Mary & Susaye

[Ollie9]

One of my favourite Supreme songs is "We Should Be Closer Together". The combination of both Mary and Susayes voices is both soulful and dramatic.
I really believe Susaye Greene would have made an excellent lead singer of the group and led them in a totally new direction. Her vocals on "High Energy" and Come In to My Life" are way ahead of their time and lent the Supremes a cool vibe. I particularly like the combination of Susayes crystal clear, soulful voice mixed with Marys deep, sultry tones. I think the combination of their two voices would have made for a more interesting Partners album and quite possibly have received greater media attention upon it's release.

[REDHOT]

Mary and Susaye really sound good together,singing We Should Be Closer Together,don't get it wrong,i love Scherrie Payne's voice too,i'v always said,Mary Scherrie and Susaye is my favorite line-up,of Supremes,

[marv2]

Yeah, that was always one of my favorite songs too. I call it "The Supremes Sing the Blues" LOL! Great song.

[kenneth]

Susaye sings on both of my favorite songs from my favorite lineup of the Supremes, "High Energy" and "Come Into My Life." "Life" to me has a George Clinton/Parlet type vibe and seems unlike anything else the Supremes ever sang. A haunting, memorable song.

A few years ago on SDF, and when the box set was being worked on, I speculated how Mary and Scherrie [[!) shared the lead on "Come Into My Life." The Last Supreme herself [[quite graciously) interjected herself into the conversation and said, "Actually, Kenneth, it's me and me who share that vocal!" When I met Susaye at one of the concerts in LA, I reminded her of that and we laughed about it.

[BayouMotownMan]

If you have the Let Yourself Go box set, the original mixes of the High Energy lp is on there. On I Don't Want To Lose You, Susaye is vamping behind Mary and it's so beautiful I don't know why it was mixed out for the final release. Oh, at least on that album we had the pleasure of having four Supremes on the recordings

[luke]

Good thoughts Ollie. I just read Rolling Stone review of Darlene Loves new cd and the writer said she had a husky alto which I thought described Mary's voice not Darlene's. Thoughts ? Vocal education or me?

[Ollie9]

[QUOTE=luke;300439]Good thoughts Ollie. I just read Rolling Stone review of Darlene Loves new cd and the writer said she had a husky alto which I thought described Mary's voice not Darlene's. Thoughts ? Vocal education or me?

Nah, i would not describe Darlenes voice that way. I do though think Darlene has a little in common with the lovely Scherrie Payne in that they are both good old fashioned soul belters.
I regard Susaye as having a more commercial sounding/interesting voice than Scherrie. She is also an excellent songwriter to boot. The mix of her and Marys voice was not only exciting, but sophisticated as well. I would so loved to have heard more recordings combining the two voices. An album full of mellow/neo soul type songs would have been classic. I think Mary & Susaye has a certain ring to it......Do you not think?

[luke]

I do agree. Love that song. Be great if Mary took up Susaye offer to tour.

[marv2]

Ladies and gentlemen........the Supremes sing the blues!


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

[detmotownguy]

Ladies and gentlemen........the Supremes sing the blues!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsPWJJRrZJg
Thanks Marv. Damn they are good. Man they need to regroup.

[marv2]

Thanks Marv. Damn they are good. Man they need to regroup.

You're welcome. I tell people all the time that Mary Wilson is capable of singing just about any music style.

[captainjames]

Susaye really sings her butt off on this and I was waiting for her to take me all the way home like she did on 'Until It's Time To Say Goodbye". To me its almost like she held back on this one although we knew what she was capable of doing.

[marv2]

Susaye really sings her butt off on this and I was waiting for her to take me all the way home like she did on 'Until It's Time To Say Goodbye". To me its almost like she held back on this one although we knew what she was capable of doing.


You cannot be saying that you are just now hearing this recording? I first heard it in December 1976 and it has been a favorite every since. Mary and Susaye created a underrated classic with this one. It is better than the Emotions "Don't Ask My Neighbors" which became tremendously popular a year later. Mary rules!

