Who is this “DetroitLives313” person?
Who is this “DetroitLives313” person?
Have to agree. It was such a let down and came through as somewhat phony and boring. She has a story. She just doesn't want to tell it like it is. It hit the budget tables very quickly back then. And that cover...pure tacky. I know Tina Turner posed for a similar photo but Diana Ross? No. Her attempt at becoming some sex symbol backfired, but hey, there are worse.
I read it when it came out and laughed most of the way through it. DR said she was writing an "inspirational book" but it just came off as narcissistic, pompous and really pretty dull. I was glad to hear her speak honestly on a few issues--but those were few and far between. Randy Tarrorborelli made a big deal out of the fact that DR never once mentions Florence Ballard's alleged rape, and to my mind he was implying that maybe it never really happened, but I think it was more a case of DR wanting private things to remain private. You could see that as having class or you could see it as dishonest, depending on your POV. I personally feel that DR thought this deeply personal issue should remain a "family secret."
Oh, I think we all know who "that person" is
The book was bad and took its place among other Celebrity Autobiographies written by Madonna, Vanna White, Elizabeth Taylor, Sylester Stallone and others.
There was a show Off Broadway called "Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words". Celebrities would read passages from other celebrities autobiographies verbatim and it would get laughter from the audience. Diana's autobiography was one of them.
Diana did have another book called UPSIDE DOWN which was much more personal and revealing, but it was never released
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/320231.Upside_Down
I read tons of show biz books, even those about stars I don't care much about, but pretty much stopped reading autobiographies years ago--they are just too phony. Stars white wash everything, lie about a lot of things--basically the memoirs are PR instruments and I have no interest in that. I want the real story, the good the bad and the ugly. Michael Jackson's Moonwalker, for example, was so white-washed I couldn't believe it. There was nothing of substance there. If you want the unvarnished truth, read bios of background singers, musicians and other peripheral players. They tend to be more upfront. Darlene Love's memoirs were fascinating.
It would have to have been pretty bad for that to happen. Couldn't she have shopped it around? No one would touch it?
Here's an idea ... during this down time, dig out that manuscript Diana !! Polish it up and add a postscript.... maybe even redo it from this angle
: What I thought then , and how I feel about it all now.
Going Back from 2001 is a pretty special Diana Ross book. Lacks the substance we wanted from a “memoir” but perfect text to accompany a photo/coffee table memoir.
The book starts off great and then eventually crashes and burns. I thought she was her most revealing about her life pre-Primettes. I also thought she was rather forthcoming with her feelings about Florence. But at some point she just goes on and on about "nothing". And there's a point, if I recall correctly, where she says she recorded "Someday We'll Be Together" around the time Flo was fired, and those kinds of detail screwups turn me off. I realize that as people age their memories don't always line up with reality, but Diana was in her 40s and she couldn't accurately recall that "Someday" was recorded shortly before her exit from the group? I guess I shouldn't be too hard on her. In 1970 she introduced "Love Is Here and Now You're Gone" as being from 1965. The lady must have had a lot on her mind.
As for the possible second book, I think it might have proven to be a good read. She was fresh out of rehab, right? There's a clarity that supposedly comes during these freshly sober times, so it would've been really interesting to see how she viewed both the distant past and the not so distant past.
I'm really curious about the way Diana views Flo's "difficulties" now. She always seemed to treat Flo's issues in the group as alcohol induced, and later mental illness, always with an air of "I don't understand what her problem was". After Diana's own alcoholism, and the resulting DUI, I would love to know if she looks back at Florence and thinks, "Okay, I see how shit can get so bad that you self medicate. I get it now." I would hope a second autobiography would address that, cuz clearly no interviewer has the balls to ask her.
As a fan of Diana Ross, I'll say this:
"Secrets of a Sparrow" was possibly the worst autobiography ever written by a rock and roll legend, second only to Michael Jackson's "Moonwalker".
^^^ no matter how many times I see that gif, it cracks me up. Classic.
I would not say it was the worst autobiography ever. I found it very superficial and lacking details on what must have been a very exciting life. She glossed over many things in an attempt to be "inspirational". It was not horrible, and she does sort of give some of her initial feelings about Flo and Mary, it seems by the time Cindy joined she was too preoccupied to give any feelings beyond a nice girl eager to please. Still, it give a slight insight into her but was not very forthcoming in terms of feelings and specifics. Still, she wrote some things, even though you can tell she was guarding her image and was not totally forthcoming in her own, actual feelings and thoughts-no personal perspectives except ones to "inspire". It was her choice to tell her story in any way she felt but it was disappointing in many respects.
I'm probably the minority but I actually liked Diana's book lol. I enjoyed that she kept it PG and I think it shows that she chose to take the high road. Her segment on the Supremes was not exactly tell all but it helped me understand Diana's point of view a little better and how stressful it was for her. She seemed to talk about Flo more than Mary and I got a sense that she admired Flo but was also angry at her for the way things went down. I felt sad for Diana when reading parts about her relationship with Berry. He really played her. Sure she became a superstar but at the cost of her health, both mentally and physically. It sounded very abusive to me.
To add in: there's a story in the book I remember Diana telling where the Supremes were playing in Canada or somewhere north where it was below freezing temperatures. Diana was sick and when coming off stage Berry rubbed her body up and down with alcohol so she wouldn't get more sick. Diana says she felt like that was Berry showing her love. To me, it was him worrying about losing money. She shouldn't have even been performing in the first place if she was sick.
I think her penance should be recording an audio book of "Secrets of a Sparrow." I believe she would be overcome by shame and regret having to speak aloud the inane ramblings in that book.
Saying she should have slapped Flo across the face to knock some sense into her doesn’t strike me as admiration. But apparently Ross has been abusive as well. Didnt she slap Berry across the face dying filming of Mahogany?
Last edited by luke; 07-09-2020 at 11:57 AM.
Luke--yeah she did! She was right to smack him!
I have slapped the crap out of people.
Sorry. I got caught up in the emotion of it all...
I really wanted to like this book...I really did. She just jumps from one topic to another without regard to a particular time order. Maybe it's me, but I prefer a biography or autobiography to flow in chronological order. As others have suggested, maybe this was supposed to be more of an inspirational book than an autobiography. But I will say this, she kept the 'high road' rather than sharply slandering others.
The second book was called "Upside Down: Wrong Turns, Right Turns and the Road Ahead" and Diana is the one who pulled it. It was supposed to be one of those books as a retaliation against some allegations that had been made about her. She decided to move forward with the positive instead negative energy.
To answer a statement someone made earlier about Flo I believe she did truly love her Supreme pal or she would not tried to bail her out during rough times however it was hard getting around Tommy. Diana feels those personal moments or times are just that personal.
Last, yes Berry was not the nicest person to her especially when it came to his company and getting ahead. Most women would have walked away but Diana wanted the fame and admiration from the fans. A slap across the face from the set of Mahogany was probably well deserved during that time. Leaving Motown with only a couple hundred thousand ...... Really ??
Right. $150,000 after 20 years and 18 number one hits??? And who knows how many millions of records?
If Tommy hadn't been around, maybe Diana [[and Mary) would've gotten through to Flo. You know how men can be. <_<
LOL I loved "Moonwalker" as a kid because, well, it was Michael Jackson. During the 80s and early to mid 90s, Michael could've mixed shit and Cheerios, packaged them up and sold them as Shitty-O's, and I would've damn near cut my mama to get a box. But I haven't read the book since it was a new release. On the other hand, about 9 years ago I watched the Moonwalker movie for the first time in probably 20 years and was shocked to discover that I was bored out of my mind through most of it. Back in the day we watched that damn movie so much that I could recite it line for line. I guess one had to be a kid to appreciate it. I'm curious now about how I might view the book any differently today.
One passage that I always thought was interesting was when she wrote about being talked about by Flo and Mary behind her back and sometimes when her back wasn't turned. Many of us understand Mary's, and especially Flo's, resentment about certain things, but I imagine it had to suck to know that even though she wasn't in charge, that a lot of the anger and bitterness was directed her way. That's not excusing times when Diana may have done things that rightfully incurred the ire of her singing partners. But Gordy had a record label to run, so he wasn't with the ladies 24/7. Diana probably got a lot of what Gordy might have gotten had he been around more. At a certain point Diana was performing with two girls that loved her dearly but was increasingly not liking her. That had to suck.
