“It took me a lifetime to get here and I’m not going anywhere…”
Posted by | Ray Cornelius
It’s hard to believe but Diana Ross received her first Grammy Award tonight at the Grammy Merit Awards. Although the legendary singer-actress has been nominated 12 times throughout her 50 plus year career, she has never taken home the coveted award. But, that is all behind her now!
Ms. Ross was honored by the Recording Academy with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award both as a member of the Supremes and also as a solo artist.
Here is her acceptance speech:
height=350Ross can now add Grammy Award-winner to her list of achievements including: Golden Globe, Tony and American Music Award-winner, Academy Award-nominee and Kennedy Center honoree. She is also one of very few celebrities to have two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In other Ross news…
R&B songbird, Ledisi and The Roots’ QuestLove spoke to the LA Times this week about Ms. Ross and her enduring influence on their personal careers as well as pop music history. Here is what each of them had to say regarding their favorite Ross performance:
Ledisi on For One and For All 1983’s Central Park Concert:
“Watching her mesmerize 350,000 people at Central Park in New York City [during her iconic 1983 ‘For One and For All’ free concert in Central Park] is my favorite performance. She made the rain her accessory and backdrop! Who does that? That was pure genius. You had fashion, songs, she was on a stage by herself in the rain with no dancers, no visual effects and they wanted her to get off the stage for safety reasons. She refused and stayed for her fans. That’s a star!”
Questlove on the Diana Ross’ classic 1979 HBO Concert:
“Beyonce and I were just talking about our mutual admiration for that particular show because of the way Beyonce made her entrance for her [2004] Triple Threat Tour with Missy [Elliot] and Alicia Keys. She came through the audience for that. She talks about having to watch old video tapes of the greats so she could see what she could take from them. I said to her, ‘Watching you get carried on the shoulders of those guys reminded me so much…’ and she finished my sentence with, ‘the Diana Ross concert where she went through the screen.’ [He laughs.]”
Be sure to check out the 2012 Grammy Awards airing Sunday at 8pm on CBS