No Grammy for Miss Ross?

I discovered recently that the legendary singer, Diana Ross, while nominated for 12 Grammies, has never been presented with the recording industry’s highest award.  However, in a ceremony televised from Washington, DC at the end of 2007, she did receive the Kennedy Center Honor, a lifetime achievement award.

Growing up in the '60s and '70s, Diana Ross was one of my favorite performers.  Her television appearances with and without the Supremes, her beauty and countless number one hits, left a strong impression on this young gay boy in Los Angeles.  I don't think the historic nature of these appearances, breaking through the color barriers of the time, dawned on me until much later.

When I was very young, my parents took me with them to see her in her Oscar nominated performance as Billie Holiday in “Lady Sings the Blues.”  Do parents still take children to see “R” rated movies?  I'm glad mine did.  I learned some valuable lessons.  Singing the Blues, Good.  Racism, Bad.  Glamour, Good.  Heroin, Bad.

When Diana Ross was at the peak of her disco phase I was just about to come out.  The first time I ever danced with a man was to the tune of “Upside Down.”  It's a song that will always be on my play list.

In the 1980s I began to hear rumors of the negative side of Miss Ross.  I was working as a production assistant on one of her music videos.  The rumor was that you could be fired if you either looked Diana Ross in the eye or made the mistake of calling her “Diana.” 
At the end of the shoot, I was asked to deliver one of her dresses to her house in the exclusive Malibu Beach Colony.  All the way there I tried to muster up the nerve to ask her for her autograph.  When the door opened I could see Miss Ross sitting at her dinner table with some of her children.  I didn't get the autograph.

As the years have passed, repeatedly watching her in “Lady sings the Blues” and listening to her many wonderful songs has given me tremendous pleasure.  Yet I had never seen her perform live.  In October 2007, a friend asked if my partner and I would like to see the Icelandic singer Björk perform at the Nokia Theater in downtown Los Angeles.   Right about that time I became aware that Diana Ross would be performing her final show of a yearlong international tour in Los Angeles.  I had to think.  Would I prefer to see an idiosyncratic, challenging performance by an artist with a design sense that included a history of dressing as a swan to the Oscars?  Or should we see a living legend who saved my life (think heroin) and provided the soundtrack for some innocent man on man action?

We chose Miss Ross.  Singing many of her hits along with a generous selection from “Lady Sings the Blues,” she was absolutely amazing.  Her voice was perfection.  Through numerous costume changes, tons of feathers, hair and sequins, she was every bit the superstar I had hoped for and expected.

Close to the end of the concert, Miss Ross tearfully revealed that her father had passed away in Detroit that morning.  The collective gasp in the Gibson Amphitheater united performer with audience in a way I will never forget.  She announced to the star-studded audience, which included her Motown mentor Barry Gordy, that she would be catching a plane with her family to attend her father's funeral in Detroit immediately following the show.  There would be no encore.  Standing with her five children (talk about a lifetime achievement), she graciously accepted the armloads of flowers brought by fans and left the stage.  As the audience members filed out, we all new we had shared something intimate and profound with an extraordinary lady.  Now how about that Grammy?