The Supremes were a very successful Motown all-female singing group active from 1959 until 1977, performing at various times doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway showtunes, psychedelia, and disco.
One of Motown's signature acts, The Supremes were the most successful black musical act of the 1960s [1], recording twelve #1 hits between 1964 and 1969, many of them written and produced by Motown's main songwriting and production team, Holland-Dozier-Holland. The crossover success of the Supremes during the mid-1960s paved the way for future black soul and R&B acts to gain mainstream audiences both in the United States and overseas.
Founded in Detroit, Michigan in 1959, The Supremes began as a quartet called The Primettes. Founding members Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, Diana Ross, and Betty McGlown, all from the Brewster-Douglas public housing project in Detroit, were the sister act to The Primes (later The Temptations). In 1960, Barbara Martin replaced McGlown, and the group signed with Motown in 1961 as The Supremes. Martin left at the end of 1961, and Ross, Ballard, and Wilson carried on as a trio. After they achieved success in the mid-1960s with Ross as the lead singer, Motown president Berry Gordy renamed the group Diana Ross & the Supremes in 1967, and replaced Ballard with Cindy Birdsong. Ross left the group for a solo career in 1970, and was replaced by Jean Terrell. After 1972, the lineup of the Supremes changed frequently, with Lynda Laurence, Scherrie Payne, and Susaye Greene all becoming members before the group ended its eighteen-year existence in 1977.
History
Origins
In 1958, Florence Ballard – a junior high school student in the Detroit housing projects – met and became acquainted with Paul Williams and Eddie Kendricks, two members of a Detroit male singing group known as The Primes. Since Ballard herself also sang, the Primes' manager Milton Jenkins asked Florence in early 1959 to create a sister group called The Primettes. Ballard recruited her best friend Mary Wilson, who recruited classmate Diane Ross; Jenkins added Betty McGlown to complete the lineup. The Primettes soon began performing at record hops, social clubs, and talent shows around the Detroit area. One of the girls' goals was to get signed to the then-new local Motown record label; they auditioned a number of times for label head Berry Gordy, who turned them down based on his feeling that the girls were too young and lacked experience. Undaunted, The Primettes made a single for the Lupine label in 1960, "Tears of Sorrow", backed with "Pretty Baby", which failed to find an audience. During that same year, McGlown left the group to concentrate on her school studies and was replaced by Barbara Martin. In January 1961, Gordy finally relented and decided to sign the group to Motown on the condition that they change their name (the Primes had by this time combined with Otis Williams & the Distants and would soon sign to Motown as The Temptations). Gordy gave Ballard a list of names to choose from; she chose The Supremes, which both Wilson and Ross disliked at first, thinking it too masculine; however, Gordy liked it and the name stuck. The Supremes signed with Motown on January 15, 1961. That fall Martin left to start a family and the group continued as a trio.
Influences
Just in their early teens when they started singing together, the Supremes – like their contemporaries – were influenced by and mimicked the styles of male doo-wop and R&B groups like The Drifters, Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers, The Isley Brothers, and their mentors The Primes. Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson was Diane Ross' neighbor and the uncle of one of her friends, and his group's passionate performance styles were a significant influence on the girls. Female groups imitated the rough, energetic vocal and performance styles of these male groups, but dressed in a modest, almost conservative, style. This combination persisted into the early 1960s, with groups like The Shirelles and Motown contemporaries The Marvelettes and Martha & the Vandellas, all of whom found fame and success before the Supremes.
Success
Between 1961 and 1963, the Supremes released eight singles, all of which missed the Top 40. Jokingly referred to as the "no-hit Supremes" around Motown's "Hitsville U.S.A." offices, the girls tried to make up for their lack of a bonafide hit by taking on any chore that was available at the studio, including performing hand claps and singing backup for Motown artists such as Marvin Gaye and The Temptations. During these early years, all three members took turns singing lead on various songs – Mary Wilson favoring the ballads, Florence Ballard the more soulful and up-tempo songs, and Diane Ross the more mainstream pop numbers. Most of their early material was written and produced by either Berry Gordy or Smokey Robinson.
In December 1963, the Supremes finally scored their first Top 40 hit, "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes", (US #23), the first of many Supremes songs written by the Motown songwriting and production team of Holland-Dozier-Holland. A few months later, Berry Gordy made Ross the sole lead singer of the group, because he felt her higher register would help the group cross over to white audiences. She also began going by "Diana" at this time.