Gordy didn't care about any of their health. There's that story Florence tells about having walking pneumonia and her doctor advising against her performing at an outdoor concert. Gordy, I think, talked the doctor into agreeing to let Flo go on, but only if she was on for a limited amount of time. In the end Florence was outdoors in the elements rehearsing for a lengthy period of time. Gordy wanted these girls working so he could line his pockets, which I don't have a problem with. However, he was willing to jeopardize their health in order to do it, and that I have a big problem with. Pneumonia aint nothing to play with.
I believe Diana said she wanted to shake Florence, not slap. You seriously don't get why she would say that? Who hasn't wanted to knock the hell out of someone they love when they're screwing up? Do you have family? Or are they all perfect? If so, lucky you, cuz I have some loved ones who sometimes need a good ass whooping. Truth be told, I need mine kicked every now and then. When you love people, you check them when they aren't living up to expectations. Florence had more talent in her pinky than some folks have in their entire bodies and her story should've never played out the way that it did. I imagine to anyone who loved her, there were times when they wanted to scream, slap and shake Flo to get her to get it together. Hell, the same probably can be said about Mary and Diana too, neither of whom always live up to expectations.
Of course Diana was probably speaking figuratively rather than literally. But I think most people get the sentiment.
Apparently Flo intimidated a lot of people. I think it was Martha Reeves who said Flo had a way of looking at someone that made it clear she wasn't one to tangle with. But yet so many folks who knew her speak so highly of her. So I don't think it was Flo walking around like she was Miss Tough Stuff as much as it was her having an air about her that said "Don't try me".
But I would've loved a front row seat to whatever was going down that night between Lala Brooks and Diana and Flo. No lie. Lol
DR is not the type to roll around in the dirt for a big paycheck, she doesn't have to. At the time of her book she was a mother of 5, her persona is not one of anger or revenge or even regret. "If I had to live my life all over, I wouldn't change a thing." DR
Tommy is an interesting factor in the story. If you pay attention to the approximate time he and Flo get together, it basically corresponds with her going off the rails. Now I'm not explicitly saying that Tommy was the cause of anything. I'm just saying it's an interesting point of fact that these two events happen around the same time. So someone like me starts to ponder if things may have played out differently with Tommy not in the picture. Would things have been different if Flo had a guy that was the opposite of Tommy? No one has these answers, of course, but it's something to think about.
Good point. I didnt know that getting physical with people was considered positive behavior. I don’t believe in putting my hands on people I care about or in general per comments above. Big difference between wanting to and doing it! Diana has a history alledgedly of doing just that per Motown books.
Last edited by luke; 07-09-2020 at 06:28 PM.
There was an off Broadway play that read excerpts from over the top celebrity bios to gales of laughter. They must have read Diana’s! “ My hair is a huge responsibility!”
I remember that, but I didn't buy it. I think he also said something along the lines of Flo thought she could be bigger on her on, or something to that effect. Other than Smokey's statement, I don't think anyone has ever accused Florence of thinking she was bigger than the group or that she didn't need the group. Seems to me it was the contrary: everything that was bothering her was that the group was shaping up to become a springboard for Diana Ross at the expense of Flo and Mary, which made them less of a group, and Flo didn't think it was fair. I'm betting if anything, Tommy was in her ear encouraging her to allow her emotions to rule over good sense. I also believe he pushed her into pursuing a solo deal as early as she did. After everything she had just been through, I suspect Flo would've been content to take a breather. After being fired, she had to go through the ordeal of fighting for the best release agreement as she could, which surely was stressful. She gets that release and then almost immediately she's at ABC. She needed a break, but I'm betting that Tommy wanted to get as much money out of Flo as he could, and on top of that, he was probably one of those dudes who always wanted to be a big shot and he got the chance to play the role by telling people he was managing his wife, which sounds a whole lot more big time than saying he's a chauffeur. Dude was a loser.
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