Motown Spotlight: October 2024 - Pat Lewis; The Supremes; Mary-Scherrie-Susaye

As we recently lost Pat Lewis, I thought it might be nice to spend a little time with her and select some items that may be interesting to recall. I’ve a feeling that some of these quotes were included in The Andantes’ autobiography Motown From The Background written by Vickie Wright with the ladies. Anyway, let’s see how this pans out…

As you may know, the early background vocalists for Motown were The Rayber Singers which in time eventually morphed into The Andantes with several voices thrown into the mix until the result was finely-tuned perfection. One lady who filled in for Andantes’ members – Louvain Demps, Jackie Hicks and Marlene Barrow – was Pat Lewis. She could sing any part, replace them if need be, or oftentimes she would sing alongside all three! Marlene said Pat filled in the gap when a higher voice was needed and was eventually considered an honorary Andante: “We met Pat at Golden World Studios (and she) joined us when we freelanced outside of Motown so she is on some of the Chicago sessions with us, in addition to the Golden World sessions, and other local ones we did, such as with The Fantastic Four.”

Prior to hooking up with Motown’s finest session singers, Pat was in The Adorables, as she explained: “There were four of us. Two sets of sisters, Betty and Jackie Winston, (me) and my sister Dianne. We were singing for Golden World and were like the competition with Motown. So when Martha and the Vandellas had ‘Heat Wave,’ we came out with ‘Deep Freeze’… It was very competitive back then. Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent did sessions for Motown as well. Berry Gordy eventually bought Golden World….”

“When I worked at Motown I sang with Marlene and Jackie mainly. If I couldn’t make it to a session, my sister would go. Sometimes things were shelved and you never heard them again. There are so many songs I sing on. You forget them after you walk out the door from the studio. During this time when we were all working and singing backup, the only thing I regret is that we never performed as The Andantes.” Pat continued. “Marlene and Jackie liked how I blended with them. I sang first soprano like Louvain, so we blended very well together….One of our first moonlighting sessions I sang on with them was ‘Agent Double O Soul’ by Edwin Starr. They took me over to Motown and I started working on Mondays.”

One of the first sessions she did as an Andante was with Stevie Wonder on “Uptight”, which was rather nerve racking for her until producer Sylvia Moy talked her down. From then on, she found session work exciting, and a learning curve. Other sessions she remembered were with the Four Tops on “Standing In The Shadows Of Love” and “Seven Rooms Of Gloom”; with Kim Weston and ex-Temptation David Ruffin. She also sang on The Supremes’ Christmas album “But my sister Dianne did most of the album with The Andantes, and none of The Supremes were in the studio when they did it either.”

It seems the only reason why Pat didn’t sign to Motown when Berry Gordy secured Golden World was, in hindsight, logical: “I don’t think he would have recorded me as a single. They already had their female artists and the only one who made it up out of there was Edwin so I thought I would really get lost over there.” Now, that’s a shame, bearing in mind she later went on to record as a soloist. So, with Motown now behind her, the singer hooked up with Solid Hit Bound Records where her singles included “Look At What I Almost Missed”, “Warning” and “The Loser”.

As a backing vocalist, Pat had an impressive portfolio, having worked with the likes of Aretha Franklin, notably on her “Amazing Grace” and “Young, Gifted And Black” albums, and played a pivotal role in Isaac Hayes’ magnificent “Hot Buttered Soul” LP that included marathon versions of “By The Time I Get To Phoenix” and one of my all time favourites, “Walk On By”. Pat continued with the story in a 2007 interview for Hot Buttered Soul magazine: “That was (the album) that just took off. The next thing I know is, Isaac’s like, ‘find those girls. Find Pat and see if they want to go on the road with me.’ We did, and we named ourselves Hot Buttered Soul after the album.”

It was also Pat who persuaded Isaac that he needed a gimmick: “Having been on the road I knew a lot of people, and a lot of them had talent but they had these little gimmicks too. So we got him in those chains and boots. He used to come out in the chains and the tights, and the boots. Then we got him the robe and hat.” This was just one instance of Pat making her mark in the music business to benefit others. Isaac really cut the figure as I recall, and seeing him perform in London only pushed home what a genuinely talented artist he was. And then when Shaft came along, he was the super hero I wanted to take home with me!

Fate was to reunited Pat with her Andante friends decades later when, during 1989, they joined other ex-Motowners at Ian Levine’s UK- based Motorcity Records where she not only recorded but worked behind the scenes as a singer co-ordinator and music arranger for other signed artists. When the label closed in 1992, she continued to work with Ian, recording Motown cover versions and a gospel album. “Many other singers….became dear close personal friends but none so close to me as Pat,” Ian posted on the Northern Soul Facebook page. “She used to encourage and praise me for how quickly I could put a melody and lyrics together on the spot.”

With her musical history, Pat’s reputation grew as a member of the Northern Soul fraternity and, like others, she was welcomed to the UK for weekenders and special events. Here is a picture of her and Chris Clark from the latter’s personal collection. Poor health plagued Pat throughout her silver years, and on 2 September, 2024 she lost the fight and grew her angel wings.

