Supremes, the

Supremes, the

▪ American singing group
Introduction

      American pop-soul vocal group whose tremendous popularity with a broad audience made its members among the most successful performers of the 1960s and the flagship act of Motown Records (Motown). The principal members of the group were Diana Ross (byname of Diane Earle; b. March 26, 1944, Detroit, Mich., U.S.), Florence Ballard (b. June 30, 1943, Detroit —d. Feb. 22, 1976, Detroit), Mary Wilson (b. March 6, 1944, Greenville, Miss.), and Cindy Birdsong (b. Dec. 15, 1939, Camden, N.J.).

      Not only were the Supremes the Motown label's primary crossover act, they also helped change the public image of African Americans during the civil rights (civil rights movement) era. With their sequined evening gowns and the sophisticated pop-soul swing given them by the songwriting-production team of Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland (Holland-Dozier-Holland) from 1964 to 1967, the Supremes were the idealized look and sound of the “integrated Negro.” Indeed, the youth of America learned many of its first lessons about racial equality from teen magazines that documented every hyperglamourized move the Supremes made as they went from topping the pop chart to appearances on “The Ed Sullivan Show” to sold-out Las Vegas, Nevada, bookings.

      Their story began humbly enough when a group of working-class girls from Detroit's Brewster public housing project formed a singing group called the Primettes, their name derived from their sister-act association with the Primes, a forerunner of the Temptations (Temptations, the). The details of the group's formation (namely, who came first) have been disputed, but, from a series of permutations of five principals (including, initially, Betty McGlown), a quartet emerged that comprised Ballard, Barbara Martin, Ross, and Wilson. After recording briefly with Lupine Records, the quartet signed with Berry Gordy (Gordy, Berry, Jr.)'s Motown Records in 1960. They changed their name to the Supremes before releasing their first Motown single in 1961, and upon the subsequent departure of Martin the remaining trio went on to score five U.S. number one hits in a row between 1964 and 1965.

      But the Supremes didn't catch on right away. It took a while to create the distinctive look and sound that ultimately made them famous. Gordy unsuccessfully paired the group with different musicians and songs for three years until he finally stumbled upon the right formula. In 1964 Holland-Dozier-Holland gave the Supremes their first number one single with “Where Did Our Love Go.” Embellishing Ross's precise, breathy phrasing with chiming bells and a subdued rhythm section gave the Supremes an intentional lack of identifiable ethnicity. Not really sounding “white” or stereotypically “black,” hit singles like “Baby Love” and “Come See About Me” (both 1964) sounded modern, upwardly mobile, and stylishly sensual in a way that appealed equally to adults and teens of all persuasions.

 The group continued to rack up chart-topping hits but was ultimately pulled apart by conflicting individual and corporate ambitions. By the end of 1967, the Supremes had lost both Ballard (who was replaced by Birdsong) and producers Holland-Dozier-Holland. The group continued recording for two more years as Diana Ross and the Supremes, largely to prepare the public for Ross's solo career. Jean Terrell became the first of many new group members who helped Wilson keep the Supremes alive and recording for seven years after Ross departed in 1970.

      Ross's solo career was greatly aided by starring roles in films financed by her longtime mentor, Gordy. Lady Sings the Blues (1972), Mahogany (1975), and The Wiz (1978) and their soundtrack albums kept Ross in the public eye and ear for most of the 1970s. The Boss (1979), produced by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, and Diana (1980), produced by Chic's Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, were both hits, but aside from a controversial concert in Central Park, New York City, in 1983 and some American television appearances, Ross spent the rest of the 1980s and '90s cultivating a foreign fan base that outstripped her popularity in the United States.

      The Supremes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

Carol L. Cooper

Representative Works

The Supremes
Where Did Our Love Go (1964)
The Supremes at the Copa (1965)
We Remember Sam Cooke (1965)
The Supremes A' Go-Go (1966)

Diana Ross and the Supremes
Diana Ross and the Supremes Sing and Perform “Funny Girl” (1968)
Love Child (1968)
Farewell (1970)

Diana Ross and the Supremes (with the Temptations)
Diana Ross and the Supremes Join the Temptations (1968)
TCB (1968)

Additional Reading
Autobiographical works on the Supremes include Mary Wilson, Patricia Romanowski, and Ahrgus Juilliard, Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme (1986), covering the period through 1970; Mary Wilson and Patricia Romanowski, Supreme Faith: Someday We'll Be Together (1990), covering 1970–79; Tony Turner and Barbara Aria, All That Glittered: My Life with the Supremes (1990), offering an inside look at the group by a man who worked for them in his youth; and Diana Ross, Secrets of a Sparrow: Memoirs (1993). J. Randy Taraborrelli, Call Her Miss Ross (1989), focuses on the life and career of Diana Ross. Randall Wilson, Forever Faithful: A Study of Florence Ballard and the Supremes (1987), is also useful.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Supremes, The — Trío vocal pop soul estadounidense. Las integrantes originales Diana Ross (seudónimo de Diane Earle; n. 1944), Mary Wilson (n. 1944) y Florence Ballard (n. 1943–m. 1976), empezaron grabando para el sello Motown (como The Primettes) tras graduarse …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Diana Ross & The Supremes: The No. 1's — The No. 1 s Compilation album by Diana Ross the Supremes Released …   Wikipedia

  • The Supremes (The West Wing) — Infobox Television episode Title = The Supremes Series = The West Wing Caption = Season = 5 Episode = 105 Airdate = March 242004 Production = 176067 Writer = Debora Cahn Director = Jessica Yu Guests = Glenn Close Jesse Bradford William Fichtner… …   Wikipedia

  • Supremes — The Supremes Diana Ross The Supremes est un groupe de musique populaire américain, actif de 1959 à 1977. Diana Ross (née le 26 mars 1944), Florence Ballard (née le 30 juin 1943) et Betty Travis chantaient depuis toutes jeunes, dans des pavillons… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • The Supremes — Etoile sur Walk of Fame (Hollywood) au 7060 Hollywood Boulevard Surnom The Primet …   Wikipédia en Français

  • The Ultimate Collection (The Supremes album) — The Ultimate Collection Compilation album by Diana Ross The Supremes Released October 7, 1997 …   Wikipedia

  • The Never-Before-Released Masters — Compilation album by The Supremes Released July 1, 1987 (1987 07 01) Recorded 1961 1969 …   Wikipedia

  • The Temptations — The Temptations, julio de 1991 Datos generales Origen …   Wikipedia Español

  • The History of Rock & Roll — was a radio documentary on rock and roll music, originally syndicated in 1969. One of the most lengthiest documentaries of any medium (48 hours in the 1969 version, 52 hours for the 1978 and 1981 versions) Fact|date=January 2008, The History of… …   Wikipedia

  • The Four Tops — на концерте, 2007 …   Википедия

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”