Diana Ross Live at Caesar's Palace 1979

[sup_fan]

we all reference this show constantly but we've not really had a thread where we dig into it. discuss our thoughts, compare notes, etc.

I think many of us do still consider this one of the crowning achievements of her career and one of her best live shows. it's just SO extravagant.

so what are some of the highlights for you? anything you'd change? complaints?


i'm going to start us out not with the obvious intro with the stairs, movie screen and all. but with what i think is one of her best renditions of My Man. of course getting to watch her is a treat in addition to the vocals. but this performance is just flawless. her voice is so powerful, so thick with emotion. and that last note is just on point!!

[sansradio]

Everything about this show represents Diana at the absolute zenith of her powers. A major highlight for me is her jaw-dropping Blinky-inspired rendition of "God Bless the Child." Spine-tingling. It's a moment I use to shut down snipers who say she can't "sang."

[Boogiedown]

here it is :



I don't know that a show can get any better. The spontaneous energy ..... lots of glitz but not overly choreographed the way performances [Madonna Michael Beyonce etc...] would become in the 80's through now . there's a "liveness", a one-on-one presence about this that has been lost....
Diana has it down!
This is where her Vegas and super club training really pays off.


1979 was a great year to be alive.

[Ollie9]

Diana at her vocal best.

[reese]

When this show originally aired, my family didn't have HBO. So the most I could do was stay up that night and listen to the 11:30pm FM simulcast on one of my local stations.

I had already attended one of her TOUR '79 concerts the preceding April so I didn't miss the visuals. What did surprise me was the number of songs that Diana performed from THE BOSS. I don't think she had delved into album tracks to such a degree before then.

Also, there was a power in Diana's vocals that I don't think had been displayed before, except for THE WIZ. Great examples of this were I AIN'T BEEN LICKED, REMEMBER ME, GOD BLESS THE CHILD, MY MAN and ALL FOR ONE.

Complaints? The only one that I can think of is that I wish she had done more Supremes material. Technically, if the concert was filmed today, I think the effect of the images on the screen would come across better. That said, if there was one of Diana's concerts to be taped for posterity, I can't think of a better choice.

Note: I didn't see the actual special until 1984, when I bought my first vcr. As soon as it was hooked up, I went to Videosmith and rented this show, while also making a special order of it for purchase.

[daviddh]

i remember seeing this as a special around 1980. wow .what a powerhouse of a show.
glad the soundtrack is finally on cd.!!
i was younger then so songs like Home did not have an effect on me yet but now i think it is a home run performance.
i agree ,i would have loved more Supremes songs and Baby Its me songs.
i think she did sing Gettin Ready For Love but it was editted out.
my teacher went to see it and said it was one of the best shows he had ever seen and she was amazing.
i liked how ,although she talks about her coat at the beginning, the show was about music and not about fashion.
wasnt crazy about I Wanna Be Bad... i would have preferred another song.
songs i would have liked
getting ready for love
you got it
one love in my lifetime
lovin livin givin
once in the morning
come in from the rain

[daviddh]

did anyone attend this show live... were there other songs editted out.
the cd has only 17 songs

[reese]

did anyone attend this show live... were there other songs editted out.
the cd has only 17 songs

J. Randy says that GETTIN' READY FOR LOVE was edited out of the HBO concert. He didn't mention any others.

I saw the show in April 1979. But at that time, ROSS was her latest album. The show was revamped when THE BOSS was released.

[daviddh]

Do you recall any songs she did other than the huge hits.
Thx in advance.
Just curious how her show changed

[gman]

anyone know if she ever performed Lovin' Livin' & Givin' in concert or on a TV show anywhere in the universe???? The LP version of that song is one of my fav Disco cuts.
that trippy bass line and DR's vocal and scat kill me! You're My Driving Wheel is another fav only LP vers. cut....that pounding acoustic piano, the hand percussion, and Scherrie's catch up and fall behind vocal are irresistable to me.

[sup_fan]

anyone know if she ever performed Lovin' Livin' & Givin' in concert or on a TV show anywhere in the universe???? The LP version of that song is one of my fav Disco cuts.
that trippy bass line and DR's vocal and scat kill me! You're My Driving Wheel is another fav only LP vers. cut....that pounding acoustic piano, the hand percussion, and Scherrie's catch up and fall behind vocal are irresistable to me.

