Supreme Success

Diana Ross was born in March 26, 1944, in Detroit, Michigan. She began singing with friends as a teenager, and eventually formed the groundbreaking 1960’s trio the Supremes, going on to have hits like “Come See about Me” and “You Can’t Hurry Love”. Ross left the Supremes for a solo career in 1969, later reaching No.1 with hits like “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “Love Hangover”. She starred in the films Mahogany and Lady Sings the Blues as well, earning an Oscar nomination for the latter. Despite personal and professional let downs, Ross has withstood the test of time as a performer with a career that span more than four decades. Dianna Ernestine Earle Ross was born on March 26, 1944 in Detroit, Michigan. Developing a reputation as an accomplished performer, Ross began singing in the group the Primettes with friends Mary Wilson Florence Ballard and Barbara Martin as a teenager. Martin eventually dropped out, but the remaining members of the group went on to become the internationally known and successful 1960’sR&Bpop trio, the Supremes (later named Diana Ross and the Supremes). Signed to Motown Records by famed producer and label founder Berry Gordy Jr., in 1961 the Supremes scored their first No.1 hit with “Where Did Our Love Go” in 1964.The trio then went on to break music records by having a streak of four additional singles top the charts-“Baby Love”, “Come See About Me”, “ Stop! In The Name of Love” and “Back in My Arms Again”, thus becoming the first U.S. group to ever have five songs in a row to reach No. 1. In all the group scored a monumental 12 No.1 hits including “I Hear a Symphony” “You Can’t Hurry Love”, The Happening”, “Love Child” and “Someday We’re Be Together. They thus established a phenomenal record, becoming the American vocal group with the most Billboard chart toppers in history. Ross left the Supremes for a solo career in 1969 and continued to be musical mainstay the following year with the Top 20 “Reach Out and Touch Somebody’s Hand” and the No.1 “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”. In 1972, she branched out into acting and starred in the Billie Holiday bios Lady Sings the Blues. While the film received somewhat mixed reviews, Ross’s performance garnered her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. The Blues soundtrack was a huge success and helped spurn new interest in Holiday as well. Ross went on to star in the film s Mahogany and co-starring Billy Dee Williams and Anthony Perkins, and the Wiz. Among an array of albums, other hit songs for Ross from the 1970’s included “Touch Me in The Morning”, ”Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To)” and sensual dance classic “Love Hangover”, withal three tracks reaching No.1 on the pop charts. Diana Ross has won several major awards which includes a Golden Globe, a Tony and several American Music Awards. Ross was indicted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 as part of the Supremes.