[Ollie9]

My parents bought me the MS&S album for Christmas in 76. I don't think my family saw much of me after as i was in my bedroom wearing out the grooves.
This song is just so so cool. I think this is the direction Susaye would have liked to have taken the Supremes. I think their live presentation was starting to look a little creaky by 76. Had they cut back on all that prancing & dancing around and presented themselves as three cool chicks standing at the mikes doing their thing they could and would have appealed to a new, younger audience. They certainly had the talent.
Would be superb if they reformed for one last album. All three womens voices are still in great shape........

[Bluebrock]

You cannot be saying that you are just now hearing this recording? I first heard it in December 1976 and it has been a favorite every since. Mary and Susaye created a underrated classic with this one. It is better than the Emotions "Don't Ask My Neighbors" which became tremendously popular a year later. Mary rules!
I'm not sure i agree with this but it is a fine record of that there is no doubt. I am a mega Emotions fan and for me "damn" is one of those brilliant songs that suffered a little from being a follow up to a no.1 hit. However i am going slightly off topic here. Two great performances in anyones book, and they certainly don't make them like this anymore.

[sup_fan]

i really think Miss Susaye added so much to the group, despite a relatively short tenure. and clearly she was much more involved in the High Energy project that just adding quick lead vocals to 2 tracks. if you look at the recording dates, most are done around the time of I Don't Want To Lose You which clearly has Susaye. was she just added to the mix or was she there with the full background recording session? if she was there, then was cindy? is cindy really on the lp?

[rod_rick]

i really think Miss Susaye added so much to the group, despite a relatively short tenure. and clearly she was much more involved in the High Energy project that just adding quick lead vocals to 2 tracks. if you look at the recording dates, most are done around the time of I Don't Want To Lose You which clearly has Susaye. was she just added to the mix or was she there with the full background recording session? if she was there, then was cindy? is cindy really on the lp?

I think I read that they had to redo the backing vocals for I Don't Want Lose You so Susaye's their and not Cindy, but don't quote me on that.

[Ollie9]

I believe that all the recordings for High Energy were completed [[with Cindy) before Susaye became a member of the group. Susayes vocals were added to certain songs when she became a member.
What was wonderful is that with the addition of Susaye to the group, the Supremes now had three unique sounding voices that could all sing lead.
Had it been relased as a single, and with some decent radio exposure "High Energy" would have been a substantial hit single for the group.....There really was so much potential here.

[Bluebrock]

You're welcome. I tell people all the time that Mary Wilson is capable of singing just about any music style.
I think Mary fairs far better on ballads rather than faster material. Her voice is so well suited to a good ballad.

[captainjames]

I wonder if there is an unreleased version of just Susaye.

[detmotownguy]

I wonder if there is an unreleased version of just Susaye.

Are you talking about the song High Energy itself? If so, I thought there were versions floating around with Scherrie Cindy and Susaye with their own version singing lead. I don't think there was one of just Susaye.

[sup_fan]

now I realize that the studio date info included in the expanded editions is dependent upon what content Andy and team can find. according to the Let Yourself Go set, the backgrounds for I Don't Want To Lose You were recorded on Fed 11 and 12, 1976. that's one of the earliest for all of the HE tracks. looks like Only You had backgrounds recorded on Feb 10. the only other stated vocal recording date earlier is a Scherrie lead recording of I'm Gonna Let My Heart.

again, I know that it states "all other recording dates unknown" but there's a LOT of recording going on during mid Feb. do we know when Cindy left? at the end of the HE notes, it states that recording began in mid Dec 75. and of course maybe the vocal dates with Cindy were in early Jan. Susaye was on board by mid Feb and there are a lot of dates of background recordings in that period. My guess is that she is on backgrounds on most of the lp. but just a guess

[marv2]

now I realize that the studio date info included in the expanded editions is dependent upon what content Andy and team can find. according to the Let Yourself Go set, the backgrounds for I Don't Want To Lose You were recorded on Fed 11 and 12, 1976. that's one of the earliest for all of the HE tracks. looks like Only You had backgrounds recorded on Feb 10. the only other stated vocal recording date earlier is a Scherrie lead recording of I'm Gonna Let My Heart.

again, I know that it states "all other recording dates unknown" but there's a LOT of recording going on during mid Feb. do we know when Cindy left? at the end of the HE notes, it states that recording began in mid Dec 75. and of course maybe the vocal dates with Cindy were in early Jan. Susaye was on board by mid Feb and there are a lot of dates of background recordings in that period. My guess is that she is on backgrounds on most of the lp. but just a guess

Then Florence died and that shut them down for a while.

