The Supremes first Tv Appearance

[Weslley Francisco]

The Supremes made their first appearance on the Steve Allen Show not on Ed Sullivan, many people told me that was on Sullivan, but if we compare the dates, we can see that really was on the Steve Allen Show 27 September 1964 singing: Where Did Our Love Go? and performance on the Ed Sullivan Show was three months later on December 27, 1964, singing: Come See About Me. Where did they get the idea that was on the Ed Sullivan Show?

:confused: Can someone explain to me? I'm so confused :confused:

[reese]

With the passing of time, people sometimes forget. There have been times when members of the group themselves have said that Ed Sullivan was their first tv appearance, even though it wasn't. In her 1977 tv special, Diana said it was. In her first book, Mary mentions no other tv appearances before Sullivan. It just shows how important it was to them.

But besides Steve Allen, they had already appeared on the US tv shows Lloyd Thaxton and Shindig! before Sullivan, not to mention shows in the UK. There might very well have been local appearances before those.

I think Steve Allen and Lloyd Thaxton were syndicated, while Sullivan was network and prime time. Plus footage of the earlier appearances have only become viewable fairly recently, while the Sullivan appearance has been shown quite often over the years. That might also add to the misconception that it was the first.

[theboyfromxtown]

Never knew that. Thanks Reese.

Since Where Did Our Love Go went massive whilst they were on a Dick Clark tour, I would have expected them to appear on his Bandshow TV show first?

[reese]

Never knew that. Thanks Reese.

Since Where Did Our Love Go went massive whilst they were on a Dick Clark tour, I would have expected them to appear on his Bandshow TV show first?

I don't think they appeared on BANDSTAND until 1967, with REFLECTIONS, an appearance that some have disputed and most have never seen.

In 1965, they did appear on Dick Clark's WHERE THE ACTION IS, an appearance that is shown quite often.

[BigAl]

The Allen and Thaxton shows, as Reese pointed out, were syndicated and thus aired in whatever time slots the local stations which purchased them chose to, and although Shindig was a network [[ABC) production, it was watched almost exclusively by teens [[as was the Thaxton show), but virtually EVERYONE tuned in to the CBS Sullivan show at eight o'clock on Sunday evenings, and it was an American institution, so in essence, this was the group's first truly widespread national exposure.

[milven]

It would be more accurate to say that the Supremes first nationally televised network appearance was the Sullivan show.

Steve Allan had a five day a week syndicated show in 1964 and it was seen at different times on local stations.

Sullivan is also credited by many for Presley's first appearance but Presley was on Steve Allan's NBC show first and it was broadcast every Sunday opposite Sullivan's show. Steve beat Sullivan for the first time and that's when Sullivan signed Presley for his show. Three months after Steve's show, Presley was on Sullivan.

But even that wasn't the first appearance of Presley. I remember him on some show with Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey and he was on their show a few times. Big band and Presley. What a combination :D

[marybrewster]

Does anyone know for sure what color the Supremes dresses were for the first Ed Sullivan appearance? I have heard pink, and I have heard blue.

[sup_fan]

The dresses were blue. Stephen Woods on FB has a few pics of the gowns hanging in dressing rooms/in the hotel rooms/etc.

Ed wasn't the first tv appearance but it was the first "HUGE" and nationally televised prime-time appearance. other shows were either local or syndicated. or afternoon shows. EVERYONE watched Ed Sullivan. perhaps another way to describe it would be the first major tv appearance.

[Motown Andy]

If you guys have the expanded edition series, we mention this in the Where Did Our Love Go essay and timeline. We also have a picture of the girls on the Lloyd Thaxton Show in the CD tray. Also, if you have the Supremes Reflections:The Definitive Performances DVD, the performance of the girls on Steve Allen is on there, and trivia about the song and that performance is on the special features "pop up" screen. Although not shown in the clip, the girls were given the Billboard award on the show, and Steve holds up a copy of the award and the issue of the magazine.

[Weslley Francisco]

Does anyone know for sure what color the Supremes dresses were for the first Ed Sullivan appearance? I have heard pink, and I have heard blue.

The dresses are pink, look here...


http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uYdnf6Xr_B0

[johnny_raven]

Weslley:

That's because the b&w version was colorized.

[marv2]

Their first television appearance was on the Bill Kennedy Show:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8yOn8SMeus

[Weslley Francisco]

Weslley:

That's because the b&w version was colorized.

Oh... I never knew about this, so the dresses are really blue?

[johnny_raven]

Yes, pale blue.

[Weslley Francisco]

Their first television appearance was on the Bill Kennedy Show:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8yOn8SMeus

No Marv, their appearance on Bill Kennedy Show was in 1965! Their appearance on Steve Allen in 1964, so their first appearance was on Steve Allen Show in September, 1964

[Weslley Francisco]

Yes, pale blue.

