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.
Easy Living
Diana Ross Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's easy to live when you're in love
And I'm so in love
There's nothing in life but you
I never regret the years that I'm giving
They're easy to give when you're in love
I'm happy to do, whatever I do for you
For you, maybe I'm a fool, but it's fun
People will say you rule me with one wave of your hand
Darling, it's grand, they just don't understand
Living for you is easy living
It's easy to live when you're in love
And I'm so in love
There's nothing in life but you
The opening line of Diana Ross's "Easy Living" expresses the sentiment of the entire song. "Living for you is easy living" implies that the singer finds life simple and effortless as long as they have the love of the person they are addressing. This love is all-encompassing: "There's nothing in life but you." All the other elements of life - work, friends, hobbies - fade away in the face of this all-consuming love.
The second verse reinforces this message. The singer is "happy to do whatever" they can for their loved one, indicating a willingness to put that person's needs above all else. The phrase "maybe I'm a fool, but it's fun" then tells us that the singer doesn't care about how others perceive their love. They might be risking everything for this relationship, but the rush of being in love is too exciting to ignore. The reaction of others is dismissed with "they just don't understand," further emphasizing the idea that love can be an all-encompassing force that takes over one's life.
All throughout "Easy Living," there is a sense of total surrender to love. Acceptance and happiness in this love have superseded everything else, and the singer embraces it wholeheartedly. She makes it clear that the love she has for the person she is addressing in the song is worth all the sacrifices and difficulties that come with it.
Line by Line Meaning
Living for you is easy living
It's effortless for me to live my life for you.
It's easy to live when you're in love
Being in love makes everything feel manageable.
And I'm so in love
I am deeply and extremely in love with you.
There's nothing in life but you
Nothing else matters to me in my life besides you.
I never regret the years that I'm giving
I'll never regret the amount of love and time I give you.
They're easy to give when you're in love
It's simple for me to offer you everything because I love you.
I'm happy to do, whatever I do for you
I'm delighted to do anything for you, no matter what it is.
For you, maybe I'm a fool, but it's fun
Perhaps I seem foolish for loving you so much, but it feels enjoyable to me.
People will say you rule me with one wave of your hand
Some may claim you have control over me, but they don't understand the depth of our love.
Darling, it's grand, they just don't understand
My love for you is magnificent, but others fail to comprehend its true power.
Living for you is easy living
I will always find it simple to live my life for you.
It's easy to live when you're in love
My love for you will make every aspect of life effortless and enjoyable.
And I'm so in love
I cannot help but express the intense and deep love I have for you.
There's nothing in life but you
You are the only thing that really matters to me in life.
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave
Written by: LEO ROBIN, RALPH RAINGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind