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.
Strange Fruit
Diana Ross Lyrics
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Blood on the leaves and blood at the roots
Black bodies swingin' in the southern breeze
Strange fruit hangin' from the poplar trees
Pastoral scene of the gallant south
The bulging eyes and twisted mouth
Scent of magnolias sweet and fresh
Here is the fruit
For the crows to pluck
For the rain to gather
For the wind to suck
For the sun to rot
For the tree to drop
Here is a strange and bitter crop
The lyrics in Diana Ross's song Strange Fruit are a haunting commentary on the atrocities committed against African Americans during the early 1900s in the southern states of America. The song is an interpretation of a poem written by Abel Meeropol, a Jewish high school English teacher that was inspired by a photograph he saw of a lynching in Indiana. The "strange fruit" referred to in the lyrics is the bodies of black men who were lynched and hung from trees as a form of punishment for imagined crimes.
The first two lines of the song paint a gruesome picture of the south: "Southern trees bear a strange fruit, blood on the leaves and blood at the roots". The image of the tree bearing fruit-like human bodies is a powerful metaphor that suggests that the atrocities taking place in the south were not isolated incidents but a part of the region's history and culture. The following lines describe the scene of the lynching, with "black bodies swingin' in the southern breeze" and "strange fruit hangin' from the poplar trees".
The next verse contrasts the beautiful scenery of the south with the horrible acts of violence taking place. The "pastoral scene of the gallant south" is juxtaposed with the "bulging eyes and twisted mouth" of the lynched victims. The scent of "magnolias sweet and fresh" is contrasted with the "sudden smell of burning flesh". The last lines of the song sum up the gruesome nature of the lynching, with the "strange and bitter crop" left for the crows to pluck, the rain to gather, the wind to suck, the sun to rot, and the tree to drop.
Line by Line Meaning
Southern trees bear a strange fruit
The sight of lynched Black bodies hanging from trees in the South is an unusual and unsettling occurrence.
Blood on the leaves and blood at the roots
Not only are the Black bodies hanging from the trees mutilated, but the violence and hatred behind their deaths soak into the earth.
Black bodies swingin' in the southern breeze
Even as the wind blows and the sun shines, these Black bodies hang lifelessly from the trees, a constant reminder of the violence and oppression faced by Black people in the South.
Strange fruit hangin' from the poplar trees
These Black bodies are not just fruit, but something strange and frightening, loathed and feared in the same way that Black people are dehumanized and treated as less than human.
Pastoral scene of the gallant south
The peaceful, idyllic countryside of the South is at odds with the brutal reality of lynching and racial violence.
The bulging eyes and twisted mouth
The Black bodies hanging from the trees are disfigured and contorted by the violence inflicted upon them, turning them into grotesque figures of horror.
Scent of magnolias sweet and fresh
Even as violence and hatred reign, the natural beauty and fragrance of the Southern landscape continues on unchanged.
And the sudden smell of burning flesh
The smell of death and brutality overpowers any other scent in the air, creating a jarring contrast between beauty and horror.
Here is the fruit
These bodies, symbols of hatred and violence, are the 'fruit' that is harvested by white supremacists, law enforcement, and others who perpetrate violence and oppression against Black people.
For the crows to pluck
The Black bodies are left to be picked apart and consumed by those who prey upon and profit from the suffering of Black people.
For the rain to gather
Even the natural elements, like rain, bear witness to the violence and brutality against Black people, collecting evidence of these crimes.
For the wind to suck
Like vultures, those who commit violent acts against Black people and profit from that violence and oppression are drawn to it, continually fueled and sustained by their hate.
For the sun to rot
Time and the elements will slowly wear away at the horror of these Black bodies hanging from the trees, but the pain, injustice, and trauma of that violence will remain and continue to haunt future generations.
For the tree to drop
Even the tree that bears witness to this violence will eventually die, but the horror of what it has seen and what has been done to the Black bodies hanging from its branches lives on.
Here is a strange and bitter crop
The Black bodies hanging from Southern trees are not just individual people, but a 'crop' that is harvested and perpetuated through systemic racism and oppression, creating a bitter reality that Black people must endure and struggle against.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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