Diana Ross is still “The Boss” at 80 — and, over six decades into her legendary career, she’s working on keeping up that title.
“I’ll never retire,” Ross, who will turn 81 on March 26, told an audience of adoring fans at the second of two sold-out shows at Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre on Saturday.
In a year that has seen the deaths of such other music legends as Roberta Flack, Marianne Faithfull and Sam Moore of Sam & Dave, it was a welcome reminder that we still have other eternal pop icons among us.
Indeed, Ross’ shows at Kings Theatre, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the venue, came as other octogenarian all-timers are still making moves — from 82-year-old Paul McCartney’s string of club shows at NYC’s Bowery Ballroom to Paul Simon, 83, announcing that he was un-retiring from the road for his “A Quiet Celebration” tour starting April 4 to Mick Jagger, 81, rocking the Oscars with a surprise appearance to present the Best Original Song award on Sunday.
If anything, Ross’ two-night stand was a reminder that we should appreciate this eternal goddess while she is still here, blessing us with her presence.
While other divas of her generation have passed on — from Aretha Franklin and Tina Turner to, most recently, Flack — Ross is still flexing her “Muscles.”
When she opened to “I’m Coming Out” — her 1980 anthem that continues to symbolize liberation and empowerment for both the LGBTQ community and anyone else who needs a feather-boa-lifting boost — Ross was a true living legend in red ruffles.
As she made her way from her ‘60s career with the Supremes — remembered with “You Can’t Hurry Love,” “More Today Than Yesterday,” and “Love Child” — to her solo superstardom with classic such as “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand),” “Love Hangover” and “Upside Down,” the love for Ross hadn’t gone anywhere.
And she reminded us about the movie magic she had made with her Oscar-nominated turn as Billie Holiday in “Lady Sings the Blues,” delivering her best vocals of the night on “My Man” and “Good Morning Heartache.” And then she took us back to Oz with “Ease on Down the Road,” from her starring role as Dorothy in the screen adaptation of “The Wiz” in 1978.
Then — as she has been doing for decades — Ross brought it home with “Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To),” her No. 1 hit from her 1975 cult classic “Mahogany.”
As it has since her 1983 Central Park concert, that segued into “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” the 1970 hit that saw Ross climb to the top of the charts as a solo artist after leaving the Supremes.
And in the midst of it all, she mixed in tunes from her Grammy-nominated 2021 album “Thank You” — including a “Count on Me” duet with oldest daughter Rhonda — that showed that Miss Ross is far from done yet.