[rod_rick]

now I realize that the studio date info included in the expanded editions is dependent upon what content Andy and team can find. according to the Let Yourself Go set, the backgrounds for I Don't Want To Lose You were recorded on Fed 11 and 12, 1976. that's one of the earliest for all of the HE tracks. looks like Only You had backgrounds recorded on Feb 10. the only other stated vocal recording date earlier is a Scherrie lead recording of I'm Gonna Let My Heart.

again, I know that it states "all other recording dates unknown" but there's a LOT of recording going on during mid Feb. do we know when Cindy left? at the end of the HE notes, it states that recording began in mid Dec 75. and of course maybe the vocal dates with Cindy were in early Jan. Susaye was on board by mid Feb and there are a lot of dates of background recordings in that period. My guess is that she is on backgrounds on most of the lp. but just a guess

My ears ell me that Susaye vocals are on I Don't Want To Lose You, and maybe High Energy. I don't really hear Susaye in the background on IGLMHDTW, she has adlibs all over the place but not so sure about the background. When you listen to her full lead on IGLMHDTW you tell that they pretty much added her in spots. I don't hear Susaye's voice in the background on High Energy but she of course is on lead. imo

[captainjames]

Are you talking about the song High Energy itself? If so, I thought there were versions floating around with Scherrie Cindy and Susaye with their own version singing lead. I don't think there was one of just Susaye.

No I mean of "We should Be Closer Together", now that is one song I would love to hear just Susaye singing.

[marv2]

For 38 years I always thought this song is perfect the way it is! Mary Wilson is brilliant and Susaye Greene sparkles. The Supremes sing the blues indeed!

[captainjames]

Does anyone know if there is a recording of just Susaye singing lead ?

[Bluebrock]

Does anyone know if there is a recording of just Susaye singing lead ?
I reckon it would have been included on the box set had it existed but you never know...........

[captainjames]

I would love to hear it.

[captainjames]

Susaye's voice just mesmerize me ________________________________________

[Bluebrock]

Susaye's voice just mesmerize me ________________________________________
Yes indeed, and she also happens to be a lovely person.

[marv2]

I would love to hear it.

If you contact her and are real nice, maybe she will sing it to you over the phone@! LOL!!!!

[detmotownguy]

But Mary same go back to Lee
My parents bought me the MS&S album for Christmas in 76. I don't think my family saw much of me after as i was in my bedroom wearing out the grooves.
This song is just so so cool. I think this is the direction Susaye would have liked to have taken the Supremes. I think their live presentation was starting to look a little creaky by 76. Had they cut back on all that prancing & dancing around and presented themselves as three cool chicks standing at the mikes doing their thing they could and would have appealed to a new, younger audience. They certainly had the talent.
Would be superb if they reformed for one last album. All three womens voices are still in great shape........

Thanks for sharing your story! Are you saying their stage act was a bit too frantic? I think I see your point. Way too much talent to be wasted with MSS. I wonder if they realize how good they really were. They needed a come to Jesus meeting to sort things out. I know some say it was Pedro, but other say they didn't have a choice because Motown didn't care anyway . I don't think any of us really know 100% truth of the Group dynamics at that time. But Mary was probably burned out and stressed keeping things together and left it to Pedro to manage the group. Mary probably felt that he was the only one she could count on.

[detmotownguy]

Susaye sings on both of my favorite songs from my favorite lineup of the Supremes, "High Energy" and "Come Into My Life." "Life" to me has a George Clinton/Parlet type vibe and seems unlike anything else the Supremes ever sang. A haunting, memorable song.

A few years ago on SDF, and when the box set was being worked on, I speculated how Mary and Scherrie [[!) shared the lead on "Come Into My Life." The Last Supreme herself [[quite graciously) interjected herself into the conversation and said, "Actually, Kenneth, it's me and me who share that vocal!" When I met Susaye at one of the concerts in LA, I reminded her of that and we laughed about it.

My fav lineup too man! Isn't it weird that such a classy group that produced such high-quality music didn't sell more records . They had it all ! Thanks for relaying the funny story with Susaye.