Tracee Ellis Ross, the daughter of music executive Robert Ellis Silberstein and legendary singer Diana Ross talked about her childhood memories and her parents’ meetups with Michael Jackson and Cher in an interview on a recent episode of SiriusXM’s This Life of Mine with James Corden.
Tracee shared “Cher was a big part of our life. There’s pictures, it’s very sweet, of my mom, my dad, Cher and Michael playing tennis.”
“Hang on. Hang on a minute. Hang on,” Corden interrupted. “I love that this started with, ‘There must have been recording artists coming,’ [and then goes to] ‘No. We weren’t that kind of household other than the times that Marvin Gaye would call and obviously, when my mom and dad would play doubles against Michael Jackson and Cher.’”
Ross shared that the pop star’s 1982 single Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ from his Thriller album was very popular when she was around 9 or 10 years old.
The song includes a phrase, “Mama Say Mama Sa Mama Coosa” which she used to sing wrong, she thought he sang, “I’ve been saved by the sound of Michael’s song.”
Later on, she finds out directly through Jackson, she noted, “So, one night, we were going to bed and my mom was like, ‘Does anyone wanna say goodnight to Michael before I hang up the phone?’ and I was like, ‘I do.’”
While singing her version of the song she asked him if those words were correct, “He said, ‘No, but it should have been.’ That’s my favorite memory there.”
