Diana Ross' 5-night engagement [[originally scheduled for 3 nights then lengthened due to popular demand) at the historic City Center Theater is about 95% sold. At 2,257 seats that means there will be 11,285 happy Motown / Diana fans next week!
Diana Ross' 5-night engagement [[originally scheduled for 3 nights then lengthened due to popular demand) at the historic City Center Theater is about 95% sold. At 2,257 seats that means there will be 11,285 happy Motown / Diana fans next week!
What a blessing to still be able to sell out or nearly sell out venues and have extended engagements 58 years in the business.
There is a great book that documents Ross' loyal tribe that follows her around from show to show. They plan vacation, sick, and personal time around her shows. A concert by Ross is also a family reunion event because they have been together for decades helping each other with the coming out process, deaths and other life issues. I think it is great that the tribe is in NYC for five days, planning a vacation in NYC, and seeing MISS ROSS every night. How many artists at 73 have about 2,000 loyal fans who will come to see their show for 5 days and sell her out? That is loyalty!
Where to next gang?
Last edited by mpn1jco; 04-18-2017 at 03:28 PM.
That is a great book by Tom Adrahtas but his best book is A Lifetime to Get here about Miss Ross by Tom Adrahtas. Both are available on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Diva-Her-Trib...s=Tom+Adrahtas
https://www.amazon.com/Lifetime-Get-...s=Tom+Adrahtas
Both are real great reads.
When Mickey Stevenson wrote his book, he said that if you want the facts, read Secrets of a Sparrow and if you want celebrity gossip, read Mary's books.
I think what would be good is a book by Diana wrapping up the whole career - staying away from celebrity gossip - but frankly talking about the career, the challenges, the highs, the lows, the excitement, the racism, the sexism, the adulation.
Mary's books were marketed for the celebrity gossip crowd [[which is half of America) but with all due respect to Mr. Stevenson, they were Mary's recollections from her perspective regarding the past and they can't be any more discounted or validated than his own book or Diana's book.
The book I would actually love to read is a collaboration between Diana and Mary. I mentioned in another thread that I get tired of the same old stories about the Supremes. There has to be tons of little anecdotes and facts that we fans don't know about because most of what we get are the same five stories pulled out of Diana and Mary by interviewers who aren't usually interviewing them for the die hard crowd. Because I am a family historian I know that with older people you can conduct interviews with them regarding their memories and get a lot of great stuff, but there's this terrific dynamic that happens when two or more are in the same room and one says something happened one way while another says they don't remember it that way before launching into their version, and then many times something comes up and one says "Oh I forgot about that!".
I say they should put the memories in a book along with photos from their personal collections. Maybe even insert memories from various people. I love history so I'm fascinated by the Supremes early years in particular. I want to know about performances, recording sessions, tour shenanigans, etc. With Florence gone that history is solely in the Ross and Wilson libraries. When they're gone, that's it.
There are over 50 books about the Supremes, Ross, and , the Motown Saga on the market. Some are more reputable than others, but they all tell essentially the same story with the exception of Ross' self penned tomes, Tom A., books and maybe a few others. Tom A.' books are independently published and each sold less than 3,000 copies.
There are over 50 books about the Supremes, Ross, and , the Motown Saga on the market. Some are more reputable than others, but they all tell essentially the same story with the exception of Ross' self penned tomes, Tom A., books and maybe a few others. Tom A.' books are independently published and each sold less than 3,000 copies.
There are over 50 books about the Supremes, Ross, and , the Motown Saga on the market. Some are more reputable than others, some are considered gossip or reputable, but they ALL tell essentially the same story with the exception of Ross' self penned tomes, Tom A., books and maybe a few others. Tom A.' books are independently published and each sold less than 2,000 copies. They are directed to a niche audience and I suggest they are to be avoided at all costs unless you are a die had fan. A good objective, and realistic book by a fan is Diana's Dogs.
There are over 50 books about the Supremes, Ross, and , the Motown Saga on the market. Some are more reputable than others, some are considered gossip or reputable, but they ALL tell essentially the same story with the exception of Ross' self penned tomes, Tom A., books and maybe a few others. Tom A.' books are independently published and each sold less than 2,000 copies. They are directed to a niche audience and I suggest they are to be avoided at all costs unless you are a die had fan. A good objective, and realistic book by a fan is Diana's Dogs.
