Let's Talk about Diana Ross at the Forum, 1981

The twirl!

Larry Hagman?

Look up the word STAR in the dictionary. There's a picture of Diana Ross. Whatever it is, she had IT!

A Black woman hosting her own TV special was a big deal back then.

So true r3. I'm sure someone on DL had to have been watching this on TV back in 1981.

@the 02:00 mark in OP's video, that's Suzanne dePasse and Michael Masser she stops and kisses on her way to the stage

R5 10 year-old me was!

WOW! What a great show. She sounds pretty magnificent

The BOSS

I prefer the Central Park Diana Ross.

I just love live music and live vocals. Such a blast and she did it all in a gown. Today's artists could never command attention without lights, props, and an army of backup dancers.

Her own hair was on point. Very healthy looking, and natural. I remember watching this when it aired as a kid. Her definitive live performance is the 1979 Caesar's Palace gig, though.

Don't get into all this definitive performance shit. Save that for the ancient Streizand and Garland fanatics. Everyone has highlights, but a great performer is not limited to one or two great moments. Diana Ross was silvery, sweet, syncopation from the time she started to sing. Her voice was a bit nasal and thin, but very agile with a most unusually sweet tone. Her way with a the beat, on it, behind it or rushing it was exciting. She's extremely musical to her core. She's not known for huge range or belting technique - though she has both abilities. Diana Ross became a better singer in the 70s and 80s and 90s! Because that's what a well cared for voice should do. She didn't rest on the past. She wanted more. She had a style all her own though, undeniable. She may have been all instinct and star power from the beginning, but she deepened her art and ability for a time. She grew as a woman and a performer. A funky beauty unusual singer, super duper supreme star. She should have had a greater film career. Everyone of her TV specials show her great range of talents. She wore too many sequins and feathers and was all a bit much sometimes....until she sang. And then she tells the truth about herself, the song and how she feels about both. Joy and pain, pure sound. Beauty. Illusion. A great singer with wonderful musical instincts. Diana Ross was too glittery and grand for today. But just because she shone so brightly - doesn't mean we should underestimate her importance. She's a STAR.

Diana never won a Grammy Award? Not with the Supremes or as a solo artist. When they granted her the lifetime Award - Whitney dies 36 hours before! Ha. Ms Ross can't catch a break in the industry. They kind of love to hate her. Her place in history can't be erased. So much of her music lasts forever.

Donna Summer had a TV special three years before this.

I was there at the Forum in '81 but not while they were filming. I've told this one before: She did "Reach Out and Touch" and made the audience members hold hands and sway back and forth. Hated it. She walked up the aisle into the crowd but said, "Don't touch me. My security guys get nervous." Then, on her way back to the stage, a guy reached out and grabbed her left butt cheek. Furious, she swung around, saw it was Don Johnson and immediately broke into a big smile. "Don Johnson ladies and gentlemen! Don Johnson!"

I was only a toddler during that era, but what was the overall consensus about the term, "coming out" in the early 80s? Wasn't "coming out" already synonymous with coming out of the closet at this time? Diana considered it "coming out" from under the thumb of Berry Gordy Motown, but Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards (Chic) wrote it after being inspired by drag queens Apparently, Diana was shocked when she learned about the euphemism of "coming out" as relating to the public acknowledgement of being gay. Did an average, middle-aged American record buyer at the time associate this song as being a sort of pseudo gay anthem or were most people clueless to that aspect of it then?

Berry Gordy's Motown

Her entrance in that white Fendi fur coat was everything.

This was the performance that Mary Wilson attended and Diana either acknowledged or else she spoke or sand a few words with her— but neither that nor Mary were included in the final televised program.

Those Detroit girls, Diana and Aretha, sure love their feathers, don't they?

That intro alone was legendary. What an iconic diva.

I don’t remember this, but it apparently aired on my 15th birthday. How she didn’t step on that white cape with those heels and trip herself proves what a star she was.

Diana Ross don't trip and Tina Turner never falls. Even Cher and Beyonce fall down the stairs or get wigs caught in a fan. Madonna (who was a pretty good live performer) falls too. Gets her grill caught on men. Ms. Ross forgot the words a few times. For about 20 years she phoned her performances in and just changed costumes a lot. Arrived on outdoor stages from a helicopter. Pretended that the old songs were just throway nostalgia. Then she sang some fine jazz concerts, decades after Lady Sings The Blues. She regained her mojo and love for her fans and real singing. She sang some spiritual numbers too. All in great gowns, but with sincerity.

