It may have been a little late by some forty or so years, but The Supremes finally received the Lifetime Achievement Award, which honours performers who have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording. The lavish ceremony was held at the historic Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles on 4 February 2023.
Turkessa Ferrer-Babich and Lisa Sabrina Chapman, daughters of Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard respectively, attended the ceremony to collect the prestigious award on behalf of their mothers. Diana Ross didn’t attend but sent a message via her publicist which went something like this – “Performing with two talented women, Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard, is a memory that will be in my heart for ever. It was a beautiful symphony. Motown was such an incredible family. I’m forever grateful for the blessed opportunity.” With this award, Diana became the first woman to receive it twice; once as a member of a group and the other as a solo artist in 2012.
In her acceptance speech, Turkessa concluded, “The Lifetime Achievement Award is an acknowledgement that all three women contributed, from the very beginning of their career. My mom knew she was going to get this Award someday. Unfortunately, she’ll get it when she is no longer physically with us. I know, though, that she is overwhelmed with excitement that she and her sisters are getting this Award. They deserved it. They worked hard and contributed so much to the music industry and the world.” Lisa said, “Thank you to Miss Mary Wilson – may she rest in peace – for never leaving me and my sisters’ sides. I also want to give special thanks to Miss Jennifer Hudson for dedicating her Oscar win to my mom.”
It beats me why The Supremes weren’t honoured before now and, naturally, many a speculation has been aired across the internet, none of which I’m going into here because I vividly remember acting as referee in print when Diana officially left The Supremes because their fan base had been split in two. You either supported the solo Diana, or stayed with the group. It was, of course, an unhealthy situation, which I’m happy to report eventually reached a satisfactory level for fans of both. Mind you, Jean Terrell took a lot of stick, which I felt was totally unwarranted. She never intended to be the ‘new’ Diana but rather hoped to bring her own voice and personality to the group. And this she did. Jean: “The Supremes to me were a status group before I came in and my joining them didn’t take away any of that status as far as I’m concerned. But maybe in peoples’ minds it did.”
Mary Wilson: “The writing was on the wall from the time we became Diana Ross and the Supremes. Jean was rehearsing with us for several months before the news got out. I liked Jean and always did.”
Diana Ross: “I knew I was to blame for the break up. Something had to change. We had stopped communicating and things were different. I had to turn down a lot of opportunities because I didn’t want to leave Mary and Cindy with nothing to do.”
Mary: “I was very bitter about the way (Diana) was advancing herself and holding the rest of us back. Our relationship became very strained but after a while I accepted it and realised whatever bad feelings I had toward her should really have been directed toward Motown.”
And it was these quotes that prompted me to look for more. So rather than me dipping in and out of the group’s career, I thought the ladies’ actual words would be far more interesting than my observations. What follows is the result of my sourcing magazines (some yellow with age and extremely fragile), books, and my own interviews over the years. However, before we go any further, let’s just clarify a list of the members of The Supremes – and I hope I get this right!
Barbara Martin (1961), Diana Ross (1961-1970), Mary Wilson (1961-1977), Florence Ballard (1961-1967), Cindy Birdsong (1967-1972/1973-1976), Jean Terrell (1970-1973), Lynda Laurence (1972-1973), Scherrie Payne – (1973-1977), Susaye Greene (1976-1977). Thanks to my treasured friend Eric Iverson.
As you know, I’m a fan first and foremost – and have been so fortunate to spend many a time with all the ladies with the exception of Flo, something I’ve regretted for years, and we’ve always enjoyed a good relationship, despite someone trying to muddy the waters between one Supreme and myself.
Blessed memories include Cindy visiting my London home for a meal, before we headed out to Le Beat Route nightclub in Soho; being in Cindy’s Hippodrome dressing room when Diana popped in to say she’d caught and loved her act; unravelling a knitting dilemma with Jean Terrell, who always seemed to carry a bag of some kind with her; and working with Diana while at Motown, assisting with her autobiography, compiling (with Keith Russell’s help) the “Voice Of Love” CD in 1996 at her request, and sitting in a London hotel room for a lengthy chinwag with her, among other things. And I partied big time with Mary, who was extremely gracious and generous with her time.
So let’s start at the beginning and work our way through the years:
Diana: “Everyone was having hits except us. We started doing record hops but we weren’t making any money and not getting anywhere.”
Mary: “After we’d done a hundred background sessions, Motown let us record our own song [“After All”}, written and produced by Smokey Robinson. ”
Diana: “I hated the name ‘Supremes’ but the decision was left up to Florence because there was nobody else there and we needed a name right away.”
Florence: “All the money we made would go back to Motown except for the allowance we were getting, $225 a week. We would get the gowns, but there was an account set up for The Supremes, and out of that account whatever we bought, was paid for by The Supremes’ account. Motown never paid for anything.”
Diana: “People wonder how we can afford all the nice clothes we wear. What we do is buy things on the lay-away plan at high quality places. It takes a little time to pay for the clothes, but when we finally get to wear (them), it’s worth it.”
