Diva – A distinguished female operatic singer; a female operatic star…However, the term is now also used to refer to an outstanding popular female performer of non-operatic works, such as Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Aretha Franklin, Janet Jackson, Diana Ross, Celine Dion, Björk, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Patti Labelle, Barbra Streisand, Gloria Estefan, Cher, Tina Turner who are often referred to as divas due to their success and talent. Also, some prominent women adored in gay male pop culture are referred to as divas, such as Taborah, Kathy Griffin, Joy Behar, and Joan Rivers.
-Webster’s Online Dictionary
The term “diva” is very common in gay culture. Throughout the years gay men have expressed an undying love for such female icons as the ones mentioned in the Webster’s Online Dictionary definition. Most every gay man has their favorite diva, from Liza Minnelli to Barbra Streisand to even Lady GaGa, and I am no different. Throughout my life I’ve been known to adore several of these iconic figures for whatever reason, but there’s one diva who hearkens special memories in my life. She was my very first diva: Ms. Diana Ross.
Diana Ross is the epitome of a diva. Perceived by many as being high strung, manipulative, and demanding, Diana has been reviled by some, but ultimately her successes on the pop charts, in concert halls, and on the silver screen made her a woman admired by many more. Diana Ross’ catalog is vast and very few who’ve lived during the past 50 years can say they haven’t been touched at one time or another by her music.
As a teenager in the late 70’s, I was a rock music fan. Hugely popular seventies’ bands like Kiss, Rush, Boston, Foreigner and the like wore out my turntables throughout my junior high, freshman and sophomore years. I hated the disco movement that was going on at the time, proudly wearing my “Disco Sucks” t-shirt at every opportunity. Then one day, during the summer before my junior year in high school, I was yearning to expand my horizons musically. I took a trip to the local Sam Goody to peruse the popular music and I took notice of an album called simply “diana.
The year was 1980, and there were already two songs on the album that I had known from the radio, “I’m Coming Out” and “Upside Down.” I grabbed the record and headed straight to the cash register. Once I got home I unwrapped the album and put the “needle to the record.” Well, just then something happened that had never happened before: I danced! The sounds of “upside down you’re turning me, you’re giving love instinctively” made me move like I have never moved before. It would turn out to be the start of something big!
Dancing was natural to me and I liked it. I’d had a girlfriend back then and was starting to be more conscious of my weight and so I found myself spending hours alone in my room dancing off the calories to that album. It was the beginning of a long, beautiful relationship. Certainly there was something about Diana Ross that attracted me to her. The big hair, the beautiful costumes, and the music, yes the music especially had awakened something inside of me. I’d discovered my first diva!
Soon, I was making return trips to the record store to see what more I could find of Diana’s music. I bought several albums, including “The Boss”, “All the Great Hits”, and “Why Do Fools Fall in Love?” I discovered all of the songs that I already knew, but never connected to her. “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, “Touch Me in the Morning”, and “Love Hangover” gained a new life in my bedroom.
Throughout the years since, Diana Ross has been an indelible part of the soundtrack of my life. My high school graduation present from my parents was tickets to see her at Giants Stadium in New Jersey. It was my first ever non-rock concert and I loved it! I associate many fond memories of Diana and her music throughout my life since those days, and here are just a few of them:
-On July 21st, 1983, I was working at the Bronx County Courthouse as a records clerk and once a week it was my job to take the subway down to Centre Street in Manhattan to deliver some court records. The job was a summer job and so I really wasn’t allowed to take a day off, which was very upsetting on that particular day. You see, that was the day Diana gave a free concert on Central Park’s Great Lawn. I distinctly remember the train stopping and emptying at the 86th Street station. Everyone was going to see the show, which had been rescheduled from a day earlier. I so wanted to get off that train! At least I got to see the show on TV. (Check out the opening of the show here.)
-One of my first steady boyfriends was a huge Diana Ross fan. Kevin knew almost every song she’d ever recorded and he introduced me to the classic sounds of the Supremes, which I hadn’t been too aware of before. Even today I spend occasional times listening to those great sounds thanks to Kevin.
-Jay, my longtime partner in life, and I had tickets to the same Diana Ross show at Jones Beach Theater when we met. The concert would be the beginning of a 20 year relationship that featured a lot of Diana Ross music!
These are but a few of the many happy memories that come back to me whenever I hear a Diana Ross song. Though it was just two or three years after I’d discovered her that I would move on to another diva, Madonna, Diana Ross will always be special to me. She’s had an incredible career that’s spanned five decades now. From her incredible days with the Supremes to her more than four decades of a successful solo career, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t been touched in some way by this diva!
Sources:
Personal experience
http://www.centralparknyc.org/visit/things-to-see/great-lawn/diana-ross-playground.html
http://onlineslangdictionary.com/definition+of/diva
http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definitions/diva?cx=partner-pub-0939450753529744%3Av0qd01-tdlq&cof;=FORID%3A9&ie;=UTF-8&q;=diva&sa;=Search#906
