2 3
Results 101 to 142 of 142
  1. #101
    Join Date
    Jun 2018
    Posts
    1,245
    Rep Power
    163
    "I did then what I knew to do. Now that I know better, I do better." Maya Angelou

  2. #102
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Posts
    4,957
    Rep Power
    378
    Quote Originally Posted by lucky2012 View Post
    "I did then what I knew to do. Now that I know better, I do better." Maya Angelou
    I like this also lucky.
    I wouldn’t mind someone writing a book about me in my 20’s or whenever. The reason being.... i have always been an extremely nice person. Ask anyone.

  3. #103
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Posts
    8,635
    Rep Power
    525
    Quote Originally Posted by TYK1986 View Post
    Problem with books like these is that it's easy to take someone's side and take their word for it.
    Exactly! And I'd offer that we tend to do this even when speaking to someone in person. If they sit down with you and tell you stuff going on, or has gone on, in their lives, the tendency is to get wrapped up in this person's versions of events. But that's just it: it's their version. On the flip, there are some who demonize Mary for writing both of her books because every page isn't a love letter to Diana Ross. Now I will not back down from my criticism that some of the stuff in Mary's books was not Mary's business to tell, but she was certainly free to write about her feelings. She felt slighted, she felt disrespected, she felt overlooked, she felt undervalued. And there are people who question why she should've felt like that. Wtf? Whether that was Gordy or even Diana's intention to make Mary, or even Florence, feel some type of negative way, the reality is that they perceived certain things, correct or false, and had human reactions to it. Does that mean that everything Mary or Diana or anyone else in the Motown stable wrote is 100 percent accurate? Nope. But it's how they remember it. Of course I'm sure there are instances where outright lies have been printed. News flash: people lie. That cannot come as a surprise. But to take sides, like you even know these people, or were present for anything, is just a real bad look.

  4. #104
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Posts
    8,635
    Rep Power
    525
    Quote Originally Posted by Ollie9 View Post
    I really like the anecdote “we are all villains in someone else’s story”. So very true. I have made a note for when i might next need to share some words of comfort.
    I can't remember where I heard it originally, but I've used it a number of times over the last couple years, especially when telling someone -in the nicest way possible- to shut the fuck up, there isn't a saint in the room. Some folks forget their own dirt. Or hope you do.

  5. #105
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Posts
    8,635
    Rep Power
    525
    Quote Originally Posted by floyjoy678 View Post
    Oh Lord, I pray no one would ever write a book about me in my late teens/early 20s. I look back at my behavior and some of the mean things that came out of my mouth and am shocked I was not punched in the face more than the few times I was lol. I can honestly say though the person I am today is very laid back and earthy, that's not who I was back then. Point is: we all evolve in life [[most of us at least).
    LOL I know what you mean. I never realized how reckless my mouth was back in the day. Not that I was in danger of getting punched. You walk in this direction like you plan on doing something and you won't be walking back, or walking at all. But I was definitely nastier than I remember being. Definitely had some mean moments. And then there was the stuff that wasn't nasty or mean, but boy I wouldn't want them documented for the world to see.

  6. #106
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Posts
    8,635
    Rep Power
    525
    Quote Originally Posted by Ollie9 View Post
    I like this also lucky.
    I wouldn’t mind someone writing a book about me in my 20’s or whenever. The reason being.... i have always been an extremely nice person. Ask anyone.
    Yes, Lucky found a great quote. As for Ollie...mmm hmmm.

  7. #107
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Posts
    6,340
    Rep Power
    346
    Quote Originally Posted by lucky2012 View Post
    "I did then what I knew to do. Now that I know better, I do better." Maya Angelou

    Isnt that the darned truth. I was a brat in my teens and a bitch in my 20s. Im real nice now though. LOL

  8. #108
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Posts
    397
    Rep Power
    160
    I've always been a pussy, still am, till things get too much and the F word gets a place in front of every single word lol. I always forget to a certain extend that the Supremes were only teens when they joined Motown. While most, including myself, are still going to school, college or whatever at that age they, the Supremes, were touring and doing show after show. I'm sure they got on each others nerves and had moments when they fell out. It's only normal and especially at that age and older when you spend so much time together. Only when you get all the once involved together we can get a true story, to a certain extend. But that's never going to happen . Isn't a bit drama what keeps things going, especially, in this part of the forum.

