Diana Ross 1980s and 1990s
 Diana Ross' RCA Records debut, the platinum-selling Why Do Fools Fall in Love, was issued in the summer of 1981. The blockbuster album yielded 3 Top 10 hits including the title track Why Do Fools Fall in Love, a remake of the 1956 Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers classic of the same name, and the single Mirror Mirror.
In 1983, Ross reunited with former Supremes Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong for the television special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever. The three singers performed their 1969 number-one hit Someday We'll Be Together, although altercations on stage between Ross and Wilson became an issue during the taping of the special. A four song Supremes set was planned but Ross declined to rehearse with The Girls and stated that they would have to be happy just doing Some Day We'll Be Together. Due to the lack of rehearsal, Wilson planned with Birdsong to take a step forward every time Ross did as to not fade into the background. Due to the non rehearsal, Wilson was not aware of the script set by producer Suzanne DePasse which did not go over well with Ross. Unknown to Wilson, Ross was to introduce Berry Gordy, however Wilson took it upon herself to do so,. at which point Ross pulled Wilson's hand down and said It's been taken care of. Ross then proceeded to introduce Gordy herself. These incidents were excised from the final edit of the taped special, but still made their way into the news media; People magazine reported that Ross [did] some elbowing to get Wilson out of the spotlight.
Later that year, Ross held a much-heralded concert in Central Park, the proceeds of which were to go towards building a playground in the singer's name. Fifteen minutes into the show, which was being filmed for Showtime cable television, it began to rain, and as she urged the crowd of 300,000 to safely exit the venue, Ross announced that she would continue the performance the next day. Ross' actions drew praise within the mainstream press. That next day, over 500,000 people came back for one of the largest free concerts in the park's history. However, the second show generated controversy. New York mayor Ed Koch objected to the expenses of a second show. To settle the matter, Ross personally wrote a check for an estimated $250,000 to cover the remaining costs. Although Koch's objections slowed the progress, the Diana Ross Playground was finally built three years later.
Other hit singles recorded by Ross for RCA included Muscles (1982), Pieces of Ice (1983), All of You (1984) Swept Away (1984), Missing You (1984), Eaten Alive (1985) and the UK number-one single, Chain Reaction (1986). Hit albums during this period included the gold-certified albums, Silk Electric and Swept Away, the latter being the last top forty charted album in Ross' career for two decades. While Ross continued to have success overseas as the 1980s continued, she began to struggle on the United States Billboard Hot 100 chart. In 1989, after leaving RCA, Diana Ross returned to Motown, where Ross was now both a part-owner and a recording artist.
In 1989, Diana Ross released her first Motown album in eight years, the Nile Rodgers-produced Workin' Overtime. Despite a chart topping R&B hit with the title track, the album failed to find a pop audience in America, much as Ross' later RCA releases has. Subsequent follow-ups such as 1991's The Force Behind the Power, 1995's Take Me Higher and 1999's Every Day is a New Day produced the same results in the US.
Ross still had success with her latter-day Motown albums and singles in the United Kingdom and Europe, however, scoring Top 10 UK Hits with When You Tell Me That You Love Me (1991), Take Me Higher (1995) and Not Over You Yet (1999), among others. Ross was a halftime performer at Super Bowl XXX in 1996. In 1999, Diana Ross was named the most successful female singer in the history of the United Kingdom charts, based upon a tally of her career hits. Fellow Michigan singer Madonna would eventually beat Ross out as the most successful female artist in the UK. In 2002, Diana Ross and Motown parted ways.
Diana Ross returned to acting in the ABC telefilm, Out of Darkness (1994), in which she played a woman suffering from schizophrenia. Once again, Ross drew critical acclaim for her acting, and scored her third Golden Globe nomination for acting.
Ross co-starred with R&B singer Brandy in the ABC television movie Double Platinum in 1999.In 1999, Ross co-starred with young R&B singer Brandy for the ABC television movie Double Platinum playing a singer who neglected her daughter while concentrating on her career.
Later years
Diana Ross was a presenter at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards, held that September. She shocked TV viewers when she grabbed rapper Lil' Kim's exposed breast, reportedly amazed at the open brashness of the rapper showcasing her body? A month after the Lil Kim incident, authorities at London's Heathrow Airport detained Ross for assaulting a female security guard. Angered over a body search by the guard that she felt was invasive, Ross had fondled the woman back. The singer was arrested but was later released.
In 2000, Ross announced a Supremes reunion tour, again with former band mates Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong, called Return to Love. Wilson and Birdsong declined the tour because of a reported difference in pay offered to each member: Ross was offered $15 million while Wilson was offered $3 million and Birdsong less than $1 million. They were replaced by latter-day Supremes Lynda Laurence and Scherrie Payne. It should be of note that both Lynda Laurence and Scherrie Payne were members of the Supremes after Diana Ross had left The Supremes. Despite a respectable opening in Philadelphia, the Return to Love tour was canceled after nine dates, because of lackluster ticket sales.
In December 2002, Ross was arrested in Tucson, Arizona for drunk driving. She pled no contest, and later served a two day jail sentence near her home in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Current work
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Kennedy Center names 2007 honors recipientsIn 2005, Diana Ross returned to the charts with a pair of duets. I Got a Crush on You was recorded with Rod Stewart for his album The Great American Songbook, and reached number nineteen on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary chart. Another duet, recorded with Westlife, was a remake of Ross' 1991 number-two UK single, When You Tell Me You Love Me, and reached number-two in the UK just as the original had.
In 2006, Motown released a shelved Ross album titled Blue, which was a collection of jazz standards recorded after Ross filmed Lady Sings the Blues. Released in June to stellar reviews, Blue peaked at number-two on the jazz albums chart. In August, it was announced that Ross would release a new studio album of classic rock and soul standards on the EMI label Angel Records. The album, titled I Love You, was released on October 2 around the world, and then saw release in North America on January 16, 2007, on the Manhattan Records/EMI label. The new album earned the coveted Hot Shot Debut by Billboard magazine when it bowed at a respectable number thirty-two on the pop albums chart, making it Ross' first top forty US pop album since 1984's Swept Away. Since its release in 2007, EMI Inside reports that I Love You has sold more than 100,000 copies in the USA and 38,000 in the United Kingdom.
In January 2007, Ross appeared on a number of TV shows across the U.S. to promote her new album and began touring in the spring. She also appeared on American Idol as a mentor to the contestants Ross's United States I Love You tour has garnered positive reviews, as well as her European tour, which began on May 6, 2007.
At the 2007 BET Awards, Ross was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by singer Alicia Keys and her five children. Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu, and Chaka Khan performed a tribute to Ross, covering several of her hits.
On September 11, 2007, the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors committee which recognizes career excellence, cultural influence and contributions to American culture named Diana Ross as one of the honorees at the ceremony to be held on December 1.Aside from Ross, the other 2007 Kennedy Center honorees are classical artist Leon Fleisher, actor Steve Martin, film director Martin Scorsese and pop musician Brian Wilson.
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