Dana's book has the distinction of becoming an unintended camp classic along wit Joan Crawford's memoir for obvious reasons.
I don't know where you get YOUR sales figures from, DEAR, but they are way off. I have read both books and I own them. Don't make a move too seen DEAREST.
Would be nice if something like RanRan suggests could happen - a together project and the jogging of memories would be good. And face it, the market for all of this is declining. That is an issue Mary always faces - if she somehow doesn't get Diana into the conversation, no one is interested - which is what she was saying in 1986. But it is a much more relevant comment in 2017.
One day Luke made a comment on a thread about how Diana just blows Mary off. His wording was a little vague but I do agree that as Mary said, they went their separate ways 47 years ago and they live their own lives. Diana seems to be all about family and her concert career and seems to not want to make a comment about Mary if her life depended on it.
The market is sadly declining, but the options have expanded from previous years. One no longer has to publish books through top publishing firms and put money into mass marketing for maximum profit. If the two of these women were ever inclined to follow through on my suggestion, they could put this together while self publishing and offer it to the diehards via the internet, as well as their shows. I'll be honest, I'd prefer the book collab more than a musical reunion.
I actually think Mary has a better chance today of being relevant without Diana. Remember in the 80s Diana Ross was a huge superstar who was "relevant" to the general public. At the time of Mary's first book, her recent activity was pissing Motown off at Motown 25, and before that she was booted out of Motown label, and before that she dropped a flop album and single, and before that she endured 4-5 B group status years with the Supremes. No matter what Mary did she was always going to dance in Diana Ross' shadow. But today Mary has accomplished so much even outside of music and she's still an in demand performer, 58 years in the business. Diana Ross will always carry some relevance to the general public because she's a legend all on her own, but her name doesn't ring out like it did in the 80s, and thus Mary doesn't twirl around in her shadow as much. If anything as long as Mary can attach her name to the Supremes she'll always be interesting.
As for what Luke had to say, I don't really understand that comment so he'd have to explain it. When I think of someone blowing someone off, I just don't know of anything that has happened in forever where I would categorize Diana's actions that way. I think at the end of the day she just don't f*** with Mary like that, and that's her right. I would just like a Supreme moment for the two of them while there's still time.
I was a DMC fan during their reign but at this point in time I'd have no interest in such a project. We know what Wilson thinks; she's told versions of the same stories for decades. You are absolutely correct about the contemporary Diana, and I add a point that I always think of, which is that Diana and Wilson worked together for a time nearly 50 years ago - does everyone need to stay in contact with co-workers from 50 years ago? On to Diana's latest sell-out smash! Hope you are able to attend!
... of course in my brief time as a member/poster here I've long recognized that any positive mention of Diana Ross brings out the saddies. Oh well. Back to the subject - it seems that Diana is the most consistent Motown touring act to draw crowds. Lionel's tour could be reset and a big hit, Gladys and Martha do well, but I was sorry to see that even Smokey only half-filled a 2,000 seat theater in Florida - THAT population didn't know what they missed!
[QUOTE=PeaceNHarmony;381692]Hey Ms. Roberta
I wish you would stop calling names when people disagree with your opinion. The moderator needs to clean house... can't enjoy a discussion of different opinions without your games,
Let's be real, it's a little different than keeping up with your fellow burger pushers from McDonalds in the 1960s. The work these women did together is still very much a part of the world today and that's not easily forgotten, especially considering that the world is still so heavily populated by people who were coming of age at the time that Mary and Diana and Flo were hitting their Supreme peaks.
I want some resolution to their story, not only as a fan but as a lover of history. But if Diana truly feels that there's nothing in it for her to reunite with Mary in any specific way, I respect it. There are people who I am bonded to for various reasons that I'll never speak to or break bread with as long as either of us are drawing breath, due to whatever lines I feel that they've crossed. I can't institute a policy where I wouldn't "reunite" with certain people and then turn around and say Diana can't have the same policy. That's hypocritical.
