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.
I Heard A Love Song
Diana Ross Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You came from a place I've never been in West Virginia
I let you burn me, I let you turn me around
Like a leaf from a flame you held the burning ember
It was a lazy hot night but it really felt like deep December
The lyrics of Diana Ross's song "I Heard A Love Song" is a tale of falling in love unexpectedly with someone from the opposite end of the social spectrum. The opening lines, "Like a bat out of hell and the power deep within ya, You came from a place I've never been in West Virginia," depict the suddenness of meeting someone who is unanticipated and came from a place that is unfamiliar. The subsequent line, "I let you burn me, I let you turn me around," conveys the idea of giving in and giving up control to this person in a way that leaves one vulnerable.
The chorus of the song, "I heard a love song, it was so right, it was so wrong, you came to me, and all the world just faded away," summarizes the conflict of love that feels both right and wrong. The juxtaposition of the two feelings adds to the complexity of the relationship. The line, "Like a leaf from a flame you held the burning ember, It was a lazy hot night but it really felt like deep December," shows the passion and intensity of the situation, where even a hot night can feel like a deeply romantic winter evening.
Overall, "I Heard A Love Song" is a song that tells a story of love that is unexpected, complicated, and intense. Its lyrics and melody evoke a sense of longing and vulnerability, offering a reminder of how love can both make us feel alive, yet also leave us uncertain and bewildered.
Line by Line Meaning
Like a bat out of hell and the power deep within ya
You moved with incredible speed and strength, as if you were fueled by an unstoppable force inside you.
You came from a place I've never been in West Virginia
Your origins were unfamiliar to me, as they were from a part of West Virginia that I had never encountered before.
I let you burn me, I let you turn me around
I allowed myself to be consumed by your passion and let you change the course of my life.
Like a leaf from a flame you held the burning ember
You possessed the intense energy of a fire and I was drawn to you like a leaf being pulled towards a flame.
It was a lazy hot night but it really felt like deep December
Despite the warmth of the night, our relationship felt cold and distant, as if we were in the depths of winter.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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