Sunday Diva / Three From the Hip: Diana Ross

Sunday Diva

Three From the Hip

Diana Ross

Like all places of worship, my own personal big gay church continues to evolve. Stronger than three? Four. 

Today's Sunday Diva is the third pillar holding up my community.

Call her Miss Ross.

And don't try to share her spotlight. She will push you out of the way, even with the whole world watching.

She is a D-I-V-A.

And she earned that title.

She was FIERCE long before some fashionista 'coined' the phrase. 

The woman broke down walls and barriers unlike anyone before her. 

And... she did it all as a true lady. Class, not sass, was the key to her success. 

Did she stumble? Did she make mistakes? Did she ruffle a few feathers? Oh, yeah, you know she did.

But that's the price of being a true star. And hers? Hers is going to continue to shine long after her spirit has been absorbed by the cosmos. 

The gospel according to her?

Well, here are three from the hip, dropping from her lips.

The topic? What else? Being a Diva.

"It takes a long time to get to be a diva. I mean, you gotta work at it."

"I think a responsibility comes with notoriety, but I never think of it as power. It's more like something you hold, like grains of sand. If you keep your hand closed, you can have it and possess it, but if you open your fingers in any way, you can lose it just as quickly."

"Icon. What is an icon? When someone is iconic it means they have established a certain kind of legacy possibly, and I think it does come with time. It's something in the arts, I feel. Maybe not, maybe it doesn't have to be in the arts exactly. I'm not really sure. But I don't think you are born an icon. (And) I don't think getting in and out of a limousine has anything to do with being an icon."

I'm Gonna Make You Love Me - Diana Ross w/ Stevie Wonder

Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Diana Ross

Take Me Higher - Diana Ross