The New York air was crisp and calm on the night of April 14, 1998. But inside the Beacon Theater on Manhattans Upper West Side, a fire blazed. The faithful had gathered. A religious ceremony was to take place. Six deities waited in the wings, but they neednt proselytize upon taking the stage. Every sane soul had already kneeled at their altar, and would do so again for several years to come.

The event, of course, was VH1s Divas Live. The gods were pop prima donnas: Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, Cline Dion, Gloria Estefan, Shania Twain and Carole King who, separately and together, performed numbers from their respective catalogs. The worship service was a ratings smash, so the following year, VH1 increased the cause for hosannas. Whitney Houston, Tina Turner, Cher and Brandy headlined Divas Live 99, joined by Mary J. Blige, Chaka Khan, LeAnn Rimes, Faith Hill and very special guest Elton John. It became the highest-rated program in the networks history, a grail for both VH1 and the world at large.

As almost any large-scale production can attest, putting at least half a dozen superstars on the same bill doesnt happen without a few hitches and altercations along the way. So, ahead of the events 20th anniversary, I called up five producers who put together the first three Divas shows (2000s was a Diana Ross tribute featuring Carey, Hill, Donna Summer, Destinys Child and RuPaul) to see just how much gossip I could marshal about these glittery exaltations.

Grab some popcorn. Or a little holy water.