LLG was part of her show prior to this HBO/The Boss tour. that, You Were The One and To Love Again i think were all part of this show.

[sup_fan]

J. Randy says that GETTIN' READY FOR LOVE was edited out of the HBO concert. He didn't mention any others.

I saw the show in April 1979. But at that time, ROSS was her latest album. The show was revamped when THE BOSS was released.

I thought someone mentioned that she did do more supremes content in the actual, live show but that it was edited out for the HBO special. perhaps she did a medley? this is odd that it would be edited out, given how hugely popular the Sup content always was.

it's also possible that the show itself would alter some during it's run. perhaps the Caesar's shows were a bit different because they knew they were planning on the HBO taping. perhaps in preparation of that, they were making some lineup changes in order to accommodate the duration necessary for the special.

[sup_fan]

i remember seeing this as a special around 1980. wow .what a powerhouse of a show.
glad the soundtrack is finally on cd.!!
i was younger then so songs like Home did not have an effect on me yet but now i think it is a home run performance.
i agree ,i would have loved more Supremes songs and Baby Its me songs.
i think she did sing Gettin Ready For Love but it was editted out.
my teacher went to see it and said it was one of the best shows he had ever seen and she was amazing.
i liked how ,although she talks about her coat at the beginning, the show was about music and not about fashion.
wasnt crazy about I Wanna Be Bad... i would have preferred another song.
songs i would have liked
getting ready for love
you got it
one love in my lifetime
lovin livin givin
once in the morning
come in from the rain

what's interesting is that her outfit sort of seems to be 1 intricate outfit that had various components that come off/alter throughout the show to give the different looks. she ditches the coat and then is in that jumpsuit with the weird long wrap thing slung around her. then it seems like that comes off and she's just in the jumpsuit. add the red sequin and feather wrap, then it comes off. and then finally from the jumpsuit to the bathing suit.

[JohnnyB]

When I saw this show in April 1979, the Supremes medley from An Evening With was also performed. I’m not sure if the medley remained when the show was revamped to include The Boss.

[reese]

I thought someone mentioned that she did do more supremes content in the actual, live show but that it was edited out for the HBO special. perhaps she did a medley? this is odd that it would be edited out, given how hugely popular the Sup content always was.

it's also possible that the show itself would alter some during it's run. perhaps the Caesar's shows were a bit different because they knew they were planning on the HBO taping. perhaps in preparation of that, they were making some lineup changes in order to accommodate the duration necessary for the special.

The review I read for one of her September 1980 concerts had a setlist that was basically the HBO show with UPSIDE DOWN and I'M COMING OUT added. The reviewer specifically mentioned BABY LOVE from the Supremes days and not a medley. As her act didn't seem to have changed in a year, I think it might very well be that she only sang that one song during the taping of the HBO show as well.

[reese]

LLG was part of her show prior to this HBO/The Boss tour. that, You Were The One and To Love Again i think were all part of this show.

In addition to these songs, she also sang SOON AS I GET HOME and a Supremes medley when I saw the show in April 1979. She didn't do TO LOVE AGAIN.

Also, I recall there being more than four backup singers and there was a 50-piece orchestra.

[thanxal]

I can't tell you how much I love "Too Shy to Say" in this set.

[TheMotownManiac]

We were there a week before they filmed and saw three or four shows that were all the same, except for the lady sings the blues requests. She never did getting ready for love, and she only did baby love. It didn’t need any more Supremes hits, but it would’ve been nice. However, nobody was asking for any, it was a fantastic show exactly the way it was.

The red outfit made me cringe a little bit, I liked the dancers and I loved the new arrangement for God. Bless the Child, remember me, and I adored I want to be bad. What’s the interesting about that show, is that a lot of people were there, it seems, just to see diana ross, even though they were not card-carrying fans. They really loved the show. It was quite a bit of entertainment. Was someone please tell her to quit using video tape for performance? Is this Polk elementary school or a professional theatrical style performance? Video tape is cheaper and it shows. I did love watching the reactions of people when she came through the screen, it really knocked people out!