Diane Ernestine Earle Ross Born March 26 1944 Better Known As Diana Ross Is An American Soul R&B And Pop Singer And Actress Born In Detroit Michigan. Ross Is One Of The Most Successful Female Artists Of Her Era Both Due To Her Solo Work And Her Role As Lead Singer Of The Supremes During The 1960s.
In 1959 Ross Was Brought To The Attention Of Milton Jenkins The Manager Of The Local Doo-Wop Group The Primes By Mary Wilson. Primes Member Paul Williams Convinced Jenkins To Enlist Ross In The Sister Group The Primettes Which Included Wilson Florence Ballard And Betty McGlown.
In 1976 Billboard Magazine Named Her The Female Entertainer Of The Century. In 1993 The Guinness Book Of World Records Listed Her As The Most Successful Female Artist Ever The Title Is Now Attributed To Madonna Partly Due To Her Combined Total Of Eighteen Number-One Singles Six Of Them Recorded Solo And The Remaining Dozen From Her Work With The Supremes.
Ross Was Also One Of The Few Pop Singers To Find Modest Success In The Acting World Winning An Academy Award Nomination For Her Role As Billie Holiday In The 1972 Film "Lady Sings The Blues" As Well As Having Hits With Other Film Roles Such As "Mahogany" "Out Of Darkness" And "Double Platinum" Not To Mention Her Role In "The Wiz".
Ross Has Been Awarded Many Lifetime Achievement Accolades From Many Organizations And Media Outlets She Has Been Featured On BET Soul Train And Awarded Multiple Times At The NAACP Image Awards The Kennedy Center Honors In 2007 And Given The Grammy Lifetime Achievement In 2011.
Ross' Professional Vocal Collaborators Have Included The Following During Her Career Marvin Gaye Lionel Richie Rod Stewart Stevie Wonder Michael Jackson Julio Iglesias Jose Carreras Placido Domingo And Smokey Robinson Among Many Others. . User-Contributed Text Is Available Under The Creative Commons By-SA License Additional Terms May Apply.
"I'm Coming Out" Is The Second Hit Single Released By Motown Singer Diana Ross In 1980 Written And Produced By Chic Members Bernard Edwards And Nile Rodgers For Her Album Diana 1980 . In 1979 Ross Commissioned Chic Founders Nile Rodgers And Bernard Edwards To Create Material For A New Album After Taking Her Daughters To See The Band In Concert Following The Success Of Ross's Final Ashford & Simpson-Composed And Produced LP The Boss. Rodgers Got The Idea For "I'm Coming Out" After Noticing Three Different Drag Queens Dressed As Diana Ross At A New York Club Called The GG Barnum Room. The Lyrics Hold An Additional Meaning To Ross As She Was Leaving Motown Records And "coming Out" From Under Berry Gordy's Thumb. The Song Was A Hit Peaking At Number Five On The U.S. Pop Singles Chart. It Is Also Notable For Being The First Song Usually Performed At Ross' Performances And Concerts Since 1980. The Song Has Also Been Identified An Unofficial Gay-Pride Anthem. The Song Has Been Sampled As The Years Passed Most Notably By Stevie J Who Used A Sample On The Late Rapper The Notorious B.I.G.'s 1997 Song "Mo Money Mo Problems". There's Also Been A Cover By Amarie And Marcia Hines. It Was Featured As A Cover For The Video Game Karaoke Revolution As Well