No Miss Ross slander. She literally paved the way for all your favs. Back in the day it was uncharted territory to go solo...now you have Beyonce, Timberlake and countless others breaking away from groups to be solo stars. Mary and Florence were certainly legends too but neither could have transcended into superstardom nor broke the barriers Miss Ross broke.

Diana was meant to be the star...we already had an Aretha, Gladys, Patti, Tina and Dionne. Investing in another gospel infused vocalist was not necessary bc nobody would top Aretha, Gladys and Patti. Diana had the perfect voice for pop music..kind of like Janet, Madonna and Rihanna that followed her. They can sing but aren’t powerhouses but they convey emotion better than many technically superior vocalists.

We don’t know all the history btwn Mary and Diana. I’m sure a lot of it was jealousy and a product of a time when all women were pitted against each other to survive. Mary knew without Diana in the group her checks wouldn’t be the same.