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Learn the stories behind 10 Diana Ross hits

You know the songs. All the words too. And Diana Ross may just encourage you to sing along, now that she's back for nine shows at The Venetian through Nov. 21.

Subtitled "Some Memories Never Fade," "The Essential Diana Ross" is an encore of the pop icon's April show in the same theater, a galloping 20-plus hits and four gown changes in 90 minutes.

It didn't leave time for a lot of idle chatter. In fact, it was very near the end of opening night before the superstar even chatted us up beyond cursory lines such as, "Do you remember this one?"

So here's a handy crib sheet and/or "Where were you?" perspective on 10 songs you are sure to hear — provided, of course, she doesn't hit us with "Unessential — The Deep Album Cuts" just to mess with us this time.

1. "I'm Coming Out"

 

April's show opener was a head-spinner when the superstar came down the side aisle, a Glinda vision of feathery turquoise hailing all the Friends of Dorothy the song has come to represent.

She also could have been singing about the end of her relationship to Berry Gordy, and/or the 1980 "Diana" album that became the biggest of her career. Pop currency was rare for an act in the rotation at Caesars Palace; Ross sang there twice in '80, an off year for fellow Caesars headliners Cher and Tom Jones.

2. "Stop! In the Name of Love"

 

Last spring's show gave the Supremes their due by also including the No. 1s "Baby Love" and "Come See About Me," two of the songs that sent the pop trio through the roof in 1964 once they were teamed with the songwriting and production team of Holland-Dozier-Holland.

But "Stop!" is the iconic Supremes song for drunken women of all ages to hold up hands and hairbrushes. It hit No. 1 the week Ross turned 21 in 1965.

3. "Love Child"

 

Jumping in among "Magic Carpet Ride" and "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" in the trippy October of '68 was this topical No. 1, which addressed unwanted pregnancy and children "born in poverty ... never meant to be," a side effect of the "free love" revolution.

4. "The Boss"

 

One good problem for a legend to have is the challenge of overfamiliarity, and pacing a set packed with one hit after another. One answer can be to resurrect some lesser hits, such as this summer of '79 disco groove from Ashford and Simpson. It might still get you out of that plush padded chair at The Venetian.

5. "Touch Me in the Morning"

 

Ross really thought she'd turned the corner into a movie career after she filmed "Lady Sings the Blues," but Berry Gordy thought otherwise. He teamed composers Ron Miller and Michael Masser with express instructions to deliver a hit.

They did. The song went No. 1 in the summer of '73, even though Ross didn't like it at first and argued with the composers about what key it should be in, according to "Diana Ross" biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli. Maybe that's why, at The Venetian in April, she broke into its sexy lilt to make band introductions in the middle.

6. "Don't Explain"

 

Speaking of "Lady," Ross included the Billie Holiday torch song from the soundtrack of her Holiday movie bio. And in April, we were sure glad she did. It was the rare time in the set we felt like we were hearing her voice unrushed and unchallenged by a persistent backing band.

"Lady" is always likely to get representation, because she called the movie "the second most important thing" in her life after the No. 1 priority of giving birth to daughter Rhonda. Understandable, considering she was co-billed with the "Ice Follies" at Caesars just four months before the movie came out in 1972.

7. "My World Is Empty Without You"

 

At The Venetian, the song was a photo-heavy, sentimental tribute to her friend Michael Jackson. When the song was a Supremes hit in January 1966, "Batman" had just taken TV by storm and Michael was still 7 years old. It would be three more years before Ross' name helped roll out Michael and his brothers with their debut album "Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5."

8. "Endless Love"

 

Run for cover, non-cheese lovers. The duet with Lionel Richie was the sappy theme song to a yucky, now basically forgotten Brooke Shields movie. But for some reason it was the biggest hit of Ross' career, No. 1 for nine weeks. And we somehow suspect composer Richie isn't going to leave it out either when he plays Planet Hollywood in May.

9. "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"

 

So, yes, you do the hairbrush thing for "Stop!" But the quintessential drag queen moment for any Ross impersonator is the goose-bumpy spoken verse to this 1970 hit: "If you need me, call me, no matter where you are." It's so iconic, a lot of people may not even know her second solo single is a remake of a version by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell.

10. "More Today Than Yesterday"

 

Back there at No. 4, we talked about a need to break up a greatest-hits revue with some surprises. The Venetian dates actually had a few covers, including Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" and Dusty Springfield's "The Look of Love."

But Ross likes this Spiral Starecase classic so much she made it the subtitle for a previous tour. And we like the continued love for a song written in a hotel room at the Flamingo. Pat Upton penned the 1969 hit when the group was performing as a show band originally known as the Flydallions.

Read more from Mike Weatherford at reviewjournal.com. Contact him at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com and follow @Mikeweatherford on Twitter.

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