The story of The Supremes begins in the late 1950s in the American city of Detroit, Michigan. Detroit is the vibrant heart of the American car industry. Every resident works hard to achieve the 'American dream'. And where there is hard work, there is also much singing. Like by 15-year-old Florence Ballard. In 1958, she accidentally meets Betty McGlown, who is the same age. Betty is the girlfriend of Paul Williams, who, together with Eddie Kendricks, is part of The Primes, a male singing group that would later change its name to The Temptations. Following The Primes, Florence and Betty decide to form a female singing group: The Primettes. Florence asks her best friend Mary Wilson to join. Mary agrees. In turn, Mary asks the girl she sings with in the local church choir to join as well. And so the then 14-year-old Diana Ross becomes the fourth member of The Primettes.
Audition
The Primettes perform in various community centres and clubs in Detroit. Meanwhile, they practise harmonies and dance moves intensively. Through Diana Ross’s neighbour, who is a first cousin of singer Smokey Robinson, The Primettes arrange an audition in 1959 at the young black record label Motown Records. Although The Primettes give a fine a cappella audition, record boss Berry Gordy thinks they are still too young for a record contract. He advises the girls to finish school first, keep practising a lot, and then audition again. They follow his advice, but not before Diana Ross boldly asks if he has a summer job for her as a secretary at Motown. Gordy laughs heartily but offers her the job.
Persistent
After the summer holidays, Diana Ross returns to school. But after school hours, she and The Primettes can be found almost every day at Motown. Their persistence ensures they get to sing as a backing group on records by Marvin Gaye and Mary Wells. Meanwhile, Betty McGlown has left The Primettes. She is temporarily replaced by Barbara Martin, after which Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson and Diana Ross decide to continue as a trio. The name The Primettes is also changed to The Supremes. On 15 January 1961, The Supremes sign a record contract with Motown Records. Because they are still minors, the contract must be signed by their parents. From that moment on, The Supremes officially become part of the Motown family.
Success
The first few singles The Supremes release all flop. That changes when The Supremes are paired with the production team Holland-Dozier-Holland. This famous Motown trio writes the song 'Where Did Our Love Go', with which The Supremes score their first American number 1 hit in the summer of 1964. That success is followed by the equally Holland-Dozier-Holland-written hits 'Baby Love' (1964), 'Come See About Me' (1964), 'Stop! In The Name Of Love' (1965) and 'Back In My Arms Again' (1965), all of which reach number one in the American charts. But The Supremes are also hugely successful elsewhere in the world. They score international top hits such as 'I Hear A Symphony' (1965), 'You Can’t Hurry Love' (1966), 'You Keep Me Hangin’ On' (1966) and 'The Happening' (1967). In terms of popularity, The Supremes even outshine The Beatles.
Leading lady
But success also has its downsides. For example, a conflict between Florence Ballard and record boss Gordy even leads to the forced departure of the former. Ballard is replaced in 1967 by Cindy Birdsong, former singer with Patti Labelle & The Bluebells. In the same year, the name of The Supremes changes to Diana Ross & The Supremes, clearly indicating who the ‘leading lady’ of the trio is. The first single released as Diana Ross & The Supremes is the song 'Reflections', which becomes a big hit in the summer of 1967. Also in 1968, Diana Ross & The Supremes score two big hits with 'Love Child' and 'I’m Gonna Make You Love Me'. In 1969, Diana Ross announces she will leave The Supremes and start a solo career. With the fitting hit single 'Someday We’ll Be Together', she bids farewell to the trio.
End
With Jean Terrell as her replacement, The Supremes continue. They do so successfully, as the first single by The Supremes without Diana Ross, 'Up The Ladder To The Roof', reaches the American Top 10 in 1970. This contrasts with Diana Ross’s first solo single, 'Reach Out And Touch', which only reaches 20th place. With 'Stoned Love', The Supremes score their last American Top 10 hit in late autumn 1970. A few minor hits follow, after which Cindy Birdsong and Jean Terrell leave. They are replaced by Lynda Lawrence and Scherrie Payne, the sister of Freda Payne. With Mary Wilson as the only remaining original member, The Supremes tour England and Asia in the mid-1970s. Cindy Birdsong briefly returns to the old nest, after which The Supremes say a final farewell to all their fans and end their career with a concert in London on 12 June 1977.
World star
Over the years, various half-hearted attempts have been made to reunite The Supremes, none of which ever truly succeed. Of the original members, Florence Ballard died in 1976 at the age of 32 from thrombosis. Betty McGlown married Mr Travis in 1960. Since then, she has only shown her singing talents in a domestic setting. Barbara Martin gave birth to her first child in 1962. Meanwhile, she has become a grandmother. Mary Wilson started a solo career in 1977, which brought her varying success. Occasionally, she still performs on stage or in the studio. The only one who manages to match and even surpass The Supremes’ successes is Diana Ross. A particularly successful solo career ensures she still holds the status of an absolute world star.
“With The Supremes singing became my life. I lived, ate, drank and breathed it. I had a dream and I was completely determined to make it real,” says Diana Ross, who still sings a few Supremes songs during her concerts.
Top 2000
In the latest Top 2000 by NPO, there are no longer any entries for The Supremes.
Sunday Morning Classic: Where Did Our Love Go
On 19 December 2021, The Supremes were our guest as Sunday Morning Classic with the album Where Did Our Love Go.
Where Did Our Love Go is the second studio album by The Supremes, released in 1964. The album contains a number of singles and B-sides from the group from 1963 and 1964. Included are the group’s first Billboard Pop Singles number one hits, "Where Did Our Love Go", "Baby Love" and "Come See About Me", as well as their first Top 40 hit "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes", and the singles "A Breathtaking Guy" and "Run, Run, Run".
With the release of this album, The Supremes became the first act in Billboard Magazine history to have three number 1 hits from the same album. It was the album that introduced "The Motown Sound" to the masses. At the time, it was also the highest-rated album by an all-female group. The album remained at number 2 on the Billboard album chart for four consecutive weeks in January 1965 (The Beatles were at number 1). Where Did Our Love Go stayed on the Billboard album chart for 89 weeks.
Hip-O Select released a limited edition of the album’s fortieth anniversary deluxe edition in 2004, which included both the mono and stereo versions of the album, as well as various outtakes, non-album tracks and a recorded live show from the Twenty Grand club in Detroit, Michigan. It sold out immediately.
source NPO and Wikipedia photo: 2x album cover
