The Life and Works of The Supreme Diana Ross Quiz

Answer: Yes

Motown is a portmanteau of "motor" and "town", and is the nickname for Detroit. Motown Records was founded by Berry Gordy in 1959 as Tamla Records before becoming Motown Records in 1960. The Motown Sound was a type of soul music mixed with pop overtones. Diana Ross would certainly be an integral part of Motown Records.

She was born in Detroit in 1944 and spent all her childhood years there except for a spell when her mother developed tuberculosis and so Ms Ross and her siblings were dispatched to Alabama relatives.

When her mother recovered, the children returned to Detroit. Miss Ross completed her schooling in Detroit and wanted to be a hairdresser or fashion designer.

Answer: Diane

According to Miss Ross, her mother named her Diane but a mistake was made on the birth certificate and her name was entered as "Diana". Her family always called her Diane and she was even known professionally as Diane until her musical life became popular.
She was the second of six siblings. Her elder sister, Barbara Ross-Lee was the first African-American woman to become a medical school dean, at Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Answer: The Primettes

Paul Williams, a member of the vocal group called the Primes, was instrumental in getting Diana Ross to join the Primettes, a sister group to the Primes, an all male vocal group. She was 15. Florence Ballard was also a member as were Mary Wilson, and Betty McGlown, so with the addition of Miss Ross, they became a quartet with Ms Ballard the lead singer.

It was 1959 and they were invited to audition for Motown Records. There is speculation on why this did not occur, but Miss Ross asked her neighbour Smokey Robinson (a former boyfriend) to advocate for the group.

It took about a year but in the end Motown Records' chief, Berry Gordy agreed to sign them as long as they changed their name. Ms Ballard chose "The Supremes" from a list, supposedly because this was the only name on the list that did not end with "ettes".

Answer: Diana Ross was made lead singer

In 1963, Barbara Martin left the group, leaving a trio. In November 1963, The Supremes had their first hit with "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes". This song was quite a sizable hit for a debut, reaching number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart.

In December 1963, Mr Gordy changed the lead singer from Ms Ballard to Ms Ross. Their next single, "Where Did Our Love Go" went all the way to number one, ratifying the lead singer swap. Between August 1964 and May 1967, Ross, Ballard and Mary Wilson sang ten number-one hit singles on the US Hot 100. Significantly, all ten made the Top 40 in England, generally a poor market for soul music.

Answer: Miss Ross collapsed on stage

In 1967 Florence Ballard was fired from The Supremes for alcohol and weight issues amongst other reasons. She was replaced by Cindy Birdsong from Patti LaBelle and the Blue-Bells. Mr Gordy renamed the group Diana Ross & the Supremes. Mr Gordy worked Miss Ross in particular very hard with many appearances booked mostly without the other Supremes.

In her autobiography, Miss Ross said the stress caused her to develop anorexia nervosa, though it was not called that then. This culminated in her collapsing onstage during a Boston performance. Miss Ross recovered but the punishing schedule continued.

Answer: President Nixon invited Miss Ross to perform at a private function

Diana Ross' eponymous debut album, released in 1970, had two hits with what became her two signature songs, "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"; the second song was her first Billboard Hot 100 number one. She went on to have a further seven number one hits on the same chart.

In 1971 she starred in her first of several television specials, "Diana!"

In 1973 Empress Nagako invited Miss Ross to the Imperial Palace in Japan, for a private performance. This was the first time in Japanese history that an entertainer had been invited to the palace.

In April 1974, Miss Ross became the first African-American woman to co-host the 46th Academy Awards, with John Huston, Burt Reynolds, and David Niven.

Answer: Billie Holiday

The movie was loosely based on the life of Billie Holiday. The title is based on the title of Ms Holiday's 1956 autobiography of the same name which was also the name of one of Ms Holiday's most popular songs. The movie as a biopic was not very well perceived, however Miss Ross' performance won praise particularly as she was viewed as a soul singer whereas Ms Holiday was a jazz singer.

She won a Golden Globe award as Best Female Newcomer for this role.

In 1975 she starred in "Mahogany", where she had a number one hit for the theme song from the movie.

Answer: Lionel Richie "Endless Love"

Lionel Richie from The Commodores wrote "Endless Love" for the 1981 movie of the same name. He did not play on the song but he and Miss Ross recorded it for Motown. The movie was only modestly successful but the song was very pupular. Besides topping the charts in the US and Australia, it was the second biggest selling US single for the year, behind Kim Carnes' "Bette Davis Eyes".

The song was the 18th and final Billboard Hot 100 song for Miss Ross, counting her hits with The Supremes. Ironically her biggest selling single was a duet.

It was also the biggest selling duet to date in the rock era. Mr Richie was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for this song. Mr Richie also recorded another version of this song with Shania Twain.

Answer: "Billboard" Magazine "Female Entertainer of the Century"

In 1981, Motown Records could not compete with RCA's offer to Miss Ross. She was offered a $US20 million, seven year contract replete with complete production control. At the time the contract was signed this was the most expensive recording deal in history. Miss Ross received a severance of $250 000 from Motown Records after 20 years with the label.

In 1982 she was presented with a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame (and another one in 1994 with the Supremes).

Also in 1982, she was nominated with Lionel Richie for two Grammys: Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for "Endless Love" and for Record of the Year. These were the ninth and tenth Grammy nomination for Miss Ross. She did not win one until she was nominated in 2012 for the Lifetime Achievement Award.
She did win the "Billboard" Magazine "Female Entertainer of the Century". In fact she won it twice, in 1976 and 1996.

Answer: Presidential Medal of Freedom

Diana Ross won the Guinness Book of World Records' "Most Successful Female Singer of All Time" in 1993, ten years before she won the UK Capital Awards' "Legendary Achievement Award". In 2017 she won the American Music Awards "Lifetime Achievement Award". Arguably, these prestigious awards would pale a little when in 2016, Dina Ross was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, an award bestowed by the United States President. With the Congressional Gold Medal these are the highest civilian awards of the United States. According to Executive Order 9586 signed in 1945, it is awarded for "an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors". Bruce Springsteen also won the same award as Miss Ross in 2016.