Saturday 9: Stop! In the Name of Love

Saturday 9: Stop! In the Name of Love (1965)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) When this song was popular, the Supremes were known for their long gloves and full-length gowns. When was the last time you got dressed up?

My wedding day 31 years
ago was probably the
last time I really
dressed up.

A. I don't recall. Does black for a funeral count? Then a couple of weeks ago. Otherwise it has been a very, very long time.

2) With a record 12 #1 hits, the Supremes remain America's best-selling vocal group. This must have been hard for Betty McGlown, the fourth Supreme, who left the group before they recorded their first song. Can you think of an opportunity you missed?

A. I quit working for an attorney in 1985 and that was the worst mistake of my career. If I had stayed there, we would have been better off financially and I would have had stability for a very long time. But I was an idiot and left in search of more money, which I did not find.

3) When "the girls" (Diana Ross, Mary Wilson and Flo Ballard) first started hanging around Motown, founder Berry Gordy was reluctant to let them record. After all, they were still in high school. They refused to give up and eventually convinced him to let them add hand claps and finally back up vocals to recordings by other Motown artists. Tell us about a time when your persistence paid off.

Main Building at Hollins.

A. It took me eight years - yes, eight - to get my bachelors degree at Hollins College, now Hollins University. During those eight years I had six surgeries and had to drop out every couple of semesters because I was quite sick (at one point I was in the hospital for 30 days; three other times I had major surgery and was out of work and school and unable to drive for six weeks each). I was also holding down various full and part-time jobs during that time (as a result of stupid mistake noted in #2). Actually I went back to college as a result of stupid mistake noted in #2, which was the only good thing to come out of said stupid mistake. Anyway, in 1993 I received my diploma. I was the first person in my family to receive a degree of higher learning at that time. I went back and received my masters degree in 2012. I suppose that is persistent.

4) 50 years after its release, "Stop! In the Name of Love" is one of the most popular karaoke songs. Do you know the lyrics?

A. Stop! In the Name of Love! Before you break my heart. That's about it from me.

5) There's a children's playground named in Diana Ross' honor within New York's Central Park. It includes swings, slides, rope bridges and a fountain. When you played in the park, what did you run to first?

A. I grew up on a farm. I didn't play in parks. I rode on tractors, hunted up eggs in the chicken coop, and bottle fed calves. There were slides and swings on the school grounds but I preferred to sit in the shade and read.

6) Diana stumbled in her high heels and broke her ankle as she left the stage after a November 2012 concert. What do you have on your feet right now?

A. A pair of "Made in China" leather uppers, which I use for house shoes. They even have a pair of orthotics in them.

7) Ever the trooper, she honored her commitment to perform at a White House-sponsored Christmas concert just weeks later, even though her leg was still in a cast. Tell us about a time when you "played hurt."

A. I always have had something hurting or broken or falling apart, so pretty much the last 51 years of my life.

8) Young Diana Ross was a good student and a tough competitor who made her school's swim team. Are you a good swimmer?

A. I am overweight so I imagine I float, rather like a dead, bloated whale. I could swim okay when I was younger but it has literally been years since I attempted it.

9) Diana's older sister, Dr. Barbara Ross-Lee, was the first African American woman to be appointed dean of an American medical school. Decades ago, Barbara juggled post-graduate studies and raising small children. Are you good at multi-tasking?

A. It depends on what I'm doing. Playing a video game on my Kindle and watching TV? Check. Trying to write something important? Nope. I need to focus.  Talking on the phone and folding clothes? Sure. Playing the guitar? Nope.