DIANA ROSS - TEARS + TRIBUTES AT THE B.E.T AWARDS

TEARS + TRIBUTES AT THE B.E.T AWARDS

It was all tears and tributes at the B.E.T Awards in Los Angeles on Tuesday night (26Jun07) as DIANA ROSS was feted and GERALD LEVERT and JAMES BROWN remembered. Ross used her Lifetime Achievement honour to call for young R+B stars to "keep it classy" while Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu and her kids sang her praises. Ross added, "We do not have to say the F-word, we do not have to pump and grind, we do not have to do some of these things to have longevity in our career." But the night's highlight was a touching tribute to late soul man Levert by his father, O'Jays star Eddie and pal Patti LaBelle. The Lady Marmalade singer sobbed openly as she called Levert "one of the best voices around," before the dead soul star's father joined Gladys Knight, LaBelle and Yolanda Adams for a rendition of the singer's favourite song, Wind Beneath My Wings. R+B sensation Ne-Yo, who beat Levert to the Best Male R+B Artist prize, dedicated his award to Levert. The night's other tribute was staged by members of Public Enemy and funk star Bootsy Collins, who teamed up to pay their respects to James Brown.