Back to basics: Diana Ross seems to have another smash hit run of shows to add to her resume.
I guess it's endless love
I just checked the website and there are hundreds of tickets available for each and every show.
The saddies are a small group of members who celebrate Ross' achievements old and new, hence when something positive about Ross is posted the 'saddies' come out. Many of Ross' ballads are sad - Missing You - After You - Sparkle - A Simple Thing Like Cry -etc. - so it is just a play on that. I like it - It has a nice ring to it.
Last edited by mpn1jco; 04-20-2017 at 03:00 AM.
Saddies can't get over the fact that a skinny girl from the projects was a mass market success on Broadway, in the movies, on television, in concert, on record and in the process, some of the people present got left behind, didn't make as much or any money, aren't recognized publicly anymore and generally, didn't do as well. Jealousy, envy, you can always see behind their smiling faces that don't tell the truth.
A lot of people fall in that category. It's life. They can get over it or not, as they chose; and if they want to stay in the "saddie" category, it's all up to them.
We all know what happened to her!
City Center is a glorious, Moorish revival historic theatre and will be a perfect setting for Diana!
Aha, some saddies have an acid tongue too! Perhaps eunuched by Diana somehow.
Looks like a great setting for what they are now calling a residency.
I have great respect for Diana Ross. because she is a survivor. She has battled mental illness, drug addiction, and alcoholism. She lost it all - her superstardom, her recording career, her reputation, and her voice. She has fought her way through this and came back in a very small way. Every time she sings I Wlll Survive it brings tears...
Last edited by endlesslove; 04-21-2017 at 02:27 PM.
I read that the RTL failure was a major factor in what caused the downward spiral that led her to seek treatment at a psychiatric unit of a hospital and inpatient substance abuse treatment. I heard that she couldn't get a recording contract and the offers in general stopped coming in. I don't understand why a failed tour was so devastating to her. Mariah Carey had a tour that was cancelled due to poor ticket sales and she just moved on. Diana accepted she is no longer a star anymore, those days are over, and just endlessly plays small venues. I checked the Billboard and even though she tours all the time she did not make the top 190 touring acts of 2016, I also read this at
http://diana-ross.freeforums.net/thr...nster?page=100
Last edited by endlesslove; 04-21-2017 at 02:05 PM.
Last edited by endlesslove; 04-21-2017 at 02:16 PM.
[QUOTE=endlesslove;382068]I have great respect for Diana Ross. because she is a survivor. She has battled mental illness, drug addiction, and alcoholism. She lost it all
Wow you really do have a problem with Diana Ross. Does it really make you feel better to say these lies about her? When did she battle mental illness and drug addiction? She is still a superstar legend. And she still gets rave reviews for shows. People can not believe how good her voice still is. I have read many reviews on how good her voice is. And I have seen her recently and the whole audience was mesmerized by her voice. So stop the hate! Why do you call your self endlesslove after one of her biggest hits? You are too funny!
[QUOTE=vgalindo;382119] As we all know, Diana was personally selected by President Obama to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor a citizen of the USA can be awarded. Makes 'ya wonder what our President Obama would think of anyone who would disrespect Ms. Ross, doesn't it?!
... on a more positive note, Diana is following The Dance Theatre of Harlem, one of the arts groups that make City Center their home. How cool is that?
[QUOTE=vgalindo;382119] Oh you read me wrong. I admire Diana Ross. When my sister was in drug treatment I took this article to inspire her. If Diana can beat drugs and alcohol so can you !
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz...addiction.html
Diana Ross is treated for alcohol and drug addiction
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz...#ixzz4evsOYbDn
Diana Ross is treated for alcohol and drug addiction.
Why do you pretend things that happened didn't happen. Lying is wrong. Chaka Khan is honest about her problems and so are others. Shame on you!
It really is sad that there are these so called Supremes fans that hate the lead singer. That is really weird to me. They are so upset that back ground singe Mary Wilson never had a successful solo career so they hate on Diana Ross! I really do feel sorry for them. I guess it makes them feel better to put down and talk bad about Diana. But history does not take away her great solo career.
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