Quote Originally Posted by JohnnyB View Post
What was BG’s fascination with The Lady Is A Tramp?? I absolutely love the Supremes’ performances of it, but why not promote a new single or ANYTHING else from their repertoire. I was surprised Lady was performed on two separate Hollywood Palace appearances as well. Diana was still performing Lady on the Tonight Show in 1977. I don’t get it…
back in the 60s, the idea was to continue to promote Diana [[and by association the girls) as a major entertainer along the likes of Sinatra, Sammy, Dean, Dinah, etc. Grey haired older ladies and men from the midwest would make trips out to Vegas or NYC for their "big vacations" and they appreciated this type of music. plus the big nightclub scene was still huge. gigs like the Astoria Hotel, the Deauville in Miami, the Fairmont in san Fran, the Grove, Vegas, Tahoe, etc were all super high-paying contracts. and acts could live a long time once they hit that tier of the entertainment world. the pop music scene is fickle - one min you're in, the next you're out. but even without massive high numbers, a high quality cabaret act could continue to earn.

as for in the 70s with Evening With DR and the Carson show, i think it was a couple of reasons. 1) it's an MOR song that everyone knows and the older generation enjoys. Diana was still targeting those audiences with her shows and tv appearances. 2) this is a theory from the DR Project website and i think it's quite realistic. Lady isn't a wildly challenging song. it's a show stopper and Diana had long-since perfected it. it's an easy way to get a great number into the act early as a "warm up" number. helps get Diana's voice ready for the intense work to come and gets the audience up and excited. On Carson Diana was going to sing The Boss live and her adlibs and high notes were a real push for her and so why not get things rolling?