  9. #109
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    10,018
    Rep Power
    305
    What we need to understand: the Supremes were all KIDS when they started in the music business.

    They formed the group together - or better yet they were "put together", in 1959, ages ranging from 15 to 16 [[only Betty McGlown was the eldest at 17). The original four were kids. Barbara Martin was 17 when she replaced a departing Betty in 1960 when she married that year at the age of 18.

    By the time Barbara departed in early 1962, you had a trio that had been together and they were yet in their 20s [[Florence was 19 that June, Diana and Mary turned 18 that March). YOUNG. Way younger than the other groups [[save for the Marvelettes, who were mostly under the ages of 16-17 when "Please Mr. Postman" came out so those two groups were practically the same age - Martha and the Vandellas by comparison were the oldest of the three "star" girl groups by two, three years).

    There was a reason the Supremes were called "the girls" in 1960 [[and by the time they signed in 1961, "Berry's girls"). Problem is some don't think black people should be able to be "young". We are already called "men" and "women" by our mid-teens so the way Diana, Mary and Flo all get attacked for their actions are not like "oh they're just kids, they don't know better" but more like "look at these women". Plus, they were victims of male aggression at some form or another [[Flo being r*ped, Diana being sexually assaulted at a party, etc.).

    They were two years out of high school when "Where Did Our Love Go", "Baby Love" and "Come See About Me" turn them into superstars and Diana and Mary were barely 20 years old. Florence was kicked out of the group shortly after turning 23. Diana was 25 when she left for her solo career. Mary was only 33 when the group disbanded and only 42 when she released the "Dreamgirl" book.

    Whenever you read books about celebrities that reportedly had "bad behavior", there's a reason for them acting out. And it doesn't make sense if you just read it from one side of the spectrum. I read from all three sides: from Mary's side, Diana's and Florence's. Three of them experienced the group three different ways. And instead of taking one side, I take all three sides and see a common ground in all of them. I'm not gonna judge a 76-year-old Diana Ross on what she did in 1963, just like I wouldn't judge a 76-year-old Mary Wilson for what she did in 1974.

    What's important is the legacy of the group and I'm sure Diana and Mary can smile broadly knowing they made history [[Florence surely came to terms with her history and found peace and happiness in listening to the Supremes' stuff as she told Peter Benjaminson) and that's what should be important to spread. Drama is fun but that's only part of what made the Supremes special to the public. And I just hope people remember that when the obituaries for Mary and Diana come.

  10. #110
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    4,000
    Rep Power
    262
    All I will say is Randy is an excellent writer and has written at least 3 books on Diana. I think he is still a fan and I believe he use to run one of the fan clubs.

  11. #111
    My two pennies on Randy.

    I think he really, really, really loves Diana Ross. In the mid-1980s wrote a very - um, fawning - book on Diana called Diana that had a lot research, had a lot of detail, and was very well written. But it didn’t sell. So ten years later, he recycled much of it - and I mean huge tracts of Diana was taken without any changes - and turned it into the tabloid-feeding Call Her Miss Ross. Nice books on celebrities don’t sell. Ones that dish the dirt fly off the shelves. I think he did it to make serious money, and to make a name for himself. And it worked, establishing him as a biographer of note. Biographies on Madonna, Jackie Onassis, Liz Taylor etc., followed.

    He then updated the same material again into Diana Ross - A Biography that removed the more salacious bits from Call Her Miss Ross, such as interviews from disgruntled ex-staff, turning it into what I think is the definitive Ross biography. It’s a very honest and positive book.

