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Supremes
The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful American vocal band, with 12 number-one singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Most of these hits were written and produced by Motown's main songwriting and production team, Holland–Dozier–Holland. Their breakthrough is considered to have made it possible for future African-American R&B and soul musicians to find mainstream success. ''Billboard'' ranked the Supremes as the 16th greatest Hot 100 artist of all time. Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, Diana Ross, and Betty McGlown, the original members, were all from the Brewster-Douglass public housing project in Detroit. Forming as the Primettes, they were the sister act to the Primes (with Paul Williams and Eddie Kendricks, who went on to form the Temptations). Barbara Martin replaced ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cindy Birdsong
Cynthia Ann Birdsong (born December 15, 1939) is an American singer who became famous as a member of The Supremes in 1967, when she replaced co-founding member Florence Ballard. Birdsong had previously been a member of Patti LaBelle & The Bluebelles. Biography Early life Birdsong was born in Mount Holly, New Jersey on December 15, 1939, to parents Lloyd Green Birdsong Sr. and Annie Birdsong, as the eldest of their children. After living in Philadelphia for a duration of her childhood, the family returned to New Jersey, settling in Camden. Birdsong set her sights on becoming a nurse and attending college in Pennsylvania. When Cindy returned to Philadelphia she was contacted by a longtime friend, Patsy Holte, in 1960 to replace Sundray Tucker in Holt's singing group The Ordettes. At twenty years of age, Birdsong was the oldest member of the group with the remainder of the group still in their mid-teens. Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles By 1962, the group had two new members, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mary Wilson (singer)
Mary Wilson (March 6, 1944 – February 8, 2021) was an American singer. She gained worldwide recognition as a founding member of the Supremes, the most successful Motown act of the 1960s and the best-charting female group in U.S. chart history, as well as one of the best-selling girl groups of all-time. The trio reached number one on ''Billboard''s Hot 100 with 12 of their singles, ten of which feature Wilson on backing vocals. Wilson remained with the group following the departures of the other three original members: Barbara Martin (in 1962), Florence Ballard (in 1967), and Diana Ross (in 1970), though the subsequent group disbanded following Wilson's own departure in 1977. Wilson later became a ''New York Times'' best-selling author in 1986 with the release of her first autobiography, '' Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme'', which set records for sales in its genre, and later for the autobiography ''Supreme Faith: Someday We'll Be Together''. Continuing a successful car ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean Terrell
Velma Jean Terrell (born November 26, 1945) is an American R&B and jazz singer. She replaced Diana Ross as the lead singer of The Supremes in 1970. Biography Early life and career Terrell was born on 26 November 1945 in Belzoni, Mississippi. She was born into a family of ten children, whose father was a Mississippi sharecropper who during Terrell's childhood moved the family north to Chicago when he found employment in the factories. She is the sister of the former WBA heavyweight boxing champion Ernie Terrell, who fought Muhammad Ali. Before her career with the Supremes, she sang with her brother Ernie in the group Ernie Terrell and the Knockouts (sometimes the Heavyweights). The Supremes (1970–1973) Motown president Berry Gordy discovered Terrell in 1969 in Miami, where she was performing with her brother at a club. Looking for a replacement for Diana Ross, who was leaving the group she had fronted during most of the 1960s, the Supremes, for a solo career, Gordy firs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holland–Dozier–Holland
Holland–Dozier–Holland, often abbreviated as H-D-H, was a songwriting and production team consisting of Lamont Dozier and brothers Brian and Eddie Holland. The trio wrote, arranged and produced many songs that helped define the Motown sound in the 1960s. During their tenure at Motown Records from 1962 to 1967, Dozier and Brian Holland were the composers and producers for each song, and Eddie Holland wrote the lyrics and arranged the vocals. Their most celebrated productions were singles for the Four Tops and the Supremes, including 10 of the Supremes' 12 US No. 1 singles, including " Baby Love", "Stop! In the Name of Love", and " You Keep Me Hangin' On". Their legal representative entity was known as Holland–Dozier–Holland Productions, Inc. or HDHP. From 1969 to 1972, due to a legal dispute with Motown, they did not write material under their own names, but instead used the collective pseudonym "Edythe Wayne". When the trio left Motown, they continued to work ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scherrie Payne
Scherrie Ann Payne (born November 4, 1944) is an American singer. Payne is best known as a member and the co lead singer of the R&B/Soul vocal group the Supremes from 1973 until 1977. Payne is the younger sister of singer Freda Payne. Payne continues to perform, both as a solo act and as a part of the " Former Ladies of the Supremes" (FLOS). Biography Early life Payne was born Scherrie Ann Payne on November 4, 1944, to Frederick Payne and Charcle Lee Farley (c. 1920-1977), in Detroit, Michigan. Payne is a graduate of Central High School, where she graduated in 1961, and Michigan State University, where she also graduated in 1966 with a Bachelor of Science degree. Before she began her career, she taught at the Grayling School of Observation. In 1964, she appeared on the Jet magazine as queen of the co-educational Cass Hall. Glass House Prior to her tenure with The Supremes, Payne was the lead singer for the group Glass House. Other members included Ty Hunter (later with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diana Ross
Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling girl groups of all time. They remain the best-charting female group in history, with a total of 12 number-one pop singles on the Billboard Hot 100, U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Following her departure from the Supremes in 1970, Ross embarked on a successful solo music career with the release of her Diana Ross (1970 album), eponymous debut solo album. She went on to release 26 studio albums, including ''Touch Me in the Morning (album), Touch Me in the Morning'' (1973), ''Diana Ross (1976 album), Diana Ross'' (1976), ''Diana (album), Diana'' (1980), ''Why Do Fools Fall in Love (album), Why Do Fools Fall in Love'' (1981) and ''Swept Away (Diana R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Florence Ballard
Florence Glenda Chapman (''née'' Ballard; June 30, 1943 – February 22, 1976) was an American singer and a founding member of the Motown vocal female group the Supremes. She sang on 16 top 40 singles with the group, including ten number-one hits. After being removed from the Supremes in 1967, Ballard tried an unsuccessful solo career with ABC Records before she was dropped from the label at the end of the decade. Ballard struggled with alcoholism, depression, and poverty for three years. She was making an attempt at a musical comeback when she died of a heart attack in February 1976 at the age of 32. Ballard's death was considered by one critic as "one of rock's greatest tragedies".Unterberger, Richie (2005). The Supremes In Allmusic. Ann Arbor, MI: All Media Guide. Ballard was posthumously inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Supremes in 1988. Early life Florence Glenda Ballard was born in Detroit, Michigan on June 30, 1943 to Lurlee (''née'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Susaye Greene
Susaye Greene (born September 13, 1950) is an American singer and songwriter. She was the last official member to join the Motown girl group The Supremes, remaining in the group during its final year of existence from 1976 to 1977. She is a successful songwriter as well, having written hit records for Michael Jackson, Deniece Williams, and many others. Biography Early life and career Born in Houston, Texas, Greene began her professional career at age 12. As a teenager, she moved to New York City where she attended Professional Children School, graduating in 1966 and later from the New York City High School of Performing Arts, and appeared in various commercials. Prior to joining The Supremes, Greene sang with Ray Charles' Raelettes and Stevie Wonder's Wonderlove, which paired her with Deniece Williams and Shirley Brewer. In 1973 she sang lead as a guest vocalist on New Birth's hit " Until It's Time for You to Go" (a cover of Buffy Sainte-Marie's song). In 1975 she co-wrote " Fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lynda Laurence
Lynda Laurence (also spelled Lawrence, born Lynda Tucker; February 20, 1949) is an American singer. The youngest daughter of Louise and Ira Tucker, a gospel songwriter, producer, and singer, Laurence's siblings are Sundray Tucker and Ira Tucker Jr. Laurence is best known for being a part of two Motown acts: Stevie Wonder's backup group The Third Generation, and a member of the Supremes from April 1972 through October 1973, performing alongside lead singer Jean Terrell and founding member Mary Wilson, replacing Cindy Birdsong after her departure from the group. Biography Early years Laurence began her career singing with a group named the Pendelles. Her sister, Sundray Tucker, was also in this group. She eventually made her way to Stevie Wonder's group Third Generation, a predecessor to Wonderlove, in 1969. At this time, her sister was going by the name Cindy Scott, and rejoined Laurence in the group. Laurence, Scott and a third member, cousin Terri Hendricks, were billed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Temptations
The Temptations is an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961 as The Elgins, known for their string of successful singles and albums with Motown from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top 10 hit 45 rpm single, single "Cloud Nine (The Temptations song), Cloud Nine" in October 1968, pioneered psychedelic soul, and was significant in the evolution of Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul music. The group members were known for their choreography, distinct harmonies, and dress style. Having sold tens of millions of albums, the Temptations are among the most successful groups in popular music. Featuring five male vocalists and dancers (save for brief periods with fewer or more members), the group's founding members came from two rival Detroit vocal groups: Otis Williams, Elbridge "Al" Bryant, and Melvin Franklin of (Otis Williams &) The Distants, and Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams (The Temptations), Paul Wil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
My World Is Empty Without You
"My World Is Empty Without You" is a 1965 song recorded and released as a single by the Supremes for the Motown label. Overview Written and produced by Motown's main production team of Holland–Dozier–Holland, the song's fast tempo accompanies a somber lyric which delves into the feelings of depression which can set in after a breakup. "My World Is Empty Without You" was one of the few songs written by the team for the Supremes to not reach number 1, peaking at number 5 on the US pop chart for two weeks in February 1966 and at number 10 on the R&B chart; the single failed to chart on the UK Singles Chart. The group performed the song on the CBS hit variety program ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' on Sunday, February 20, 1966. ''Billboard'' described the song as being "right in their pulsating rhythm groove of ' I Hear a Symphony' with even more excitement in the performance". ''Cash Box'' described it as a "throbbing, rhythmic soulful tearjerker about a love-sick girl who spends h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