Here she just goes blank for a phrase, when a single phrase meant a lot. Dead air panic and dark lashes. She's still fantastic. Her way with the timing of a song, the beat and all that means is really special. She's a great emotional singer. Much more so than the overly emotive Divas. I was born in 1983. I'm what you call a black gay man, Diana Ross stan. 🌹💜🤩

You note me, R13. The definitive live performance remains the Caesar's Palace concert first aired on HBO. She is fanned near perfect throughout. I had never seen her so close to perfection before or since. It's on YT should anyone care to see it.

- R12

First solo TV special on 1971 - Diana! Before we have TCB and GIT with the Temptations in 1968 and 1969.

We don't all experience everything on YT. Some of us leave the house and go to concerts. We experience bands and singers and dance and art. Locally and the big players. We post YouTube videos as demonstration or witness. I realize that DL is full of old men and shut ins. That's one reason why everyone here hates Beyonce, ha. Because you've never seen her. She's the greatest live performer of out time Most on DL have never been to a stadium concert of 50,000 people. Perfection never happens or it can happen on hundreds of nights. For a performer, that is true. Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall better not be her best vocal performance. It's just the one that was recorded. There is no such thing as perfection. Enjoy your YT viewing R12.

Okay R25. I see you. You're the same fucking cunt you've always been and now I don't see you any more, cunt!

That Ross thing shit her pants when she saw the Las Vegas marquee - Coming Next Week.... SHEENA EASTON underneath her name. She refused to finish her scheduled engagement until they removed Sheena’s name off of the marquee.

Oh, DIane. Always liked the little mouse-fart noises coming from under those overdone costumes.

And it's nice to hear that she gave pleasure to people who never had to deal with her.

That's all.

I agree that the Caesar's Palace performance is Ross at her best. But the Forum performance is great too. The '80s is when she liked doing her performance in the round.

^Nice when that ancient white fag from missouri joins the conversation to spread his brand of "satire", racial hate and love of SCAT! Shoo miss warwicke, you're banned from this site.

What a grotesque thing to encounter. miss warwicke @r28 - research it. He's an ancient menace and a piece of disgusting DL history. SHOO

It was a long time ago but I remember it clearly. I was sitting close to the stage in the orchestra during Diana's "I'm Coming Out" period, somewhere in L.A., maybe the Ahmanson, and Miss Ross segued into a ballad I can't recall. Some performers like to single out a person in the audience to sing to and on this occasion I guess I was the lucky recipient. Then there were several split-second decisions -- She's singing to me. Uncomfortable, I looked away and immediately thought it rude so returned my gaze to hers and locked in while she sang the rest of the song directly to me. It was a bit of an honor, embarrassing but an honor.

Last year in Chicago. 75 years old and still performing. I think she's great!

I do remember this. I was a little gayling and I recorded it on our Betamax.

Whitbot at R13/R22/R25 -- the elderqueen from Saskatchewan who never fails to remind you of all his musical credentials, accomplishments and expertise -- is so goddamn annoying and self-important. He thinks his every word is like Moses with the Commandments, and single-handedly ruins every fucking thread about divas with his long ass dissertations and polemics.

R12 wasn't even being rude, he basically felt that Diana's 1979 Caesar's Palace performance was her best. But you are so arrogant you couldn't let him have his opinion in peace and smugly talked down to him with each new reply.

And the DL poster Miss Warwick is many things but "racist" isn't one of them.

OH! It's the homeless racist at R30 who threatens to kill white "fags."