    I do wonder what his relationship with Miss Ross is like now.
    Last edited by grangertim; 09-08-2020 at 03:20 AM.

  12. #112
    Join Date
    Apr 2020
    Posts
    26
    Rep Power
    49
    Randy is a horror, a nasty little bitch. In the interview he is embarrassingly camp. He made his name from making up and exaggerating stories about Diana. Avoid at all costs.

  13. #113
    Join Date
    Jan 2020
    Posts
    1,087
    Rep Power
    85
    I love Randy. I think he's pretty fair in his books.

  14. #114
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    21,796
    Rep Power
    460
    He obviously loved and knew Diana as a fan who followed her.

    I believe he may have interviewed her once - maybe; I can't quite remember.

    As she said once "And this guy Randy, he wrote a book about me; he doesn't know me".

    I think grangertim hit the nail on the head; just like Mary Wilson, Randy had to put in some spice or the book wouldn't sell. So they did what was necessary.

    Neither of them did any lasting damage and they both made some money.

  15. #115
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    2,266
    Rep Power
    203
    He interviewed her at least 9 times not once

  16. #116
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
    Posts
    1,523
    Rep Power
    120
    [QUOTE=jobeterob;589124

    Neither of them did any lasting damage and they both made some money.[/QUOTE]

    i beg to differ, her career never recovered

  17. #117
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    814
    Rep Power
    261
    Randy is an excellent reporter. I find his books to be quite informative. I don't think any of the books written by Randy or Mary or Diana, for that matter has done anything to negatively impact any of their careers. They are not saints, they are human beings. Reading all of the books made me like them more as they showed a human side to the star facade that the entertainment business uses. And to be honest, no one really sees what their own faults are or care to admit it, especially to the press[[and stars to their fans).

  18. #118
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
    Posts
    1,523
    Rep Power
    120
    Quote Originally Posted by jim aka jtigre99 View Post
    Randy is an excellent reporter. I find his books to be quite informative. I don't think any of the books written by Randy or Mary or Diana, for that matter has done anything to negatively impact any of their careers. They are not saints, they are human beings. Reading all of the books made me like them more as they showed a human side to the star facade that the entertainment business uses. And to be honest, no one really sees what their own faults are or care to admit it, especially to the press[[and stars to their fans).
    How many times has Diana charted in the US since those killer tell-all’s?

    I know her music during this time was sh*t, but those books added to the downfall, both personally and professionally.
    Last edited by Circa 1824; 09-09-2020 at 10:28 AM.

  19. #119
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    814
    Rep Power
    261
    Quote Originally Posted by Circa 1824 View Post
    How many times has Diana charted in the US since those killer tell-all’s?

    I know her music during this time was sh*t, but those books added to the downfall, both personally and professionally.
    Ross started to decline prior to those books-the 1985 singles Eaten Alive hit #77 and Chain Reaction only hit #95 and that was with the magic touch of Michael Jackson and Barry Gibb, who had huge success with everyone else they worked with. Her choices going forward were all poor. Workin Overtime was the wrong choice at the wrong time for a legend. I was surprised EDIAND didn't do well since it was pretty decent and featured on Double Platinum but by then the focus was more on Brandy. The books may have reaffirmed the perception of people about what they think they know about her but if the music is good enough, it wouldn't matter. Barbra Streisand is well known to be such a perfectionist amid many accusations back to Funny Girl and A Star is Born[[remember the press on that?) yet has hit the charts regardless because of the music. And, I don't find them to be killer tell-all's. They weren't Diana Dearest in any regards. Plus, haven't the posters here been relishing on how the remakes of Ross' old songs have been hitting #1 on the dance charts? That she sells out in Vegas? I am sure Ross may have been hurt because some of her behavior had been exposed but there was nothing in either Randy's or Mary's books that were terrible enough to make the mass public turn on her. I think Ross' reaction to the negative publicity and her lack of any good musical material were more in line to that then those books. I especially ended up liking all of them more from Mary's book-Diana was a driven and aggressive person who was dealing with the spotlight, I saw nothing mean spirited towards her singing partners, just that she was totally focused on herself and what was happening to her. I liked Florence because she told it like it is, had her own personal trauma which made it hard for her to trust people and Mary was a hard worker who was the great balancing act dealing with how her 2 friends were going in opposite directions while dealing with Gordy's shameful assertions about her talent. Of course, in those days of Mommie Dearest, people did look only for whatever negativity they could find and focus on that. Quite frankly, Randy's books as well as Mary's were not the killer tell all's that legend would have you believe.

