I was avoiding this thread like the plague. Lol Glad I did but I'm going to throw my two cents in and dip. I think it's obvious that a lot of the Mary/Flo fans just refuse to bring themselves to the factual conclusion that Diana Ross was a bigger component to the success of the Supremes than Mary and Florence. On top of that, some of them seem to have internalized any gripes that Mary and Flo had in regards to Diana Ross and the internal problems of the group, as if what happened to the girls, happened to the fan. Weird.

On the other hand, many Diana fans hate the fact that Florence and Mary can never be relegated to nameless, faceless, voiceless, background singers for Diana. They were never marketed that way [[honestly, not even during the DRATS era, though it was clear which singer was being pushed), and me thinks it's hard for some to recognize that, while true that Diana was the BIG piece of the Supreme pie, she didn't- and couldn't- do it alone. Nothing provokes their annoyance quite like RTL, a situation that drummed home the fact that the larger public was more interested in the combo of Diana and Mary [[and Cindy) than they were Diana with faceless, nameless, voiceless Supremes. [[Not that I feel that way about Scherrie and Lynda, but the general public feels that way.)

The Supremes were successful because of the three singers. The three women were equally important human beings above all else. One went on to superstardom, another carved out her own place in music with sheer determination and hard work, while another rode the wave of life, rising to triumph, dipping into despair, and slowly climbing her way back up until the life was cut short. But the three of them together left behind some of the greatest music ever.

I wish the actual threads about the music itself received so many passionate responses. But I guess the music isn't an interesting as the drama.