DIANE ROSS
Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Ross rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group The Supremes. Diane Ross was born at the Hutzel Women’s Hospital in Detroit on March 26, 1944. According to Ross, her mother actually named her “Diane”, but a clerical error resulted in her name being recorded as “Diana” on her birth certificate. She was listed as “Diane” during the first Supremes records, and she introduced herself as “Diane” until early in the group’s heyday. Her friends and family still call her “Diane”. (More from Wikipedia)
The Supremes were founded in 1959 by four teenagers – Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, Diana Ross, and Betty McGlown – under the name the Primettes; they started as a sister act to the Primes, who evolved into the Temptations. Barbara Martin replaced McGlown in 1960. Ross was going by the name “Diane Ross” initially; that was actually the name that her mother intended to give her, but through a clerical error, her birth certificate says Diana Ross. In order to distinguish themselves from other similar groups in that era, the Primettes hired guitarist Marvin Tarplin to accompany them so they would not have to lip sync.
(April 2015/1)