  20. #120
    Join Date
    Jan 2020
    Posts
    1,087
    Rep Power
    85
    Come on, guys. Mary's book made me a fan and I am sure I am not the only one. The Supremes were about to be assigned to the dust bin of history when it came out. If not for those outrageous stories about outrageous DR, the book would have sunk and nobody would have cared. Because of Mary's book, I bought Supreme Faith, Martha's book, all the Temptations books, etc. Dreamgirl, along with the Big Chill movie, gave all these performers a second lease on life. As a kid of the 70's, the only Motown acts I knew were of the second and third waves at Motown, and being on that label in the 70's meant pretty much nothing to the younger audience. Marvin, The Supremes, Tempts, Tops and all the rest of the 60's first wave were definitely "of Motown" and it was a selling point in those years. Few people thought of the commodores or Rick James or even High Inergy as Motown groups. Anyway, I think Dreamgirl and Call Her Miss Ross and all the other books HELPED. I don't believe for one second that that book caused DR to fail on the charts--in fact, who of her 60's peers were getting big pop hits by the mid 80's? Very few.

  21. #121
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    814
    Rep Power
    261
    Quote Originally Posted by BobbyC View Post
    Come on, guys. Mary's book made me a fan and I am sure I am not the only one. The Supremes were about to be assigned to the dust bin of history when it came out. If not for those outrageous stories about outrageous DR, the book would have sunk and nobody would have cared. Because of Mary's book, I bought Supreme Faith, Martha's book, all the Temptations books, etc. Dreamgirl, along with the Big Chill movie, gave all these performers a second lease on life. As a kid of the 70's, the only Motown acts I knew were of the second and third waves at Motown, and being on that label in the 70's meant pretty much nothing to the younger audience. Marvin, The Supremes, Tempts, Tops and all the rest of the 60's first wave were definitely "of Motown" and it was a selling point in those years. Few people thought of the commodores or Rick James or even High Inergy as Motown groups. Anyway, I think Dreamgirl and Call Her Miss Ross and all the other books HELPED. I don't believe for one second that that book caused DR to fail on the charts--in fact, who of her 60's peers were getting big pop hits by the mid 80's? Very few.
    I am glad that it made you a fan. Mary has done an excellent job of being in the media to celebrate the Supremes. As far as Ross' chart action, she did well in 1981 with her #1 duet Endless Love and when she moved to RCA, it helped her financially as Motown was never going to give her as much $$$. Why Do Fools Fall In Love hit #7 and Mirror, Mirror hit #8 on her first RCA release, after that Muscles and Missing You hit #10 in 1982 & 1984, respectively. Her chart action for her other releases were up & down in 1983 & 1984, and when she released Eaten Alive in 1985, she was not able to recreate the chart magic with Michael that she had with Muscles and this was before Dreamgirl and Call Her Miss Ross. Her chart action was always up & down, even in her Motown days-with 1974 Sleepin made it to #70 and the following year Theme from Mahogany was #1. Aside from Barbra Streisand and Rod Stewart releasing classic songs [[his 2006 duet with Diana hit #19 on the adult contemporary chart), most of the older artists were not charting as they once had been. Still, like I said the remixes of Ross' former hits are hitting #1 on the dance charts, which many of the Ross fans here have made many posts about. So.........

