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.
Lady Sings The Blues
Diana Ross Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She got them bad
She feels so sad
Wants the world to know
Just what the blues is all about
The blues ain't nothing
When you got a bad start
You and your man have to part
Lady sings the blues...
Diana Ross's Lady Sings The Blues is a melancholic and emotional portrayal of someone experiencing the depths of blues. The phrase 'lady sings the blues' refers to a common way in which women used to sing the blues, accompanied by jazz or blues music, to express their emotions, experiences, and trials of life. The song opens up with a description of the person's suffering due to the overwhelming emotions that the blues evoke - this is conveyed through the lyrics, "She got them bad, she feels so sad."
The second stanza of the song reveals the desire of the singer to allow the world to empathize with her and understand the true essence of blues. It is evident through the lyrics, "Wants the world to know just what the blues is all about." The following lines explain that blues is nothing else but an intense pain or sadness that one experiences when everything goes wrong in life. Whether it is a bad start in life or a parting with loved ones, the feeling of heartbreak, pain, and sorrow is what connects the world of the blues, as expressed in the lyrics, "The blues ain't nothing but a pain in your heart when you got a bad start, you and your man have to part."
Overall, Lady Sings The Blues is a song that describes an intense and emotional state of mind that people encounter due to challenges in life. The beauty of the song lies in the way Diana Ross manages to convey the message across through potent lyrics without making it seem gloomy, ultimately making it an excellent masterpiece.
Line by Line Meaning
Lady sings the blues
A woman is singing a song that expresses her sadness and pain.
She got them bad
Her blues are intense and strongly felt.
She feels so sad
The woman is overwhelmed with feelings of depression and grief.
Wants the world to know
The singer desires to communicate and share her emotions with others.
Just what the blues is all about
She desires to educate her audience about what it feels like to experience the blues.
The blues ain't nothing
She believes that the blues are a significant and serious pain.
But a pain in your heart
The blues are located inside the heart and are a visceral type of suffering.
When you got a bad start
The blues often stem from a difficult beginning or starting point in life.
You and your man have to part
The singer has recently separated from a romantic partner and feels intense sadness.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BILLIE HOLIDAY, HERBERT NICHOLS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind