We can’t talk about modern music without talking about Motown Records. Founded in 1959 by the legendary Berry Gordy, Motown is what brought Black pop music to the mainstream, and there was no bigger group than The Supremes.
Okay, let’s jump back to 1958! 15 year old Florence Ballard is kicking it in Detroit with two dudes from her high school, Paul Williams and Eddie Kendricks. These two had a singing group called “The Primes.” Florence was hella good at singing, so the manager of The Primes (Milton Jekins) was like, “Yo, boy bands are good, but what if y'all had a sister group too, kinda like the Chipmunks and the Chipettes?” So Florence along with her good girl-friend Mary Wilson were recruited to fill the slot, and so was Paul Williams’ girlfriend Betty McGlown. An additional homegirl was added by the name of Diana Ross, and thus “The Primettes” were formed.
The Primettes started getting gigs all over town…I mean WAY more than The Primes. They quickly became THE Detroit staple as far as girl groups and backing artists went. Soon they were working with Ray Charles and the The Drifters, making all kinds of music! At the time (and kinda now to be honest) it was commonplace for live performances to be completely lip-synched. But The Primettes hired guitarist Marvin Tarplin to accompany them so they could always perform live.
As their popularity grew, they decided they wanted to be more than a back-up group or a local sensation, so they pursued an edition with Barry Gordy’s Motown. Diana Ross was a friend of resident hitmaker Smokey Robison, so she made it happen. I’m gonna be super honest…Gordy was not too impressed by their first audition. Or maybe he was, but he told the girls that they should come and audition again after they finished high school…all that is pretty standard operating procedure when you’re really young and inexperienced in the entertainment industry, but also imagine performing at 15 with Ray Charles, and having someone be like, “Um…maybe come back when you’ve had a REAL gig!”
Anyway, The Primettes weren’t having that! They spent the next several weeks learning, rehearsing, recording and performing new material. They came back with a fire demo tape for Motown and finally Mr. Gordy had to be like, “Alright, fine…ya’ll are pretty good…but you can’t be called The Primettes anymore, because we also signed The Primes and turned them in a lil group called The Temptations!" Florence Ballard picked the name “The Supremes", which Diana Ross hated cuz it sounded “too manly”. Betty McGlown left the group to start a family, so The Supremes became a trio!
So yay, The Supremes are formed and are gonna start banging out hits, right? Um, no! NONE of their first singles even made the top 40 charts! They were held in such low regard that a majority of their time in the early Motown days was spent providing hand claps and “ooooh waaas” to other artists on the label. It wasn’t until 1964 that The Supremes would get their first #1 single, “Where Did Our Love Go?” After initial obscurity, in 1965 the Supremes started a streak of hit records that wouldn’t be eclipsed for years. They released “Baby Love”, “Come See About Me”, AND “Stop! In The Name of Love” in the same year, solidifying them as a force in the music industry. “Baby Love” was even nominated for best R&B song at the 1965 Grammys, but lost to James Brown’s “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag”…which is also good, I guess!
It’s super important to remember that while The Supremes are known today as an essential part of Black entertainment, at the time in the late '60s they were FOR SURE seen as “not Black enough” in the African American community. In the era of the Black Panthers, The Supremes seemed like bubblegum, whitewashed music. The attitude was reflected in music sales in the later part of the decade. Also, as time went on Diana Ross’ star was shining bright and she decided she wanted to bounce from the group to start her own solo projects. So she did, and The Supremes gave their final performance without her on the Ed Sullivan show on February 15th, 1970.
In 1981 Henry Krieger and Tom Eyen would write the musical Dreamgirls based on the story of The Supremes. The show was nominated for 13 Tonys and was adapted for the screen in 2006.
On February 8th of this year we lost founding member Mary Wilson at the age of 77. Diana Ross might have been the “star” of the group, but most folks would agree Mary Wilson was the soul of it! The Supremes are an integral part of Black culture. Their music is synonymous with Motown, the most successful Black entertainment company of the time, and by their own rights, The Supremes are the most successful “girl group” of all time. If that’s not Black History, I don’t know what is. So that why today I celebrate them, and after posting this, I’mma put on 1962’s “Meet The Supremes” and remember them!
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