  22. #122
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    21,796
    Rep Power
    460
    The career continued unabated like a few of her peers have as well - but there aren’t many

    And the accolades if anything increased - Grammy Lifetime Achievement, Kennedy Centre, American Music Award of Merit, Soul Train Heritage Award; and there was success on the Jazz Chart with Blue, the Classical Chart with Christmas in Vienna, and the 4 #1’s on the Dance chart; and there were the made for TV movies, especially Out of Darkness for which she nominated for an Emmy.; and I Love You had a pretty decent debut.

    But Covid sure has put a hole in Dianaplans like it has for everyone else.

  23. #123
    Join Date
    Jan 2020
    Posts
    1,087
    Rep Power
    85
    Well all I was saying was that Randy T said in Call Her Miss Thing, that DR never had a big hit after Mary's book, implying that M's book was the reason. I usually agree with Randy on most of his opinions, but I thought this one was way off. I remember reading about DR trying to beat up a paparazzi with her shoe in the middle of the street, and winding up on her azz. I saw that story and the pics from it without hearing anything from Mary Wilson so it's not like Dreamgirl was any big revelation, nor was Call Her Little Missy. I'm glad Diana has "artistic temperament!"

  24. #124
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    21,796
    Rep Power
    460
    Diana has had her cake and ate it too - she and her kids have literally everything

    As Maxine Powell once said - something like “well I knew Diane before she was famous and she was just as snotty then as she is now” - from the mid 80’s. And I don’t think it was said with lots of malice - just a statement

    And lots of people stand up for Diana - Scherrie Payne, Lynda Laurence, Claudette Robinson, Janie Bradford, Melba Moore, Cher, Smokey, Berry, the Gordys
    Last edited by jobeterob; 09-09-2020 at 04:13 PM.

  25. #125
    Join Date
    Apr 2020
    Posts
    26
    Rep Power
    49
    Well said. Makes me want to be snotty. That’s why we love her - she’s it and she knows it!

  26. #126
    Join Date
    Jan 2020
    Posts
    1,087
    Rep Power
    85
    If anything, we are long overdue for a new show of "artistic temperament" from Miss Ross. It's been years! I'll even offer to pose as a paparazzi so she can beat me over the head with her stiletto heal! Let's make it happen!!! Diana really needs to get with it!

  27. #127
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    8,756
    Rep Power
    391
    someone earlier commented about the "magic touch of Michael Jackson and Barry Gibb" on the EA project and title track. I don't know if that was their opinion on the material but "magic touch" would probably be the furthest from how i would ever describe what is IMO one of the worst projects within the DR catalog.

    sure MJ and BG had sensational results with other artists. and with themselves. but that by no means guarantees success with a vocalist like Diana. every producer has their strengths and areas of forte. Other than the fact that MJ was "MICHAEL JACKSON" I can't find much of anything in his style or productions that would compliment Diana's strengths.

    And Barry had done a glorious job on Guilty with Barbra - i can practically hear Diana on every track. and in each song, the production of Barbra's vocals is wonderful. So WTF happened with EA? it's a disaster of an album.

    even if Mary Wilson had personally endorsed Diana and said she was an angel, EA would have bombed. it was a mistake in every way and form. The 1 redeeming element was Chained Reaction. and while it's a hit and very catchy, it's hardly what i would call a milestone in her growth as an artist or a significant artistic statement.

  28. #128
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Posts
    4,678
    Rep Power
    308
    Let's face it , it was a big thick book that summarized its content by characterizing her with this demanding title in big letters:
    CALL HER MISS ROSS
    It wasn't ,
    .... OH JUST CALL HER DIANE

    lol!

  29. #129
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Posts
    4,957
    Rep Power
    378
    Quote Originally Posted by Boogiedown View Post
    Let's face it , it was a big thick book that summarized its content by characterizing her with this demanding title in big letters:
    CALL HER MISS ROSS
    It wasn't ,
    .... OH JUST CALL HER DIANE

    lol!
    I like it lol.

