Every year Grammy Award organizers pay tribute to a recording artist who has made contributions of significance to the music industry. This year is no exception with an official confirmation that Diana Ross will receive this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award!
Announced Tuesday, Ross will be honored with a special tribute, in addition to receiving the award for her contributions both as part of The Supremes and as a solo artist.
“Through her role as the lead voice of America’s top singing group, a solo music career that resulted in a number of signature hits, and a film and Broadway career that proved she was a multidimensional talent, Ross became a beacon of hope and possibility not just for young African-American women, but for any woman aspiring to prove her worth in a professional world stacked against her,” the Recording Academy reports. “Ross and friends Florence Ballard, Barbara Martin and Mary Wilson formed the Supremes (originally the Primettes) in the Brewster housing projects in Detroit. The group didn’t emerge as stars immediately, and after their first few mid-chart singles, Martin left. But starting with “Where Did Our Love Go?” in 1964, the Supremes would ultimately chart 12 No. 1 pop singles with Ross.”
“That might have been enough for mere mortal singers, but Ross went solo in 1969 and started a hit-making run of her own that rivaled the Supremes. No less than “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” launched her with a No. 1 hit in 1970. Her first leading movie role came in 1972 with Lady Sings The Blues, which resulted in a Best Actress Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe Award. The role led to 1975’s Mahogany à for which Ross even designed some of the costumes à and a No. 1 hit for “Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To).” Major hits continued into the ’80s with such No. 1s as “Upside Down” and the smash movie theme “Endless Love” with Lionel Richie.”
Diana Ross has a quite a history with the Grammys, receiving 12 nominations overall. She also has three recordings inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Ross joins previous Lifetime Achievement Award honorees Marian Anderson, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sammy Davis Jr., The Blind Boys of Alabama, Mahalia Jackson, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin and Curtis Mayfield, to name a few.
