Back to Music and Entertainment
The Supremes were originally known as the Primettes and consisted of four girls: Mary Wilson, Florence Ballard, Diana Ross and Betty Anderson. The girls were heavily influenced by the popular doo-wopping trend of the late 1950s and by such groups as the Teenagers. Their name, the Primettes, came from a local male amateur groups who they followed to various engagements. Betty Anderson left the group and was replaced by Barbara Martin. It was at this time that the group came to the attention of a Detroit label who was popular with other groups but unfortunately could not sell the Primettes' album.
By 1960 Berry Gordy was becoming popular in the black music scene and soon discovered both the Primes and the Primettes who had once again become a trio with the departure of Barbara Martin. Gordy used the Primettes as back-up vocalists for such acts as Marvin Gaye and Mary Wells.
In 1962 Motown renamed the group the Supremes and released their first album, "Meet the Supremes," which was mostly produced and written by Smokey Robinson. In the early months of 1963 their single "Let Me Go the Right Way" entered R&B charts at number 26 and stayed at number 90 for nine weeks. In late 1963 the group was assigned a new producer and their international success was only hits away.
In early 1964 their single "When Love Starts Shining Through His Eyes" climbed to number 22 on the pop charts. During that summer they went on tour in a package show. While they were touring, Motown released "Where Did Our Love Go," which topped the charts all over the world.
Between 1964 and 1967 they became the most popular successful singing group in record history. They produced hits at breathtaking speed such as "Baby Love," "In the Name of Love," "I Hear a Symphony," and "You Can't Hurry Love." The Supremes were a success in almost every nation. The group continued to produce several ordinary albums to satisfy the needs of the public and to attempt to meet the musical desires of many different people of different creeds and colors.
In 1966 the group was renamed Diana Ross and the Supremes in recognition of Diana Ross' contribution to the group's fame. This was Berry Gordy's first step to make Diana Ross a solo star. This prompted Florence Ballard to leave the group for a short and tragic solo career. Ballard was replaced by Cindy Birdsong. The Supremes continued to produce albums with great success until 1969 when Diana Ross finally decided to leave the group for a solo career. Before her departure the group had hit an all time low in the charts and in sales barely acheived the top 30 status. The last Diana Ross and the Supremes single was entitled "Someday We'll Be Together" and was their first number one since 1968. Together the group had 12 number one singles between 1964 and 1969 and eight top-10 records.
The group replaced Diana Ross with Jean Terrell and was expected to be unable to recover from the loss of Ross. However, by 1970 the group was back in the top-10 with "Up the Ladder to the Roof" and continued to produce top-20 songs until 1972. Because of the changing face of black music to political awareness, the Supremes had no place in the industry with their harmonizing. Mary Wilson was left to struggle alone with the departure of Jean Terrell and Cindy Birdsong.
The last line-up of the Supremes in 1976 featured Mary Wilson, Scherrie Payne, and Susaye Green. The group produced two albums which were considered a tremendous return to form. Unfortunately because of insufficient promotion the records failed to succeed on the charts and the girls went their separate ways in 1977. In 1978 Wilson toured the U.K. which two new Supremes, but the dream was over and the Supremes were no more.
Back to Music and Entertainment