Where's these gowns today?

[blackguy69]

I think one of the gowns was on Mary exhibit

Where's these gowns today?

[Weslley Francisco]

Yes, I saw a video of the exhibition on YouTube, but the gown that was on display was pink, not blue...

[blackguy69]

Yes, pale blue.
Those gowns are pink. One of the gowns was on display at the London opening

[Methuselah2]

And now it's time for another episode of:

"The TIERS of a GOWN"

As far as I know, those tiered dresses worn on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 were, indeed, pale blue.

Other tiered dresses The Supremes wore were the orangey-red fringe ones and the green ones from their earliest days. I loved all the tiered dresses because they moved to the music. And The Supremes always looked beautiful in them. In their own way, the tiered dresses were perfect.

Perhaps the pink ones that some have said they've seen in Mary's exhibit were these:

http://m.nydailynews.com/imageprocessor?image=http%3A%2F%2Fassets.nydailyne ws.com%2Fpolopoly_fs%2F1.51509.1313769295%21%2Fimg %2FhttpImage%2Fgal-apollo-21-jpg.jpg&width=640

At first glance, you might think they're the Sullivan Show ones with dark bow belts added. But look again--these do not have spaghetti straps as the Sullivan Show dresses did but they do have curled edging on their tiers that the Sullivan Show ones did not. Maybe they were pink, maybe not; maybe they're the ones in Mary's exhibit--I don't know. They could have been white, possibly.

And so, can we now get on down to the real nitty-gritty and discuss thread count?

[Weslley Francisco]

Check out: 2:46


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGXTmogZha4

[Methuselah2]

Weslley - Well, the dress at 2:46, above, certainly looks like the Sullivan Show ones. If, in fact, it is, this is a real find. And those of you who have spotted it are very observant. But the door on this subject might still be a bit open--that is, the dress shown in the video might not have been what was worn on the Sullivan Show. Maybe there were several copies of the exact dress in other colors. But I'm only guessing. The video does seem to support the 'Sullivan pink' stance--but not conclusively. Thanks very much for posting it.

[floyjoy678]

Diana, Mary and Florence have all said on separate occasions that the dresses they wore on that first Sullivan appearance were blue. I think they would know.

[rrussi]

As best as I remember they were on American Bandstand during the summer of '64 with Where Did Our Love Go. Steve Allen was done before Lloyd Thaxton because the lp, WDOLG, was already issued when they did Thaxton. There's a photo of him talking with them and he is holding the lp. I think Ed Sullivan was done in Dec. '64. Bill Kennedy was a Detroit show, not nationally shown. Shindig was after Amer. Bndstand., Steve Allen, and Lloyd Thaxton. The first appearance on Shindig they did Baby Love and Come See About Me. Of course these shows are mentioned in the order they aired and not necessarily the order they were actually filmed.

[rrussi]

By the way, I am positive of the Amer. Bandstand appearance. It was Saturday and we were moving from Hollywood, FL here to Central Florida near Orlando. As the show aired I was somewhere in the car on the turnpike, but I knew they were gonna be on as he had announced it the week before.

[marybrewster]

On the subject of gowns:

A while back, I saw someone get their big old panties in a bunch because they had been to Mary Wilson's Gown Collection and a set of the gowns on display were "knockoffs". I think they were called the "Pink Pussywillows", although don't quote me on that. I get so confused with all of these names. Anyway, this fan went coo-coo and said all sorts of things; calling the exibit a fraud and creating a lot of heat; perhaps enough to light a Mexican fire.

I'm not sure how this fan knew; maybe there was a crotch test, maybe he had brought a magnifying glass to compare to pictures [[is this bead placement exact?); maybe he didn't see them come out of acid-free bags. All I can say is that I am so thankful for Mary Wilson for having the insight to store these treasures, year after year, grouping after grouping, move after move. And if she wants to throw in a good copy here or there, I am okay with that. We can't expect EVERY gown to be intact, can we? I mean, I've gone to many museums and clearly understand that the artifacts may not be the real deal, but for historical purposes, a good rendering is conjured up.

[arr&bee]

I remember a show years ago with them singing[when the lovelight shines]anyone remember this show?

[Weslley Francisco]

It's The T.A.M.I Show from 1964?

[reese]

I remember a show years ago with them singing[when the lovelight shines]anyone remember this show?

Not sure if this is what you're thinking of. But they did sing it as part of a medley on HULLABALOO.

[Methuselah2]

. . . And if she wants to throw in a good copy here or there, I am okay with that.

For me, if something's being touted as an original in an exhibition, it needs to be an original. But someone who says something is not authentic needs to have that proven before saying so.

Or maybe some would say that's not necessary to do either.

So freeing to say and do whatever one pleases, ain't it?