  30. #130
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Posts
    4,957
    Rep Power
    378
    Quote Originally Posted by BobbyC View Post
    If anything, we are long overdue for a new show of "artistic temperament" from Miss Ross. It's been years! I'll even offer to pose as a paparazzi so she can beat me over the head with her stiletto heal! Let's make it happen!!! Diana really needs to get with it!
    Be careful what you wish for Bobby lol. One would hope that at 76 her days of running after photographers to beat them with her stilettos are over.....At least I’d like to think.

  31. #131
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Posts
    4,957
    Rep Power
    378
    Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
    someone earlier commented about the "magic touch of Michael Jackson and Barry Gibb" on the EA project and title track. I don't know if that was their opinion on the material but "magic touch" would probably be the furthest from how i would ever describe what is IMO one of the worst projects within the DR catalog.

    sure MJ and BG had sensational results with other artists. and with themselves. but that by no means guarantees success with a vocalist like Diana. every producer has their strengths and areas of forte. Other than the fact that MJ was "MICHAEL JACKSON" I can't find much of anything in his style or productions that would compliment Diana's strengths.

    And Barry had done a glorious job on Guilty with Barbra - i can practically hear Diana on every track. and in each song, the production of Barbra's vocals is wonderful. So WTF happened with EA? it's a disaster of an album.

    even if Mary Wilson had personally endorsed Diana and said she was an angel, EA would have bombed. it was a mistake in every way and form. The 1 redeeming element was Chained Reaction. and while it's a hit and very catchy, it's hardly what i would call a milestone in her growth as an artist or a significant artistic statement.
    I disagree. Chain Reaction provided a massive boost to her career and is most certainly a significant song when evaluating her career.
    Had “Chain Reaction” been the albums lead single, it might have proved as successful in the USA as it was in Europe. I consider the whole album a decent effort.
    The order the songs are presented in is all wrong for me. My personal playlist is....

    Chain Reaction
    I Love Being In Love. [[Should have been the follow up to CH)
    Crime Of Passion
    Love On The Line
    More and More

    Experience
    Oh Teacher
    Eaten Alive
    Im Watching You
    Don’t Give Up.

  32. #132
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    10,018
    Rep Power
    305
    I think if Diana had Ashford and Simpson producing her RCA works, she wouldn't have had flops later on. Though I can argue that if RCA's U.S. division had pushed Chain Reaction instead of Eaten Alive, CR would've been a bigger hit. Eaten Alive was trash IMHO

    Also, I agree with the books not hurting her but I don’t know about them being in the "dustbin of history"...

  33. #133
    Join Date
    Jan 2020
    Posts
    1,087
    Rep Power
    85
    I think we need a new reality show, with Diana, Mary, Martha Reeves and maybe Gladys Knight [[or Horton) and Patti Labelle in one house, unable to escape each other. Whoever gets a fist full of weave wins!

  34. #134
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Posts
    4,678
    Rep Power
    308
    Quote Originally Posted by BobbyC View Post
    I think we need a new reality show, with Diana, Mary, Martha Reeves and maybe Gladys Knight [[or Horton) and Patti Labelle in one house, unable to escape each other. Whoever gets a fist full of weave wins!
    hee hee . that's a good one.
    From what I've read about Bettye Lavette, throw her in too, that'll sauce it up for sure !

  35. #135
    Join Date
    Jan 2020
    Posts
    1,087
    Rep Power
    85
    Bettye Lavette can come along--as long as she has a foul mouth! We need some saltiness with all the goody goodies onboard like DR and Mary. We'll give Diana Berry's personal home phone number so she can tattle on the others. Then we'll throw gowns at them, but two will be identical so that when one diva wears one, the other will think she's been upstaged! I'm telling you, this has possibilities!

  36. #136
    Join Date
    Sep 2019
    Posts
    954
    Rep Power
    94
    Another slow day on SD I see..

