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.
Billie & Harry Don't Explain
Diana Ross Lyrics
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It's Harry
Come on
Gonna be a rehearsal downstairs
In ten minutes
Oh, boy
We got a full day off next week
I'll be dead by next week
I'm taking the night off
You take tonight off and, sure as hell
That'll be the night that Mr network Radio
Scout is sitting out front and
All the things i mean
Everything that we've been doing goes
Right down the drain, because, let's
Face it, Billie, you
You are the cream in our coffee
You got that the wrong way around, don't you?
Give me a shot of that bourbon in my bag
Will you?
Well, how about a real
A real what?
Shot and you'll be flying
Look, Harry, like I've been telling you
What you do is your business i may be tired
But I ain't dumb
In Diana Ross's song "Billie & Harry / Don't Explain," the lyrics capture a conversation between two individuals, Billie and Harry. The conversation implies a romantic relationship between the two characters, who may also be performers or musicians. The lyrics depict Harry informing Billie about a rehearsal downstairs in ten minutes, to which Billie responds with a sense of weariness and a desire to take the night off. Harry expresses his concerns about the potential consequences of taking time off, as they could miss an opportunity to impress a radio scout. Billie, however, asserts her independence and suggests that she will do what she wants, even though she may be tired. The exchange highlights the dynamics of their relationship and the tension between personal desires and professional commitments.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Arthur Jr. Herzog, Billie Holiday
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind