Diana Ross Reflections

With a career now spanning over five decades, Diana Ross remains one of the most successful recording and performing artists of all time. As lead singer of The Supremes, she amassed a total of twelve number one hit singles between 1964 - 1969, and had a further six as a solo artist. Ian Phillips' book takes a detailed, affectionate and critical look back at Miss Ross' career which began in the late 1950s. Phillips' examines all of her recording work from The Primettes through to the present day, as well as highlighting her many career highlights and accomplishments, including her work in film, television and on stage. There are a wealth of fascinating background stories and anecdotes relating to her river of legendary classics, from Baby Love, Reflections, Love Child, to Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Touch Me In The Morning, Love Hangover, Upside Down, I'm Coming Out and so many, many more. This is an essential read for all Diana Ross fans, spotlighting not only on her ground-breaking success but also her revolutionary cultural impact, overcoming so many obstacles as a black woman and breaking down so many racial barriers. A legend, a trailblazer, pioneer, icon, there are so many words that can be used to describe Diana Ross but so little has been written in such detail on her extensive body of work. Until now. A true labour of love for this book, is an entertaining, and the ultimate, guide to the career of Miss Diana Ross.

This unauthorized biography of entertainment legend Diana Ross strives to give a balanced account of her life and career while giving her the historical due that seems to have escaped her previously. Captured in vivid detail are her groundbreaking performances leading the Supremes, the renowned concert in Central Park amidst a raging thunderstorm, and the peaks and valleys of the more than 40 years of her ongoing stage, studio, and screen career. The book steers clear of dry biography, in that it is interspersed with entertaining essays that capture the effect her life and career have had on fans throughout the years. This book is a must-read for anyone with an appreciation for popular culture over the last half century.

Through the years Ive learned much from my Poetry Mentors, who are many, and a few Ive mentioned in this book. They taught me by example that, yes, I too can be a Poet. I too can be a member of this extraordinary extended family. A good dose of courage, and risk taking is whats needed to achieve some sort of compromising end. Frankly Ive learned little of this art from text books and class rooms. Its The Masters; the elder Poets who are my text book and class room, teaching me the refinement process of honing and polishing. What ever course my poetry and prose might take My Tutors assure me its a well worth the journey down every path, and side path. Visiting every side show I visit, and eventually discovering my style. I consider my poems and prose as my children. Like their parent I want them to do their best. Ive nurtured them, loved them, and cared for them. Ive held on to them long enough. Its time they go out on their own. You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you dont try. Beverly Sills Milt Lemke, Jr.

Presents the complete lyrics to over one hundred Motown love songs, grouped into such categories as lessons of love, the joy of love, and love lost, and including "I'll Be There," "My Girl," and "Please Mr. Postman."

The New York Times bestselling biographer provides “the dish on Motown’s most famous songstress” in this newly updated edition (The Dallas Morning News). Drawn from hundreds of interviews conducted over four decades, Diana Ross paints an unforgettable picture of an extraordinary and often controversial legend—a pop music goddess, acclaimed actress, loving mother, Civil Rights trailblazer, and consummate entertainer. Beautiful and fascinating, she is her own invention—the definition of a superstar. First-time revelations abound, from the tough decisions she made while having Berry Gordy’s baby and the real reasons behind the break-up of the Supremes to her triumphant recovery after a surprising DUI arrest and her gala appearance at the Kennedy Center Honors. Bestselling biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli boldly explores Diana Ross’s troubled relationships and the heartbreak she feels compelled to hide, bringing into focus a complex personality too often obscured by the bright lights of fame. Rich with detail and personal anecdotes, and fully up-to-date, Diana Ross is both definitive and delightful—the ultimate biography that Miss Ross so richly deserves. “A complete, up-to-date history of the star.” —Associated Press “Truly a definitive biography . . . boasts epic research, including extensive interviews with Ross and virtually all the major people in her life.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Riveting.” —The Washington Post

The Essential Reference Guide to America’s Most Popular Songs and Artists Spanning More than Fifty Years of Music Beginning with Bill Haley & His Comets’ seminal “Rock Around the Clock” all the way up to Lady Gaga and her glammed-out “Poker face,” this updated and unparalleled resource contains the most complete chart information on every artist and song to hit Billboard’s Top 40 pop singles chart all the way back to 1955. Inside, you’ll find all of the biggest-selling, most-played hits for the past six decades. Each alphabetized artist entry includes biographical info, the date their single reached the Top 40, the song’s highest position, and the number of weeks on the charts, as well as the original record label and catalog number. Other sections—such as “Record Holders,” “Top Artists by Decade,” and “#1 Singles 1955-2009”—make The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits the handiest and most indispensable music reference for record collectors, trivia enthusiasts, industry professionals and pop music fans alike. Did you know? • Beyoncé’s 2003 hit “Crazy in Love” spent 24 weeks in the Top 40 and eight of them in the #1 spot. • Billy Idol has had a total of nine Top 40 hits over his career, the last being “Cradle of Love” in 1990. • Of Madonna’s twelve #1 hits, her 1994 single “Take a Bow” held the spot the longest, for seven weeks—one week longer than her 1984 smash “Like a Virgin.” • Marvin Gaye’s song “Sexual Healing” spent 15 weeks at #3 in 1982, while the same song was #1 on the R&B chart for 10 weeks. • Male vocal group Boyz II Men had three of the biggest chart hits of all time during the 1990s. • The Grateful Dead finally enjoyed a Top 10 single in 1987 after 20 years of touring. • Janet Jackson has scored an impressive 39 Top 40 hits—one more than her megastar brother Michael!

This move back home represented for me another punch and I was reeling with it to the other side of the ring and the other side of the world. It felt like I kept bouncing off the boxing ring ropes. Boing! Boing! I was amazed that I could still feel something after all the punches I was the recipient of. I wished I were numb but I wasn’t. You feel each blow and that is what divorce is. Blow after blow and you being bounced off the sides of the ring in the craziest scheme of things. Total loss of control as your body is flung to all sides like a rag doll. They packed. We smoked. I cried. A Divorcee Divorce is real self-discovery. Isn’t it funny that all the letters of the word Divorce can be found in the word Discovery? Divorce is the catalyst for self-discovery: if life were logical, it would start with a divorce. Divorce is about Separation and Life is a series of successive separations that make up this story, as all of our stories. In my story, the accent may be on divorce, but we can also realize, that in life we all lead divorces. Divorce from a country of origin, a job, living with parents and then with children, our culture, our language, our youth...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The hotly anticipated new novel from the internationally bestselling author of The Bone Clocks and Cloud Atlas. Utopia Avenue may be the most extraordinary British band you've never heard of. Emerging from London's psychedelic scene in 1967 and fronted by folksinger Elf Holloway, guitar demigod Jasper de Zoet and blues bassist Dean Moss, Utopia Avenue released only two LPs during its brief blazing journey from the clubs of Soho and draughty ballrooms to Top of the Pops and the Top 10; to Amsterdam, Rome and a fateful American fortnight in the autumn of 1968. David Mitchell's new novel is the story of Utopia Avenue and its age; of riots in the street and revolutions in the head; of drugs and thugs, schizophrenia, love, sex, grief, art; of the families we choose and the ones we don't; of fame's Faustian pact and stardom's wobbly ladder. Do we change the world or does the world change us? Utopia means 'nowhere' but might it be somewhere, if only we knew how to look?