Diana left the Supremes in 1970 after singing with Cindy Birdsong and Mary Wilson in Las Vegas. She went onto become a musical icon and legend but at the Vegas concert, the Supremes didn't disband at all - the girls introduced Diana's replacement, Jean Terrell. That night Mary got in a fight with Motown boss as he then decided he wanted Jean out and another girl Syreeta in. Mary stood up to him as they had been rehearsing with Jean for months before, Berry decided to wash his hands of the super duper Supremes although they managed to stay around for years to come and actually produced some more hits and a few more Supremes.
Cindy Birdsong is my favourite Supreme other than the Boss Miss Ross, Mary Wilson always seemed like a bit of a bitter cunt who may have had the right intentions but has never had the lead voice in anything. Cindy replaced original Supreme, Florence Ballard who drank too much, got fat, ended up broke and died. Cindy was a singer with Patti LaBelle and the Bluebells when Diana clocked her and approached her about working in the most successful group in the world other than the Beatles. Cindy joined up and even just her name sounds so purdy purdy - she wasn't without drama either - she was kidnapped by her building security guard and later escaped, this caused her to leave the Supremes in 1972 and be replaced by Lynda Laurence so the lineup was now Mary, Jean and Lynda. Lynda's brother and Stevie Wonder wrote a fab track called 'Bad Weather' although she wasn't there for long as Cindy returned to the band until 1976. Jean got bored soon after and the revolving Supremes door started turning again and Scherrie Payne joined up, she was the sister of Band of Gold herself, Freda Payne and had a real power house voice. Then Cindy finally left and 5 octave belter Susaye Greene hooked up to be Supremely superb singer for just over a year.
The sound of the 70s Supremes had turned from being a real soul diva band with Jean at the helm. Their tracks like 'Up The Ladder To The Roof', 'Nathan Jones' and 'Stoned Love' epitomised their sound in the early years although I'm still unsure what Stoned Love is all about although I'm pretty sure it's not about drugs. Jean normally took the lead although Cindy managed a few cheeky verses herself and even arch bitch Mary got her own Supremes song, the rather melodramatic but also rather nice 'Touch' - something Diana would never allow!!! Throughout the 70s they experimented with their sound and look, going from glamour pusses to kinky afro and back to sequins again. By the time Scherrie and Susaye were ensconsed in the group, the high energy disco sound was apparent especially in the amazing 'I'm Gonna Let My Heart Do The Walking' and the ultimate 'He's My Man'. The latter is just a big disco camptastic stomper where the girls and Scherrie in particular belt out about how hot their men are and that they put on their best for him - Women's Lib in the 70s could go fuck themselves as far as the Supremes were concerned - they had disco to deal with!
So although the golden period of 10 Number One hits was over after Diana Ross left, the Supremes proved themselves to be a stylish and exciting group for many years - offering some untold gems that the Supreme's fans may not have heard and an amazing backstory to one of the most successful bands in the history of music!
2 comments:
Oh, now you've made me want to go out and buy the cd versions of the 70's Supremes LP's my mom had when I was growing up! I used to love their music!
Syreeta...Wow, I never knew about that! Wasn't she married to Stevie Wonder at one time? I think she died a year or so ago. I used to play my 45 of "With You I'm Born Again" so much you could see thru it. Can't see her singing some of that funk that The Supremes performed.
My favourites were Living in Shame and Love Child - both because they had little "stories" in them about social class and moral values (and they were as camp as hell.)
Post a Comment