Did you ever get any teethses, asshole? But then the shit you eat is boneless, mostly, we guess.

oh, are miss warwicke and charlie the same poster? i didn't think so - charlie is an old jew who sold hankies from a cart outside grand central station. but how many low class 80 year old racist eldergays are left on datalounge? we mark your dying days. die off fuckers. i ain't never been to saskatchewan. you know better than that. that ancient white racist fag drag queen from missouri (miss warwicke) who starts scores of threads introducing scat scenarios would never know better. your public library, toothless gorilla insults are getting repetitive. luckily they are each and every one repeated. hey tony @ mediapolis. fuck off miss warwicke. you're even studied as a racist. your long rants on black female singers have been examined for a sociological experiment beyond your intention. your obsession with female decay is most ugly. but what's sad is that only you celebrate yourself. notes on camp. who's the fool at r34? just you posting from another dee-vice in your long term care home. time for your diaper change and nebulizer treatment now gramps.

Everybody say LOVE!

Love her voice, always!

Head to toe charisma. Excellence. Diana Ross understands herself AND her songs. They're not easy for others to bring life to. Even Aretha failed to cover her songs successfully.

Her eye's seem a bit too glittering her though. The super duper seventies?

* Her eyes seem a bit too glittering here though....

....

R30/R36, as it drools, also starts saying that many DL posters are the same person.

Such a sad case. It will be good when it's finally over.

I FINALLY saw her live in NYC about 4-5 years ago.

I was blown away by how full her voice really is. On records it sounds so thing. On this TV special, it sounds closer to the real thing--but the real thing is a real voice!

YES. Diana Ross can sing. She became a better vocalist with maturity. She wanted too. She always had it my dear. She gained much more depth and power. And understanding too. This is not evidence of it, but she is also a very good jazz vocalist. Diana never wanted to compete with Aretha or Patti, Gladys Natalie or Whitney. She was a bit jealous of Whitney's voice, beauty and amazing success though. Those things were much tougher to come by 20 years before. Diana Ross IS the one who broke those barriers. No one sounds like Diana Ross. Even today. That's a star.

Even when she does sound thin and a bit nasal, her unique voice is still evocative and sweet sounding. This song on record, is one of her best.

Okay. This is kind of cool. I never thought much of Diana Ross. I am old but not accent (43). Never thought of her at all but always enjoyed the rumors that she is a royal CUNT in "real life"... But this thread sent me on a Diana mission on Youtube, and HOLY FUCK- she is one of the rare performers in her prime who sung better live than on the albums/recordings.

There are a few that come to mind as having oddly much BETTER live voices- Tori Amos is one. It's rare.

But more than that- this woman exuded confidence, class, kindness, and STAR FUCKING POWER- live.

Between that Ceasars (1979?) Performance, that 1973? live show, and Central Park in 83, and an awesome 1981 performance from LA- I am now in awe.

That lady was a great live performer. Much deeper voice live, and I love how she uses "phrasing" to her advantage. She understands how to sing live.

I watched some 1989/1994 and recent live stuff and it was nothing like those 70's early 80s shows..

Anyway, I really dug her. And check out that Caesars performance of My Man. Wow.

Very good, R45. I became a life-long fan of Diana Ross while viewing the very first airing of that Caesar's Palace concert over 40 years ago. I was nine years old. We'll never see her likeness again. Ross was special.

....

Must we? Can’t we let sleeping dogs lie?

HA! yes R47!!! And the first comment on Youtube comments on her vocal phrasing... This is some great stuff.. I had no idea that she understood vocal techniques.. And she clearly does. And her voice is awesome live. And she does MISS many notes, but she sounds 10X better live, regardless..

R48 is Patti Labelle and needs to choke on her disgusting Patti Sweet Potato Pussy Pie!

And I despise your voice and caterwauling.

You are NOT for me, bitch. Yuck. No Charisma. And a SHRILL voice. Not a fan.

She was everything. Classic, funky, syncopated, glamorous, languorous, fun, sexy, mesmerizing. Grande and street. Girl could sing and dance and spread joy. Diana Ross knows how to sing. Even in the early stuff - she's got the beat and her own incredible phrasing. Her 70s ballads like Touch me In The Morning and her cover of Good Morning Heartache are too beautiful to take for granted. But she has 30 more just as good.

People think the word superstar was invented for Streisand and maybe it was, but Diana Ross much more embodies it. Because there is a person in there too. She's not hiding. She really is that glamorous and stylish and rhythmic and instinctive and in love with the whole damn thing. But she also has five kids and a real life and a childhood she doesn't hate. Her heart is in it too. She remembers when. Like Streisand, she knew from when she was very young that she had something special to express. She was undeniable from the start.

