Before Diana Ross had earned the nasty, unfavorable reputation as a bitchy diva and somewhat of a train-wreck, her music and her distinctive vocals were solely what she was known for. The wide-eyed petite young lady who had hopes and dreams of breaking out of the Brewster Housing Projects in Detroit, Michigan and becoming a famous entertainer one day could have never predicted the heights she'd one day reach; the girl-group she fronted, The Supremes, were not only the most successful all-girl vocal group of all time but they changed the face of pop music and put the Motown Records label on the map. Their only competition in the mid-1960's for record sales were the mop-tops from Liverpool, The Beatles. After leaving The Supremes, Ms. Ross went on to a wildly successful solo career replete with piles of gold and platinum records, an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Jazz vocalist Billie Holiday in the 1972 biopic "Lady Sings The Blues" and a string of chart topping singles that lasted until the mid 1980's. Soon after, her career started taking a nose dive and suddenly her irrational antics and her personal tribulations started becoming the juicy tidbits that preceded her and left her recording career in the back seat. Some fans might remember the acerbic tongue-lashing Ms. Ross dished out to late-arriving fans at a mid-1980's appearance at the old Bayfront Center in St. Petersburg. Verbally deriding and scolding fans, Ross let her disdain for the latecomers be known. It wasn't until later that it was discovered that a massive multi-car accident had clogged the then two-lane Howard Frankland Bridge and forced thousands of ticket holders to arrive to the show long after the curtain had dropped. That was a typical occurrence for the the previous model Ms. Ross; Saturday night, a totally different Diana dazzled a sold out crowd at Clearwater's Ruth Eckerd Hall. Taking the stage promptly and grinning from ear to ear, Ms. Ross shed her difficult diva persona and projected a well-received professional and engaging image.
Clad in a tight-fitting but elegant silver and black gown, Ross started churning out hit after hit early in the performance. Back-to-back mega hits harkening back to her Supremes days got the mostly over-50 aged crowd to it's feet; "Baby Love", "Stop! In The Name Of Love", "You Can't Hurry Love" and "Love Child" were performed in succession and provided a jaw-dropping reminder of just how many massive hits the girls from Detroit scored in their prime.
Backed by an 11-piece band including horn section, backup singers and percussionist, Diana exuded the confidence and aplomb of a lady unfazed by her sometimes negative press and perception. Her vocals were a mixture of clarity and power that added life and vivacity to the evening's performances and reminded all 2,180 patrons in attendance of the place in music history Diana Ross rightfully deserves.
In what felt like a Las Vegas-style show, Ross, now a healthy-looking 66 years old, changed costumes four times with each gown she donned flashier and more sparkly than the last. But, in all honesty, the clothes paled in comparison to the dynamic performance Ross treated her audience to. Hit after hit, Ross reminded us of just how many chart successes she's enjoyed during her almost 50-year career. Diana covered her disco-era hits ("Love Hangover", "The Boss"), her ballads ("Touch Me In The Morning", "Theme From Mahogany") as well as her signature songs ("Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "Reach Out and Touch Somebody's Hand") .
The only complaints that seemed to come from the audience were those relating to the brevity of the performance; clocking in at just over 80 minutes, the night seemed to fly by leaving fans wanting more. With little between-song banter, Ross wisely chose to let her long line of hit songs speak for her. The only time she addressed the crowd, besides to introduce her backing band, was to sincerely thank the crowd for their years of support.
After so many years in the business, so many highs and lows and so many triumphs and misses, Diana Ross proved that she's still a vibrant dynamic performer and that she still has a dedicated, adoring fan base. She's to be commended for surviving in the business for so long and her inclusion of Gloria Gaynor's 1979 disco classic "I Will Survive" near the end of her set seemed more than appropriate. Diana Ross has certainly survived changing times and trends and showed her adoring crowd on Saturday night exactly what she's still got to offer.
This article appears in Nov 18-24, 2010.