In the spring of 1964, the Supremes recorded a single entitled "Where Did Our Love Go". The song was originally intended by Holland-Dozier-Holland for The Marvelettes, who rejected it. Although the Supremes did not like the idea of recording a second-hand song, because of their track record, they didn't feel they had a choice. In August 1964, while traveling as a part of Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars tour, "Where Did Our Love Go" reached #1 on the US pop charts, much to the surprise and delight of the group. It was also their first song to reach the UK pop charts, going to #3.
"Where Did Our Love Go" was followed by four more #1 hits: "Baby Love" (which also went to #1 in Britain), "Come See About Me" (UK #27), "Stop! In the Name of Love" (UK #7), and "Back in My Arms Again". "Baby Love" was nominated for the 1965 Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording, and "Stop! In the Name of Love" was nominated for the 1966 Grammy for Best Contemporary Rock & Roll Group Vocal Performance. After 1965, the Supremes' singles were less uniformly massive, though they still charted on a regular basis, the combination of Holland-Dozier-Holland's songwriting and production, Ross' lead vocals, and Wilson and Ballard's background vocals making for a winning combination.
Impact
Unlike their predecessors, the Supremes became the first black female performers to embrace a more feminine image. Much of this was accomplished at the behest of Motown chief Berry Gordy and Maxine Powell, who ran Motown's in-house finishing school and Artist Development department. Also, unlike many of her contemporaries, Diana Ross sung in a thin, calm voice, and her vocal styling was matched by having the girls embellish their own femininity instead of imitating the qualities of male groups. Instead of the plain appearances and basic dance routines, the Supremes' on-stage appearance featured high-fashion gowns and wigs, detailed makeup, and graceful choreography. Gordy wanted the Supremes, like all of his performers, to be equally appealing to black and white audiences, and he also sought to erase the image of black performers as being unrefined or lacking class.
By 1965, the Supremes were international stars. They toured the globe, becoming almost as popular abroad as they were in America. Almost immediately after their first #1 hits, they recorded songs for motion picture soundtracks, appeared in the 1965 film Beach Ball, and endorsed dozens of products, even at one point having their own brand of bread. By the end of 1966, their #1 hits also included "I Hear a Symphony", "You Can't Hurry Love", and "You Keep Me Hangin' On"; and their 1966 album The Supremes A' Go-Go became the first album by a female group to make it to #1 on the US album chart.
Popular with white audiences as well as black audiences, Gordy had the Supremes cater to their middle American fan base, grooming them for performances at renowned supper clubs such as the Copacabana in New York. Broadway and pop standards were incorporated into their repertoire alongside their own hit songs. As a result, the Supremes were arguably the first black musical act – male or female – to become a complete crossover success since the days of Cab Calloway. The black rock and roll musicians of the 1950s saw many of their hit tunes covered by white musicians, with the covers achieving more fame and sales success than the originals. Partially because of Diana Ross’ pop-friendly voice, The Supremes became hugely popular with international mainstream audiences. The group broke down many racial barriers, becoming one of the first black musical acts to appear regularly on television programs such as The Ed Sullivan Show, and achieving the crossover success Berry Gordy had been pushing for, paving the way for the mainstream success of labelmates such as The Temptations, The Four Tops, and Motown's 1970s pop sensation The Jackson 5.
Name and personnel changes
Personnel problems within the group and within Motown Records' stable of performers led to tension among the Supremes. Many of the other Motown performers, particularly Martha Reeves of the Vandellas, felt that Berry Gordy was lavishing too much attention upon The Supremes and upon Diana Ross in particular. A resulting romantic relationship between Gordy and Ross further complicated matters, creating a divide between Ross and the other Supremes. As Ross became the focal point of the group, Florence Ballard began to feel pushed aside in the group she had started; she began drinking excessively and gained weight until she no longer could wear many of her outfits. The friendship, and later the working relationship, between Ross and Ballard became strained, and although they scored two #1 hits during the first quarter of 1967, the dramatic "Love is Here and Now You're Gone" and the psychedelic-influenced "The Happening", the Supremes as a unit began to disintegrate.
In late 1966, rumors began circulating that Motown would be renaming the group Diana Ross & the Supremes, a change which was officially announced in early 1967. After learning that Ross would begin receiving top billing, a number of the lead singers of other Motown acts demanded the same treatment: The Miracles became Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, Martha & the Vandellas became Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, and David Ruffin unsuccessfully lobbied to have the Temptations renamed as David Ruffin & the Temptations. Although Gordy maintained that the name change was done so that Motown could demand more money for live bookings (because they would be providing two acts – a lead singer and a group – instead of just one), the name change sparked rumors of a possible Ross solo career, and helped to tear the group completely apart.