To be honest, Diana Ross got a bit syrupy and fake ass and drunk for much of the last 25 years. High on herself. But she's a much greater talent and a far better singer than EVER given credit for. And in the 60s, 70s and 80s- everytime she performed it was like watching a scene from a film. How could so much light and star power and confidence and feeling emerge from one beautiful looking woman? And then - she became an even better singer!?! Fuck the haters. Diana Ross is

A M A Z I N G

I just loved the fact she could wear the fuck out a gown and late 70's fashion.

I love love love this fun verion of The Boss. Makes you want to get up and groove. The audiance always adores her. For a black woman to reach such heights in the 70s and 80s is simply amazing.

Diana used to look feverish sometimes.....she worked hard. She's moving in a strange way. Such a great Diva with some of the most joyful dance music ever and all those irresistable Holland Dozier Holland hits.

But yeah, she sang Bob Dylan too. On the Jerry Lewis Telethon. At 3 a.m.

Oh, I love that too R52. She's having a fucking ball and sounds and looks amazing. ooh ooh oh oohh ah oohh. Diana's voice flies all round that song. The Boss.

Thanks.

Diana knows about vocal phrasing because she was trained at Motown. All those singers learned how to sing, project, dance, speak, interact, etc. on a stage.

Plus, she put in the hard work and I think playing Billie Holiday strengthened her singing.

I loved all the Hip-O-Select deluxe reissues of her '70s albums, hearing all those alternate takes, demos and unissued tracks.

R45, how did you know that was my YT comment discussing her vocal technique? That's weird!

- R47

I didn't!!! But it was one of the first things I noticed. She had a very studied technique on how to sing live. And it's really noticeable in My Man. Did I respond to your comment!!!?? That is funny!! Its very noticeable in that Ceasars show as well- Especially in Aint No Mountain High Enough. She opens her throat and opens all vowels. Instead of keep me from You--uuuuuuuuu, she says Keep me from YAAUUUUUUUUWWWWWWWW (rhymes with Now).. Singing live is an art and most of these folks sound horrible live. Its really cool to watch her. I love performers who excel live.

Haha. I Venture to say you did respond to my comment. Interesting play lists you've created - Delores Cannon and such.

I am the new agey new Diana Ross lover

I'm Mary Wilson watching at home on the television.

She was never physically an attractive woman so used glamour to look beautiful

^ It worked. 🌹

Ross had been an extremely attractive woman. An expensive woman.

Not a great singer

I love this as much for the introduction of Quincy Jones where she reprimands the crowd for cheering as I do for the song itself. I know some people can't get past the fact that she's not Stephanie Mills, but I love this version of Home.

That's a good Home. I like this one, though.

Yes R66 that is my favorite version too. And not just by Diana Ross. It's my all time favorite version. Stephanie had more vocal "chops" and Whitney debuted her professional life with that song. Chenoweth gleeked it beautifully. But I like the way Diana Ross kind of rushed the song and the words when she sang it live - she wants that urgent longing feeling to come through in a different way than a straight ballad. We know she can sing a slow ballad. Her live concept of the song and her understanding of her own talents helped her to create something of her own. It's no less moving - just faster. A tornado. There is so much emotion in her face and a distinct understanding of the lyrics. Diana Ross was blessed to have her face move so beautifully when she sang - it simply is not always the case - and it doesn't matter to a great voice. But she had both. She conveys the wind and the turmoil and the longing of that song with a wistful and womanly countenance. And she strains a bit on it too vocally, not in intonation but in pushing her vocal through......Diana Ross is a direct vessel to every emotion when she performs. She was also very beautiful. She had vocal chops and great taste as a singer too.

Well, what a nicely written assessment, R67. I concur, agreeing with everything you wrote!

- R66

/thanks R68.

Stephanie Mill’s is my go-to Home, thanks.

Diana as Dorothy was a joke

Stephanie Mills is too intense. She goes the same speed during a song from start to finish. Her vibrato is too much at all times and thetefore.... irritating. But that's just my opinion.

Diana could never dance for shit. All she did was walk back and forth with her gowns. That’s why she faded out of popularity in the 80’s - it was when visuals and dancing became as important as the music, and Diana couldn’t keep up.