Mary: “When I look back over the years, my happiest moments with (the group) were the first three to four years, the early years. And when we first started travelling internationally, I knew we had really made it….I guess, we had a feeling somewhat like The Beatles must have had when they went to the States. Their reception was so enormous, and ours was the same in Europe.”
Florence: “Other than the food, Europe was a ball. One thing I liked there was the clothes, the way they dressed. I liked the discos there too. It was relaxing to go to the discos and get away from our work. It was relaxing to sit back and watch somebody else work, to sit around, listen to music, drink, have a dance, unwind.”
Mary: “If I had to choose a sad time during those early years with The Supremes, I’d probably say it was about the time Florence was leaving the group, not to mention her death years later….The initial realisation knowing that she was going to leave was a very sad time. It was like a balloon was about to burst, like it was going to be all over. I really didn’t think our success would suffer, but I felt it was the beginning of the end.”
Florence: “I didn’t leave because I was in a state of depression. I had a virus and I went into hospital, that’s all…. pressure forced me out.”
Diana: “She was exhausted, tired and wanted to quit.”
Cindy Birdsong: “My very first appearance with The Supremes was at the famous Hollywood Bowl before thousands of people. After learning the whole show in one and a half days – around the clock, with Mary as my teacher – I went on stage with shaky knees and a happy heart. I was so excited….I didn’t really know what had happened to Florence or what my future would be with the group.”
Diana: “We were scared to death. We didn’t know what (the audience) would think or what they would say.”
Cindy: “When I look back, it is always with fondness and love, for it was a fairytale, a dream come true. Most of all, I am grateful for the friendships I’ve made, for many of them are lasting. I love Diana and Mary. They taught me so much and we shared many ‘golden moments’ together that I will always cherish.”
Florence: “I’m singing solo now and it’s kind of scary because I’ve never sung solo before except at school. But The Supremes are over for me and I don’t intend to live in the past.”
Jean Terrell: “I think now that I’ve joined we’re still in the stages of proving ourselves and we’re steadily doing that. I really can’t understand why we’re having such a hard time proving ourselves….but people are still saying ‘come on, you’ve got to show more’, and until we’re shown more they won’t properly accept us.”
Cindy: “Jean Terrell came into the group when we really needed her and brought a new energy and that beautiful voice which helped to bring us lots more hits.”
Jean: “I’m a real hassle with Motown because as far as recording goes I’m still the new artist, and they really haven’t taped me down yet…They’re still trying to find out where I am as a singer….We’ve always worked with a pre-recorded backing track (in the studio) but I’m trying to get them to let me sing with just the rhythm section or even just the piano….Sometimes when I’m not available to sing, it’s possible they use extra singers. I either (go in the studio) first, and then Cindy and Mary put down the backings, or we do it the other way round. [The reason for doing this is]… Suppose I do a fantastic take and the others don’t, or they do a great a job and I mess my part up, there’s too much involved and too much at stake. This is the very reason why they choose to cut the backing tracks first.”
Scherrie Payne: “Those Supreme years were some of the most exciting of my lifetime. I never dreamed I would one day travel the globe as extensively and meet so many people…Truly, those were supreme years and I had a ball.”
Mary: “The whole beauty of being with the group for me was the closeness, the friendship. Performing together because we loved it, and the sheer enjoyment of just being together to share in a dream…the hit records were never really what made us happy, (they) completed the dream. I made success a reality for us.”
Cindy: “The real essence of being a Supreme was the closeness we had when we worked together. We were one unit in three parts. When we toured together, it was us against the rest of the world. It was a very strong feeling, almost as strong as a passion. It was a bond of unity when we got on stage, and occasionally when the passion was that strong we would cry. It was like an electrical charge shooting through us all.”
Susaye Greene: “It seems like only yesterday when I pulled up my bobby socks and put ‘Where Did Our Love Go’ on the record player. I ponyed and jerked my little brains out. What teenage joy! Motown magic was in full swing, and little did I know that one day I’d be a part of the greatest female singing group of all time.”
Lynda Laurence: “The Supremes were unreal. I was already singing with some local groups but I wanted to sing with a group like them. I wanted it so much, it never occurred to me to sing solo.”
Cindy: “I’ve met every girl who has been a part of The Supremes, and even though I haven’t worked with all of them, I’ve found they all have special qualities, charm and are just plain ‘nice’.”
Susaye: “Being a member of The Supremes will always be a special memory for me. I met so many lovely, loving friends and I will always feel blessed to have worked with such special ladies.”
Mary: “The ladies I’ve worked with are all special to me. They are all talented in their own right. Each lady brought something special to The Supremes and it was indeed a pleasure working with them.”
As Diana Ross once said, “Once a Supreme, always a Supreme.”
Sharon Davis
(My sincere thanks to Carl Feuerbacher and his The Supremes: A Special Commemorative Booklet – June 17, 1964 – June 17, 1984; interviews by Alan Jones – 1969; Roy Carr – 1977)
CLICK THE CD COVERS TO PURCHASE
