Could the Vandellas have been the Supremes?

[luke]

Suppose HDH kept giving them their songs? I can hear them singing You Keep Me Hangin On, You Can’t Hurry Love and some others. Did they have the star quality of the Suprmes? Just a fun what if.

[sup_fan]

i like MRATV but a few things that are my opinion on the group:

1. vocally i don't think the Vandellas match the supremes. I think M and F had better voices and better intonation than R and B. the V's are good but not as strong
2. versatility - i don't think they had the same adaptability like the Sups. D, M and F really loved singing all sorts of genres and did it well. they seemed natural at it whereas it seems a bit forced for MRATV
3. stage presence - the Sups just had more energy and character on stage and tv than Martha or any of the Vandellas.

now as for singing some of the other HDH songs, possible. But what Martha excelled at was the gritty material. something she could dig into. Like Nowhere to Run, Getting Ready for Love. most of the Sup hits are too prim for her. I do think YKMHO would work. and def Going Down For Third Time

[luke]

Good points. I can hear Martha singing Reflections.

[PeaceNHarmony]

No. They couldn't.

[Jimi LaLumia]

when I first heard Where Did Our Love Go in the summer of 64 or whenever it was on the car radio , at the age of 13,for me, it was the voice of Diana Ross and her delivery that entranced me.. there were many other Motown hits that caught my ear that year, but that and Baby Love with all the ooo's and the melodramatic delivery of the lyrics that sent me looking for those 45's, and it stayed that way ever since ..I did and do love Martha, but nowhere near the same level of adoration,,for me, anyway

[TheMotownManiac]

None of the Vandellas had the chops to do what DMF did. They didn’t have the natural talent, looks or charisma. They looked like rubes on Ed Sullivan. I totally dig the group and especially, Martha but she’s no Diana Ross and Ross is no Martha. They both excel at what they do best. As for a The Vandellas, there are many bg singers better than them IMHO but they were fine for what they were called upon to do. No amount of attn from Gordy could have put them over like The Supremes. Not even close. The Ronnettes, perhaps would have had a chance for sure.

[WaitingWatchingLookingForAChance]

when I first heard Where Did Our Love Go in the summer of 64 or whenever it was on the car radio , at the age of 13,for me, it was the voice of Diana Ross and her delivery that entranced me.. there were many other Motown hits that caught my ear that year, but that and Baby Love with all the ooo's and the melodramatic delivery of the lyrics that sent me looking for those 45's, and it stayed that way ever since ..I did and do love Martha, but nowhere near the same level of adoration,,for me, anyway

I think what you wrote says a lot about The Supremes' appeal. Something intangible cut across the boards with everyone. Why I say that is because I was around 12, 13 when I started getting into the Supremes. I found their 2-LP Greatest Hits album at a mall, brought it home and fell in love INSTANTLY with everything on those albums. But, I was already becoming a Motown fanatic, while my brothers were into the music of the era, 70's/80's. BUT- my younger brothers became hooked on my Supremes album too, which really shocked me. They are 4 years younger that me, and while this music really was of my parents' era, for my younger brothers, they really couldn't have cared less about anything from the 60's. Yet, here they were, getting into The Supremes, and KNOWING the songs individually. They were even asking why there were male voices on "Run, Run, Run" so you know they had good ears at their young age and were really paying attention. Their favorites were "When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes," "Stop! In The Name Of Love," "Run, Run, Run" and "Where Did Our Love Go." The ONLY other Motown music they got into was a few of the Marvelettes' tunes, especially "Don't Mess With Bill."

I just think that says a lot about why the Supremes hit so big and that it really was them in particular. My brothers weren't really familiar with how the Supremes looked at first- initially, they were enthralled with something, SOMETHING in the group itself. There was just something in the Supremes, their sound, a vibe, whatever it was that appealed immediately to people even if they weren't necessarily into Motown in general. I keep think about my young brothers' reaction to their music and keep going back to that whenever this topic comes up.

[midnightman]

I love MR&TV's but:

http://gif-finder.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Danny-Glover-No.gif

[copley]

No! Nor could the Supremes have been Martha & The Vandellas. You can't compare apples to oranges!

[144man]

The Supremes and Martha & the Vandellas were on the same bill when they toured England in 1965. When I saw them in London, Martha & the Vandellas had much greater stage presence and consequently got a better reaction from the audience.

[khansperac]

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[midnightman]

The Supremes and Martha & the Vandellas were on the same bill when they toured England in 1965. When I saw them in London, Martha & the Vandellas had much greater stage presence and consequently got a better reaction from the audience.

That's because the Supremes were JUST starting to take off. They had one of those "overnight success" situations after three journeyman years in Motown whereas MR&TV's were already established and prepared. This was before the Supremes performed at the Copacabana...

[Fullfillingnessfirstfinale]

IMHO MR&TV have an earthier sound then the Supremes, the Supremes were more pop oriented, more versitale to do other things like show tunes. They were a group, which all members personalized. I think Mr&TV´s had not enough talent to grow up with Motown as a super group !

[sup_fan]

MRATV were definitely talented but their best niche was in a genre different from the Supremes. the Sups epitomized glamour and pop and were perfect for Vegas, cross-over and all the rest. MRATV i think were better at an r&b version of rock and roll. their late 60s stuff is hardly listenable IMO. in the mid 60s they were doing harder edged material that fit them well and then Black Magic and Martha's first solo lp really defined the sound. of course the vandellas were barely included in BM and not at all on the MCA effort. but i think they could have easily been part of it and still worked.

part of the fault of motown was that it really didn't have the initiative or desire or resources [[or all 3) to fully develop a variety of artists in a variety of areas. they easily could have had Diana as queen of pop, Martha as the r&r queen and Gladys Knight as Motown's Queen of Soul

[drlorne]

I agree they are different. The power and excitement at the end of Heatwave by M&theV versus when the Supremes sang it....there is no comparison. M&TV had great songs and delivery, but the Supremes were a package that were more versatile, and maybe more on the same page and direction as Berry Gordy in terms of long range career goals.