View Full Version : The Diana Ross/Berry Gordy Thread (split from Backstreet Boys thread)
Ontir
06-25-2006, 11:24 PM
Diana Ross was long supported by Barry Gordy of Motown; that's why her music & acting careers flourished. If Barry Gordy did not support Ross, she would have vanished into obscurity.
Somehow, I doubt it. Diana Ross was a highly driven performer who wanted super-stardom and fought for it. Sure, having Barry Gordy on your side makes things easier, but if she'd been without him, someone like Clive Davis would've seen her potential and sought her out!
Sometimes, stadium tours can be less profitable than a club tour. It depends how many people are taking cuts, and how big those cuts are!
Somehow, I doubt it. Diana Ross was a highly driven performer who wanted super-stardom and fought for it. Sure, having Barry Gordy on your side makes things easier, but if she'd been without him, someone like Clive Davis would've seen her potential and sought her out!
Sometimes, stadium tours can be less profitable than a club tour. It depends how many people are taking cuts, and how big those cuts are!
Barry Gordy supported Ross through her singing & acting careers. Without such a support system, Ross would have vanished into obscurity. It did not hurt Ross that Gordy owned Motown at the time & was a big influence. Ross had a long affair with Gordy as well which made the working/sexual relationship very fragile.
Ontir
06-26-2006, 12:38 PM
I'm aware of who Gordy is, and his relatonships with Ross. I think your conclusion is wrong. She wouldn't have had the exact career she had, but Diana Ross solo would still be something worth checking out. She was the main voice of the Supremes, and that helps out when going solo, just as it's done with many artists before and since Ross left the Supremes. She was hungry for stardom and success, which never hurts, and had sold a whole lot of records. SOMEBODY would've worked with her, if it hadn't been Gordy.
I'm aware of who Gordy is, and his relatonships with Ross. I think your conclusion is wrong. She wouldn't have had the exact career she had, but Diana Ross solo would still be something worth checking out. She was the main voice of the Supremes, and that helps out when going solo, just as it's done with many artists before and since Ross left the Supremes. She was hungry for stardom and success, which never hurts, and had sold a whole lot of records. SOMEBODY would've worked with her, if it hadn't been Gordy.
If Gordy had his eye on someone else, Ross would go into obscurity. She would simply be one of the Supremes. Ross was lucky Gordy has his eye on her. Otherwise, Ross would not have had the career she did...
Ontir
06-26-2006, 02:24 PM
If, if, if. The point is, that she WAS Diana Ross, who WAS a star, who had already HAD a number of top 40 hits on both Pop and R&B charts when she went solo. That all counts for something.
Richardson does have it a bit harder, in that he wasn't "THE voice" of the group, but if he's got a decent voice, which he probably does, and can get the right material, producers, promotion, all of which should be more easily had, since he's made quite a bit of money already, then that gives him a good start. It's not a guarantee, but it's certainly a leg up from most other solo singers, starting out on their own.
If Gordy had his eye on someone else, Ross would go into obscurity. She would simply be one of the Supremes. Ross was lucky Gordy has his eye on her. Otherwise, Ross would not have had the career she did...
Oh please, let's not confuse being the bosses girlfriend with having talent.
Diana Ross might have been discovered by Gordy and she might have slept with him too, but that doesn't change that her voice is exceptional, her stage pressence magnetic and that her talent is pretty much indisputable.
You need to remember that just because you don't like someone, doesn't mean that they don't have talent.
Oh please, let's not confuse being the bosses girlfriend with having talent.
Diana Ross might have been discovered by Gordy and she might have slept with him too, but that doesn't change that her voice is exceptional, her stage pressence magnetic and that her talent is pretty much indisputable.
You need to remember that just because you don't like someone, doesn't mean that they don't have talent.
Ross has talent; Gordy has the connections. It's not a coincidence she had an a personal relationship to further her musical career.
Ontir
06-26-2006, 05:31 PM
As it happened, Gordy had his eye on a vast pool of talent at Motown that extended far beyond Diana Ross. The other thing that is neglected in DDM's analysis of her career, is that she was a good actress. Lady Sings the Blues, Mahogany, even the Wiz, she did a good job.
Now at 60 something, IIRC, she's not under contract to anyone, and long ago sold her holdings in Motown, and has found it difficult to record in traditional means. A year or so ago, she complained that Clive Davis won't return her phone calls, but she's underestimating her own draw. If she were to put together some decent material, and make it available via iTunes, Musicmatch, etc., as well as avaialble for order on amazon, or her own site. With a bit of advertising, and time on talk-shows which she'd still be able to get, I think she'd find people very interested in seeing what she's doing still.
Oh please, let's not confuse being the bosses girlfriend with having talent.
Diana Ross might have been discovered by Gordy and she might have slept with him too, but that doesn't change that her voice is exceptional, her stage pressence magnetic and that her talent is pretty much indisputable.
You need to remember that just because you don't like someone, doesn't mean that they don't have talent.
Ross has talent; Gordy has the connections. It's not a coincidence she had a personal relationship to further her musical career.
Ross has talent; Gordy has the connections. It's not a coincidence she had a personal relationship to further her musical career.
I certainly can not argue that Ross, like many singers over the years has had a relationship with her producer. But the reality of that relationship does not change that she is a very talented singer who owes her sucess more to her own talent and abilities then to anyone she has slept with.
Ontir
06-28-2006, 02:33 AM
She also didn't put out to get that career, although the other Supremes thought she had. She had an affair with Gordy later, which resulted in one of her daughters, but once again. If you believe she was willing to put out for fame and fortune, there were other producers with more power, and more connections than Gordy. She could very easily have gone after one of them, and still had a great career.
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