  37. #137
    Join Date
    Jan 2020
    Posts
    1,087
    Rep Power
    85
    Must be since you are flitting from thread to thread unlike myself.

  38. #138
    Quote Originally Posted by BobbyC View Post
    I think we need a new reality show, with Diana, Mary, Martha Reeves and maybe Gladys Knight [[or Horton) and Patti Labelle in one house, unable to escape each other. Whoever gets a fist full of weave wins!
    Gladys Horton passed away some years ago. RIP.

    I have never met J. Randy Taraborelli, although I know he's close with some of the super fans. I tend to wonder what led him to write his second book, "Call Her Miss Ross"? Was it a case of a super fan and former fan club president feeling slighted by his muse, and then wanting to write a negative book that would turn the head of the diva herself, and capture her attention? Almost like an act of obsessive desperation? It's ironic because his third book was much more balanced and he wrote about her from a human perspective, and chalked up much of her earlier diva behaviour to being a young person, who has since, matured. Perhaps in the same way, we can argue that the incentive for him to write his second book was also born out of the mindset of a young and immature, yet aspiring writer. I can only imagine the heat he's received over the years from Ross fans.

  39. #139
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    9,279
    Rep Power
    519
    Quote Originally Posted by carlo View Post
    Gladys Horton passed away some years ago. RIP.

    I have never met J. Randy Taraborelli, although I know he's close with some of the super fans. I tend to wonder what led him to write his second book, "Call Her Miss Ross"? Was it a case of a super fan and former fan club president feeling slighted by his muse, and then wanting to write a negative book that would turn the head of the diva herself, and capture her attention? Almost like an act of obsessive desperation? It's ironic because his third book was much more balanced and he wrote about her from a human perspective, and chalked up much of her earlier diva behaviour to being a young person, who has since, matured. Perhaps in the same way, we can argue that the incentive for him to write his second book was also born out of the mindset of a young and immature, yet aspiring writer. I can only imagine the heat he's received over the years from Ross fans.
    Maybe after the success of DREAMGIRL, Randy figured a tell-all would be much more successful than his first book on Diana had been.

    CHMR certainly got a lot of attention. I remember the day it was released in my city, multiple copies of the book filled the entire window display of one of the main Barnes and Noble's. ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT did at least three stories on the book, even including an interview with Mary who complained that some of the stories in his book were written just as she written them in her book.

    I also remember some negative feedback. I think it was on CBS THIS MORNING where one of the hosts compared him to a jilted lover. Some of his colleagues at SOUL magazine also publicly voiced displeasure that he used their files for such a negative book.

  40. #140
    Join Date
    May 2016
    Posts
    827
    Rep Power
    110
    I din’t read It as negative but funny.
    It din’t bother me at all as a fan. It was almost a burlesque story at time

  41. #141
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    10,018
    Rep Power
    305
    I did remember Randy took a beating in the press for the book. However, the sales motivated him to do his book on MJ just two years later.

  42. #142
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Posts
    4,957
    Rep Power
    378
    Quote Originally Posted by jim aka jtigre99 View Post
    Of course, in those days of Mommie Dearest, people did look only for whatever negativity they could find and focus on that. Quite frankly, Randy's books as well as Mary's were not the killer tell all's that legend would have you believe.
    One has to remember that only after M’s Crawford's death were revelations of wire coat hanger beatings and midnight bleaching sessions revealed. It’s important to keep an open mind......me thinks!.

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

[REMOVE ADS]

Ralph Terrana
MODERATOR

Welcome to Soulful Detroit! Kindly Consider Turning Off Your Ad BlockingX
Soulful Detroit is a free service that relies on revenue from ad display [regrettably] and donations. We notice that you are using an ad-blocking program that prevents us from earning revenue during your visit.
Ads are REMOVED for Members who donate to Soulful Detroit. [You must be logged in for ads to disappear]
DONATE HERE »
And have Ads removed.