By 1967, Ballard would sometimes arrive at shows too drunk to perform, or not show up at all. In April 1967, Gordy hired Cindy Birdsong, a member of Patti LaBelle & the Blue Belles, as a stand-in. Birdsong first stood in for Ballard in an engagement that month at the Hollywood Bowl. Towards the end of April, a meeting was held between the Supremes and Berry Gordy, where it was determined that Birdsong would leave the Blue Belles and become Ballard's permanent replacement. The Supremes continued to perform and appear with Ballard, while Birdsong was kept on-hand as a stand-in as she was groomed to replace Ballard.
June 28, 1967 marked the group's first appearance as Diana Ross & the Supremes at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas. After the first show, Ballard was permanently fired from the Supremes, and Birdsong officially assumed her place during second show. A month later, Motown released "Reflections", the first single to feature the new group name. Diana Ross & the Supremes Greatest Hits Vols. 1 & 2, a #1 album in both the US and the UK, became the first album to do so that September. Ballard's voice appeared on both "Reflections" and its October 1967 follow-up, "In and Out of Love". In fact, her voice continued to appear on Supremes album tracks for the rest of the decade, as many of the album cuts were sourced from archived recordings.
Florence Ballard's release from Motown was made final on February 22, 1968, with Ballard receiving a one-time payment of $139,804.94 in royalties and earnings [2]. Attempting a solo career with ABC Records, Ballard's two 1968 singles failed to chart and her solo album was shelved. In 1971, Ballard sued Motown for $8.7 million, claiming that Gordy and Diana Ross had conspired to force her out of the group; the judge ruled in favor of Motown. Ballard eventually sunk into poverty and died on February 22, 1976 at the age of 32.
Decline
Holland-Dozier-Holland left Motown in late 1967 after a dispute with the label over royalties and profit sharing, and the quality of Motown's output (and Diana Ross & the Supremes' records in particular) began to falter. From the release of "Reflections" in 1967 to the release of "The Weight" in 1969, only six out of the eleven released singles reached the Top 20, and only one of those, 1968's "Love Child", managed to make it to #1. Because of the tension within the group and stringent touring schedules, neither Mary Wilson nor Cindy Birdsong appear on many of these singles; they were replaced on these recordings by session singers such as The Andantes.
The changes within the group and their decreasing sales were signs of changes within the music industry. The gospel-based soul of female performers like Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight of The Pips had eclipsed the Supremes' pop-based sound. In a cultural climate now influenced more than ever by countercultural movements such as the Black Panther Party, the Supremes found themselves attacked for not being "black enough", and lost ground in the black music market as a result.
In mid-1968, Motown began a number of high-profile collaborations for the Supremes with their old colleagues, The Temptations. Besides the fact that both groups had come up together, the pairings also made financial sense, since the Supremes had a mostly white fanbase, and the Temptations a mostly black fanbase. Among the joint projects were two studio LPs (Diana Ross & the Supremes Join The Temptations, featuring the #2 hit single "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me", and Together), a joint tour, and two NBC television specials, TCB (aired December 9, 1968) and G.I.T. on Broadway (aired November 12, 1969).
Exit Diana Ross
By 1969, Motown had begun plans for a Diana Ross solo career. A number of candidates, most notably Syreeta Wright, were considered to replace Ross as the lead singer. After seeing 24-year-old Jean Terrell performing with her brother Ernie in Florida, Berry Gordy decided that she would be Ross' replacement. Terrell was signed to Motown and began recording the first post-Ross Supremes songs with Wilson and Birdsong by day, while Wilson and Birdsong toured with Ross by night.
At the same time, Diana Ross began making her first solo recordings. One of them, "Someday We'll Be Together", was set to be her first solo single; Gordy instead had the song released as the final Diana Ross & the Supremes single. In November 1969, Ross' solo career was officially announced. The next month, "Someday We'll Be Together" hit #1 on the pop charts, becoming the final #1 hit of the 1960s.