R72 As Simon Cowell would say, too Broadway :)

Diana was the ugliest Dorothy evah

Entry level employment

[quote] And the DL poster Miss Warwick is many things but "racist" isn't one of them.

He may not be “racist.” However, his ridiculous posts certainly are.

[quote] Diana could never dance for shit. All she did was walk back and forth with her gowns. That’s why she faded out of popularity in the 80’s - it was when visuals and dancing became as important as the music, and Diana couldn’t keep up.

She’d already had a 20+ yr career and by the mid 80s, she was in her 40s. Why would she be expected to keep up with people 1/2 her age? She’d already had a phenomenal career.

R77 Maybe because she had just received a $20 million record deal and was expected to sell as much as possible (which she didn’t)?

Diana, if she had been younger in the '80s, would have been fine in the video age. It wasn't her ability to adapt to video. She was very photogenic and she was already a proven actress. She was in her '40s like r77 said.

I don't really care for her Dorothy in The Wiz but I do like her version of Home.

The ULTIMATE Diva.

You GODDAMNED well bettah call her MISS Ross! Understood?

This story about Miss Ross being approached by Sheryl Lee Ralph is absolutely sumptuous.

R73 How many could stand on stage alone in the middle of a torrential rainstorm in front of 400,000 people and be entertaining?

Screw choreography and dancers. Let them do what Diana did in Central Park, then get back to us. THAT'S a real entertainer.

[Quote] I prefer the Central Park Diana Ross.

The one in the thunderstorm r10? Oh yes! My knees buckled and I knew I was truly gay. What year was that?

R83 - yes - thunderstorm and all. People don't do that anymore - not sure how safe it was anyway with the equipment. I think it was 83?

Dunno.

1981, girl.

It was 1983.

It's an amazing performance. I love how she just goes for it. She's bitchy and a grand diva. Nobody else could do that. Barking for props and clothing, turn down the music, etc. Barking at the crowd.

And those images of her against the rain and the wind are stunning.

It was unforgettable. I chanced upon it, on my bike after work, still in preppy jacket and tie....and the skies opened up and from a rise in the distance I saw a tiny figure in red. Hair blowing. That day even the rain and thundergods smiled and went, Diva!

MARY!!!! r87

Thank you ❤

I wish that concert was filmed in 35mm because those images are really striking. They still look good on the DVD that came out a few years ago. But I wish more concerts were filmed in 35mm so we could get them remastered in HD like Queen Rock in Montreal and INXS Live Baby Live.

I think even Diana considers it the moment of her career. Maybe the Oscar nomination or the Kennedy Center Honors come first but I think Central Park is the defining moment of her career. Even Ross' own autobiography started with that incident.

Diana Ross received horrible press for her Central Park concert - the beginning of the pile up on her. It's too bad - because she was sort of magnificent in every way. Time has been much kinder to that concert. Talk about a happening in Central Park! She's love and light and lightning and gorgeous in the pouring rain - guiding people safely, singing sweetly, being joyous AND coming back the next day to give the show she came to give. The true embodiment of Nobody is Gonna Rain on My Parade. Or - the rain ain't gonna hurt me. It's very sexy to see someone so known for every detail of perfection BEING so comfortable and free while soaking wet. She's not nuts, she knew she was in real danger during a thunderstorm in the park, singing into a fucking microphone. Diana Ross doesn't melt. There are many narcissists in showbiz. Diana's real appreciation for her fans should have saved her the story they've built around Ms. Ross ever since. No doubt, all her petty tirades and demands are true. Adds up to not much at all.

She'll get a nice obit. Whitney stole and broke our hearts. Aretha was monumental. Barbra is alive but already her work is hard to understand or put in context. Diana Ross is a STAR.

Wasn't she supposed to donate a kid's playground to Central Park and they finally had to force her to shell out the bucks for it?

Yes, she did. That heifer.

Her hair looked like a huge brillo pad.

Diana Ross was/is a superstar. PeriodT!!! Her shit really doesn't stink! If she passes before me, I will wear her Moghany dresses while singing "The Boss". Seriously, "I'm coming out", "Upside down" and EVERYTHING that she did before and after with her solo career and with the Supremes. A true legend!!!