Mentioned above were The Supremes, and this leads me to the trio that Diana left behind. A mighty line-up of talent that many believed would fail at the first post, but not so, because with a smile and determination in their heart, the ladies went on to enjoy a brand new career with Jean Terrell at the helm, and Cindy Birdsong and Mary Wilson supporting. I vividly recall this period in music history because I was constantly being told I couldn’t support Diana and The Supremes. Two fan camps had emerged from the change in membership, and subsequently the printed word from fans became rather heated. Why couldn’t we support both acts? With my Motown page in Blues & Soul – when it was the magazine to go for because under the editorship of Bob Killbourn, readers were guaranteed a great read about the artists they loved – I didn’t intend to take sides, so hoped I reported equally on both acts.

Diana was of course the primary subject of media coverage, thanks to the huge investment in her solo career, which more or less coincided with the launch of the Jackson 5, so the new Supremes became the ‘also rans’. All this coincided with Motown’s tenth anniversary year, where celebrations were encouraged across the world, forcing licensees to dig deep in their pockets to promote the plethora of releases.

The Supremes joined in the fun by releasing their debut single “Up The Ladder To The Roof” in February 1970, two months before Diana’s solo “Reach Out And Touch (Somebody’s Hand),” on the UK charts, number six and thirty-three respectively. “We had a job coming up with a record that would be suitable and live up to our standards, and yet be different,” Mary Wilson explained at the time. “‘Up The Ladder To The Roof’ was different enough and yet it was still The Supremes.” It was also a message of racial harmony as was Diana’s first.

Anyway, that broadly sets the scene for October 1976 when The Supremes released their last studio album. By this time Lynda Laurence had replaced Cindy in 1972, then Jean and Lynda hung up their microphones during October 1973, whereupon Cindy picked a mic up to return for a spell, alongside new signing Scherrie Payne. Cindy’s stay was short this time and was replaced by the final Supreme Susaye Greene in 1976. All the while, Mary Wilson was the glue that kept the name together. So, to sum up, there are nine ladies who can claim to be a true Supreme.

The aptly-titled album, “Mary, Scherrie & Susaye” was released in October 1976, a staggering forty-eight years ago this month. “For the title of what was to be our final album we chose ‘Mary, Scherrie & Susaye’ to give ourselves some individual name recognition,” Mary wrote in the notes to “The 70s Anthology”. Both Scherrie and Susaye were also accomplished songwriters, although for some reason they never got to write for the trio. An interesting note here: when their first lifted single, “You’re My Driving Wheel” charted, Susaye’s co-written composition “Free” by Deniece Williams was hot on its tail, finally hitting the top spot. If only The Supremes had recorded that song…..

As an aside, Susaye was previously featured on The Supremes’ last album “High Energy” alongside Cindy who left part-way through the recording session, fed up, she said, with being ‘mistreated’ by the others. In her Supreme Faith book Mary wrote that Cindy seemed unhappy, probably due to her divorce from her husband, Charles. “(She) couldn’t seem to lose the weight she’d gained, and on stage she appeared to be just going through the motions, occasionally flubbing her lines. I kept encouraging her to change for her own good.”

Scherrie acted as their referee, begging the two not to fight, but in the end it was Mary’s husband/group manager Pedro Ferrer who fired the deciding shot at Cindy as he wanted Thelma Houston to replace her. Of course, that didn’t happen; why would Thelma, a solo artist of considerable success, accomplishment and loveliness, want to join a group that many believed was hanging on at Motown by an invisible thread? Time passed until Pedro announced he had seen this wonderful singer, Susaye Greene who would replace Cindy. “I was surprised by how short she was, even shorter than Scherrie, at five feet four and a half inches,” Mary noted. “My first thought was – all Cindy’s gowns will have to be cut down!”

When Berry Gordy first heard “Mary, Scherrie & Susaye,” he was suitably impressed with some of the tracks, and told Mary he wanted Motown to take over their management again. That didn’t happen, but Berry did bank roll the group’s new stage act, with Gil Askey working out their song arrangements, leaving Mary and Pedro to sign The Supremes to the William Morris Agency.

Meanwhile, Mary continued, “Motown was promising Scherrie and Susaye that it would give them creative freedom and label support if only it weren’t for Pedro and me.” Amidst all this confusing, controversial and upsetting period, the ladies were still mourning the death of original Supreme, Florence Ballard in February of that year. Eventually, the end game was Mary pursuing a solo career, while Scherrie and Susaye released their “Partners” album in October 1979, with Joyce Vincent among the backing vocalists. At one point, it was heavily rumoured that a further line up of The Supremes would be announced. We held our breath. But Berry scuppered those plans by refusing to finance yet another group.

A trio of singles were lifted from “Mary, Scherrie & Susaye” for US release, namely, the afore-mentioned zooming, breathless racer “You’re My Driving Wheel” and the forceful “Let Yourself Go”, with the UK release of the disco-tinted “Love, I Never Knew You Could Feel So Good”, during 1977, the same year as Scherrie’s solo dance single “Fly”. A further meaty beaty track “I Don’t Want To Be Tied Down”; “You Are The Heart Of Me” (previously recorded by Dionne Warwick in 1973); the lush ballad “We Should Be Closer Together”, “Sweet Dream Machine” and “Come Into My Life” rounded off what some reviewers called ‘a minor masterpiece’. Others wrote, “..one of the best albums to come out by this ever-changing group since Diana Ross’ departure from their ranks.”; and, “Even with personnel changes, The Supremes, remarkably, have managed to maintain their unique sound.” Produced by Brian and Eddie Holland, each Supreme had the opportunity to take lead and I think this is the reason the album is invitingly unique and a valued addition to any record collection. Believe me, my original album is well worn but still treasured – as are The Supremes.