The "New Supremes"
Diana Ross & The Supremes gave their final performance together on January 14, 1970 at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas; a live recording of the performance was released later that year in a double-LP box set entitled Farewell. After the Frontier Hotel performance, Ross went on to record her debut solo album, Diana Ross, and Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong continued working with Jean Terrell on the first post-Ross Supremes album, Right On. The Terrell-led Supremes –known unofficially at first as "The New Supremes," and in later years informally called the "70's Supremes" – had a few hits of their own, including "Up The Ladder To The Roof" (US #10, UK #6),"Stoned Love" (US #7, UK #3), and "Nathan Jones" (US #16, UK #5), all of which were produced by Frank Wilson. Songwriting/production team Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson produced another Top 20 hit for the group, a Supremes/Four Tops duet version of Ike & Tina Turner's "River Deep--Mountain High" (US #14). Many music critics proclaimed the "New Supremes" as a "blacker" act than the Ross-led group, if not quite as unique.
In 1972, The Supremes had their last Top 20 hit, "Floy Joy", written and produced by Smokey Robinson. Motown, which by then was moving from Detroit to Los Angeles to break into motion pictures, put only limited effort into promoting The Supremes' new material, and their popularity and sales began to wane. Cindy Birdsong left the group in April 1972, after recording the Floy Joy album, to start a family; her replacement was Lynda Laurence, a former member of Stevie Wonder's backup group, Wonderlove. Successful producer Jimmy Webb was brought in to produce the group's next LP, The Supremes Arranged and Produced by Jimmy Webb, but the album and its single "I Guess I'll Miss the Man" failed to make an impact. In late 1973, Laurence prevailed upon her old mentor Stevie Wonder to write and produce a hit for the Supremes, but the resulting "Bad Weather" only made it to #87 on the US pop charts and #37 in the UK. At this time, Jean Terrell decided to leave the group and was replaced by Scherrie Payne, sister of Freda Payne. Almost immediately afterward, Laurence left for the same reason as Birdsong – to start a family – and, ironically, was replaced by Birdsong.
Wilson, Payne, and Birdsong continued to record and perform with little success, although "He's My Man" reached #1 on the US disco chart in 1975. In 1976, Birdsong, dissatisfied with the management of the Supremes (handled at the time by Mary Wilson's then-husband Pedro Ferrer), left again and was replaced by Susaye Greene, another former member of Wonderlove. This final version of the Supremes released two albums, High Energy and Mary, Scherrie & Susaye, both of which reunited the Supremes with Holland-Dozier-Holland. During that same year, the Supremes had their final Top 40 hit, "I'm Gonna Let My Heart Do the Walking". On June 12, 1977, the Supremes performed their farewell concert at the Drury Lane Theatre in London and officially disbanded.
After their disbanding and announcements that all three members (particularly Wilson) would begin solo careers, there were soon rumors that Payne and Greene had auditioned several candidates for Wilson's replacement, including singer/dancer Karen Jackson. In 1978, it was reported that Wilson had tried to arrange a new set of Supremes, and hired Karen Ragland and Karen Jackson to tour England with her as "Mary Wilson and the Supremes", but then lost rights to the Supremes' name, as it legally resided with Motown. In 1979, Wilson had her first solo album, Mary Wilson, released by Motown, which included a single entitled "Red Hot". That same year, Payne and Greene released an album entitled Partners under the names "Scherrie & Susaye".
Epilogue
Works inspired by The Supremes
On December 20, 1981, the Tony Award-winning musical Dreamgirls opened at the Imperial Theater on Broadway and ran for 1522 performances. The musical was loosely based on the history of the Supremes, following the story of an all-girl singing trio from Chicago who become music superstars. Mary Wilson loved the musical, but Diana Ross was reportedly angered by it and refused to see it. A motion picture adaptation of Dreamgirls, to be written and directed by Bill Condon, is scheduled to start filming in summer 2005, with Beyoncé Knowles in talks to play the main character of Effie White [3].
Two of the Supremes have written autobiographies. Mary Wilson's autobiography Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme was published in 1986, and in 1990, she published the follow-up Supreme Faith: Someday We'll Be Together. In January 2000, the two books were released together as Dreamgirl & Supreme Faith: My Life as a Supreme, and included an afterword; Dreamgirl remains one of the best-selling rock-and-roll books of all time. Diana Ross had her own autobiography, Secrets of a Sparrow: Memoirs, published in 1993. Unlike Wilson's books, her book received poor reviews and disappointing sales.
Awards
Although the Supremes were twice nominated for a Grammy Award – for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording ("Baby Love", 1965) and Best Contemporary Rock & Roll Group Vocal Performance ("Stop! In the Name of Love", 1966) – they never won an award in competition. Three of their songs – "Where Did Our Love Go" and "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (both 1999) and "Stop! In the Name of Love" (2001) – have been named to the Grammy Hall of Fame. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994, and entered into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998. In addition, the Supremes songs "Stop! In the Name of Love" and "You Can't Hurry Love" are among The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. The black girl groups that have succeeded them in popular music, including The Three Degrees, The Emotions, The Pointer Sisters, En Vogue, TLC, and Destiny's Child, have shown the influence that the Supremes and Motown had during the 1960s.
