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.
Kewpie Doll
Diana Ross Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
An' I heard that barker yell ( hey! hey! )
"come on an' win yourself a purdy Kewpie doll,
All you gotta do is ring the bell!"
Well I swung the hammer just as hard as I could,
An' you should have heard the wild applause(hooray!)
When "bong" went the bell
And the man said,
I said, "gimmie a doggie or a teddy bear
Or a high school banner for my wall,
'cause I got me a real live Kewpie doll
An' she's the cutest one of them all!"
(Kew Kew Kewpie doll! Kew Kew Kewpie doll!
Kew Kew Kewpie doll! Kew Kew Kewpie doll!)
Ah then, we walked down the midway
'till we saw a crowd an' the man said "try your skill,
Five shots for a quarter, make a duck hit the water
An' give your little baby a thrill"
Well, my baby smiled an' she kissed me once
An' I felt I was nine feet tall
Oh! five shots crashed and the five ducks splashed
An' the man gave me a Kewpie doll!
I said, "gimmie a doggie or a teddy bear
Or a high school banner for my wall,
'cause I got me a real live Kewpie doll
An' she's the cutest one of them all!"
(Kew Kew Kewpie doll! Kew Kew Kewpie doll!
Kew Kew Kewpie doll! Kew Kew Kewpie doll!)
Ah then, my baby said, "honey, let m try my luck
An' knock the milk bottles off the shelf!"
You should have seen this chick, she was a dead-eye dick
Hey! I couldn't do it better myself!
An' then my face got red and my chest swelled up
An' my eyes bugged outta my head
'cause when the prize turned out to be a Kewpie doll
This is what my baby said, she said
"gimmie a doggie or a teddy bear
Or a high school banner for my wall,
'cause I got me a real live Kewpie doll
An' he's the cutest one of them all!"
I said, "she's the cutest one of them all!"
An' she's the cutest one of them all! (Kew Kew Kewpie doll!)
An' she's the cutest one of them all! (Kew Kew Kewpie doll!)
An' she's the cutest one of them all!
The song "Kewpie Doll" by Diana Ross is a cheerful and playful account of a couple's time at the carnival. The song's narrator takes his girlfriend to the carnival, and they participate in a number of different games, eventually winning several Kewpie dolls. Kewpie dolls were first introduced in the early 1900s and were created by Rose O'Neill, a popular cartoonist and artist of the time. The dolls were often sold at fairs and carnivals and were frequently used as prizes for winning games.
The song opens with the couple trying to win a Kewpie doll by ringing a bell. The singer swings the hammer as hard as he can, and the bell chimes, indicating that they've won the prize. The second verse sees the couple trying their aim at a duck-shooting game, which they also win. The third and final verse sees the singer's girlfriend trying to knock milk bottles off a shelf and succeeding in winning yet another Kewpie doll. Throughout the song, the couple is happy and playful, enjoying each other's company and the carnival atmosphere.
The lyrics of "Kewpie Doll" are simple but contain a sense of nostalgia for a simpler time. The carnival games and prizes described in the song may not be as common today as they were in the past, but the memories associated with them are still beloved by many people. The song captures this sense of nostalgia and playfulness, making it a fun and memorable listen.
Line by Line Meaning
Well I took my baby to the carnival
I went with my significant other to the carnival
An' I heard that barker yell ( hey! hey! )
We heard the carnival barker shouting to get our attention
"come on an' win yourself a purdy Kewpie doll,
He offered us the chance to win a cute Kewpie doll as a prize
All you gotta do is ring the bell!"
All we had to do was hit the bell to win
Well I swung the hammer just as hard as I could,
I used all my strength to hit the bell
An' you should have heard the wild applause(hooray!)
The crowd cheered loudly when I hit the bell
When "bong" went the bell
The bell rang loudly when I hit it
And the man said,
The carnival worker announced
"well, I guess the Kewpie doll is yours!"(yeah yeah!)
"Congratulations, you've won the Kewpie doll!"
I said, "gimmie a doggie or a teddy bear
I asked for a different prize instead of the Kewpie doll
Or a high school banner for my wall,
I suggested other items to the carnival worker
'cause I got me a real live Kewpie doll
I already had a Kewpie doll
An' she's the cutest one of them all!"
And it was the cutest doll I've ever seen
(Kew Kew Kewpie doll! Kew Kew Kewpie doll!
Repeating the name of the doll in excitement
Kew Kew Kewpie doll! Kew Kew Kewpie doll!)
Continuing to express enthusiasm for the doll
Ah then, we walked down the midway
We continued to explore the carnival
'till we saw a crowd an' the man said "try your skill,
We stopped when we noticed a crowd and the worker offered us another game
Five shots for a quarter, make a duck hit the water
We were given the chance to hit ducks for a chance to win prizes
An' give your little baby a thrill"
To make my partner happy
Well, my baby smiled an' she kissed me once
My partner showed her appreciation with a smile and a kiss
An' I felt I was nine feet tall
I felt very proud and happy in that moment
Oh! five shots crashed and the five ducks splashed
We successfully hit all the ducks and they fell into the water
An' the man gave me a Kewpie doll!
And we won another Kewpie doll as a prize
I said, "gimmie a doggie or a teddy bear
Again, I asked for a different prize
Or a high school banner for my wall,
I suggested other possible prizes to the worker
'cause I got me a real live Kewpie doll
I already had another Kewpie doll
An' she's the cutest one of them all!"
And it was just as cute as the first one I won
Ah then, my baby said, "honey, let m try my luck
My partner wanted to try her hand at winning a prize
An' knock the milk bottles off the shelf!"
By throwing a ball at them
You should have seen this chick, she was a dead-eye dick
My partner was very skilled at the game
Hey! I couldn't do it better myself!
I was impressed by her aim and accuracy
An' then my face got red and my chest swelled up
I felt proud and happy about my partner's success
An' my eyes bugged outta my head
I was shocked by what we won
'cause when the prize turned out to be a Kewpie doll
The prize was another Kewpie doll
This is what my baby said, she said
This is how my partner responded
"gimmie a doggie or a teddy bear
Once again, she requested a different prize
Or a high school banner for my wall,
Suggesting other possible prizes
'cause I got me a real live Kewpie doll
Since we already won another Kewpie doll
An' he's the cutest one of them all!"
And, apparently, this doll was a boy and just as cute as the others
I said, "she's the cutest one of them all!"
Agreeing with my partner's assessment
An' she's the cutest one of them all! (Kew Kew Kewpie doll!)
Again, expressing enthusiasm for our prizes
An' she's the cutest one of them all! (Kew Kew Kewpie doll!)
Continuing to express excitement about our dolls
An' she's the cutest one of them all!
Once again, agreeing with my partner's assessment and expressing joy about our prizes
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