Diana Ross

Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American soul-pop singer from Detroit who rose to fame as the lead vocalist of The Supremes, a trio that she co-founded in 1961 and fronted until 1970.

Diana Ross was born on March 26, 1944, in Detroit, Mich., the second child of Ernestine (née Moten; 1916–1984) and Fred Ross, Sr. (1920–2007). Her older sister is American physician Barbara Ross-Lee. The family first lived near Highland Park, where Ross was childhood neighbors with Smokey Robinson. When she was 14, they moved to the (now demolished) Brewster-Douglass Housing Projects. Between 1958 and 1962, she attended Cass Technical High School, where she studied clothing design, millinery, modeling, and cosmetology.

At age 15, Ross joined The Primettes, a girl group assembled by svengali Milton Jenkins as a sister act to The Primes, which later became The Temptations. They played sock hops and did backing sessions at Motown’s Hitsville U.S.A. headquarters. At the insistence of Motown founder Berry Gordy, Jr. the group renamed itself The Supremes and issued two singles on the label’s Tamla division in 1961.

By 1963, The Supremes were down to the trio of Ross, Mary Wilson, and Florence Ballard. Though Ballard initially sang lead, Gordy assigned Ross as the group’s frontwoman. Starting with the chart-topper “Where Did Our Love Go?”, this lineup notched 10 number-one singles between 1964 and 1967.

After Ballard’s dismissal from the group in mid-1967, the nameplate was modified to Diana Ross & the Supremes to highlight the group’s star, who Gordy was now readying for a solo career. A round of late-’60s hits (“Reflections,” “Love Child,” “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me”) concluded with “Someday We’ll Be Together,” which signaled Ross’s exit from the group in January 1970.

Discography:

• Diana Ross (1970)
• Everything Is Everything (1970)
• Surrender (1971)
• Diana! (TV, 1971)
• Lady Sings the Blues (OST, 1972)
• Touch Me in the Morning (1973)
• Diana & Marvin (1973 • Diana & Marvin)
• Last Time I Saw Him (1973)
• Diana Ross Live at Caesar’s Palace (live, 1974)
• Diana Ross (1976)
• Baby It’s Me (1977)
• An Evening With Diana Ross (live, 1977)
• Ross (1978)
• The Boss (1979)
• Diana (1980)
• Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1981)
• Silk Electric (1982)
• Ross (1983)
• Swept Away (1984)
• Eaten Alive (1985)
• Red Hot Rhythm + Blues (1987)
• Workin’ Overtime (1989)
• The Force Behind the Power (1991)
• Making Spirits Bright (1994)
• A Very Special Season (1994)
• Take Me Higher (1995)
• Every Day Is a New Day (1999)
• Blue (2006, recorded 1972)
• I Love You (2006)

Sources:

• Discogs: Diana Ross