Reunions
Fan interest made the idea of a Supremes reunion tour a very profitable one during the 1980s. Diana Ross briefly reunited with Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong to perform "Someday We'll Be Together" on the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever television special, broadcast on NBC on May 16, 1983. Their performance unfortunately ended badly when Ross pushed Wilson onstage during the performance, and later pulled the microphone from her face while Wilson was inviting Berry Gordy, sitting in the theatre balcony, to come down and join everyone onstage. Although these altercations were filmed but deleted from the broadcast edit of the special, they were widely reported and reinforced Ross' image as an egotistical, manipulative diva.
During the mid-1980s, Jean Terrell, Scherrie Payne, and Lynda Laurence began touring the US and the UK as FLOS: Former Ladies of the Supremes; Terrell, Laurence, and Susaye Greene even recorded a cover of "Stoned Love" for British producer Ian Levine in 1989. Payne and Laurence continue to tour under the FLOS name with third member Freddie Poole.
In 2000, plans were made for Ross to join Wilson and Birdsong for the Return to Love tour. However, Wilson and Birdsong both passed on the idea because while the promoters offered Ross $15 million to perform, Wilson was offered only $3 million and Birdsong less than $1 million [4]. Eventually, the Return to Love tour went on as scheduled, but with Scherrie Payne and Lynda Laurence joining Ross, although neither of them were in the group at the same time as Ross. Fans were disappointed by both this and the shows' high ticket prices, and, after playing only half of the dates on the itinerary, the tour was cancelled.
Personnel
For a detailed listing of the various lineups for the Supremes, see: Supremes chronology.
Discography
For a detailed listing of albums & singles, see: Supremes discography.
US and UK top 10 hits
Twenty-three of the Supremes' singles, listed below, reached the Top 10 in either the US or the United Kingdom:
Samples
45 RPM single samples
78 RPM album samples
US and UK top ten albums
Nine of the Supremes' albums, listed below, made it to the Top 10 Albums chart in either the US or the UK:
- 1964: Where Did Our Love Go? (US #2)
- 1965: More Hits By The Supremes (US #6)
- 1965: Merry Christmas (US #6)
- 1966: I Hear a Symphony (US #8)
- 1966: The Supremes A' Go-Go (US #1)
- 1967: The Supremes Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland (US #6)
- 1967: Diana Ross & the Supremes Greatest Hits, Vols. 1 & 2 (US #1, UK #1)
- 1968: Diana Ross & the Supremes Join the Temptations (US #2)
- 1968: TCB (with The Temptations) (US #2)
References
- Chin, Brian and Nathan, David (2000). "Reflections Of..." The Supremes [CD Box Set]. New York: Motown Record Co./Universal Music.
- Clinton, Paul (Apr. 20, 2000). Diana Ross' tour excludes old partner, friend". CNN.com.
- Knight, Jack (Oct. 29, 1971). Ex-Supreme rejected in Motown suit. Detroit Free Press.
- Nathan, David (2002). The Soulful Divas: Personal Portraits of over a Dozen Divine Divas. New York: Billboard Books/Watson-Guptill Publications. ISBN 082-308430-2.
- Posner, Gerald (2002). Motown : Music, Money, Sex, and Power. New York: Random House. ISBN 037-550062-6.
- The Supremes. (2004). In Encyclopedia of Popular Music. London: Muze UK.
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Supremes return for tour. (Apr. 5, 2000). BBC News.
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Wilson, Mary and Romanowski, Patricia (1986, 1990, 2000). Dreamgirl & Supreme Faith: My Life as a Supreme. New York: Cooper Square Publishers. ISBN 081-541000-X.
- World Entertainment News Network (2005). Beyonce Knowles Set For "Dreamgirls" Role. (Jan 21, 2005). WETM 18 Online.
Further reading
- George, Nelson (1985, rev. 2003). Where Did Our Love Go: The Rise and Fall of the Motown. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 071-199511-7.
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Ross, Diana (1993). Secrets of a Sparrow: Memoirs. New York: Random House. ISBN 051-716622-4.
See also
External links
Last updated: 08-02-2005 01:39:49
