Worst Supremes TV performance

[floyjoy678]

What do you think was the worst TV appearance for each line-up?

DMF-I Hear A Symphony on The Larry Kane Show 1965. They looked extremely bored for this one.
DMC-Hollywood Palace Oct '69 entire show. All three looked so over it on this one.
JMC- Its Time To Break Down/Stoned Love Flip Wilson. Just didn't think this one meshed well together.
JML- Floy Joy on Soul Train 1973. Bad choreography and bad lip-synching. Though the bit where Jean steals Mary's mic away was cute.
SMC- Entire 1975 Soul Train performance. They just didn't seem to have it together for this one.
SMS- Final Mike Douglas appearance. Let Yourself Go was really bad and You Are The Heart of Me what was that the Mary Wilson show?

[daviddh]

the last mike douglas show for sure
there was merv griffin let yourself go
flip wilson love the one your with. they looked great but this was the first time they didnt sound like the supremes to me/lackluster

[marv2]

The Red Skelton Show when they sing "Mother Dear" and "Rock A By Your Baby with A Dixie Melody".

[Zantellor]

Wow,The Red Skelton performance of Mother Dear is one of my favorites. It seems to be The Supremes at their best.The dance routine is on point. It is a group performance and I think shows what The Supremes were supposed to be ,a group.. Then again we all see things differently.

[detmotownguy]

Wow,The Red Skelton performance of Mother Dear is one of my favorites. It seems to be The Supremes at their best.The dance routine is on point. It is a group performance and I think shows what The Supremes were supposed to be ,a group.. Then again we all see things differently.
Hi Mike nice to see you posting.

[blackguy69]

For me:
To Tell the Truth 65
Its A Mod Mod World 66
Ed Sullivan Jan 69
Tonight show 75

[TheMotownManiac]

Bob Hope ‘69. Just weak and dull
hollywood Palace Oct 69 opening
EdvSulliva Funny Girl
JMC Tom Jones hideous pantsuits, absurd staging, bad hair
JMC FLip Wilson - Time To Break Down
SMC Johnny Carson HescMybMan’
ThevOther He’s My Man
JMC Model Of the year - Jean stepping on Mary’s lines was unforgivable and completely unprofessional regardless of their feelings.
That Awful Mike Douglas in ‘77

[luke]

Supremes in Montreux 1976 was the dregs.

[marybrewster]

The performance of "Mercedes Benz". From Scherrie missing the intro to the country twang to the worst: Mary's "you need one honey" adlib to the big tax return line. Cringe worthy. That is right up there with the Supremes and Udo. Big ol Mary laying on a piano. Lord Jesus.

[PeaceNHarmony]

The last one where Wilson sang lead and kept the others in the dark.

[mowsville]

Whats the one where Mary lip syncs to a song but its actually Diana singing lol.

[marv2]

Whats the one where Mary lip syncs to a song but its actually Diana singing lol.

That was in Germany in 1981 after the Supremes had broken up! LOL!!!

[Bluebrock]

That was in Germany in 1981 after the Supremes had broken up! LOL!!!

I don't think i have ever seen that. Is the footage on youtube?

[sup_fan]

Stop in name of love for Mod World in the go carts

Tom Jones stoned love. Very odd choreography

Flip Wilson stoned love time to break down. Agree these two don’t mesh well into a medley

Tonight show he’s my man. Horrible

[marv2]

I don't think i have ever seen that. Is the footage on youtube?

Yes it is on Youtube. They do "Floy Joy" too and later "Red Hot".

[milven]

Whats the one where Mary lip syncs to a song but its actually Diana singing lol.

This is so sad for Supremes fans [[and Mary Wilson fans) to watch. It is 1981, four years after she "left" the group. She then continued to perform as a Supreme because of some contractual obligation that Pedro set up with Supremes Inc. But by 1981, those contractual obligations had to have been long met, and Mary should have been concentrating on her solo career. To perform on stage lip-synching to Jean's and Diana's voices surely was unnecessary.

Mary rightfully takes credit for keeping the Supremes Legacy alive. But at the detriment of getting her solo career successfully launched.

Watching this, maybe it was the Supremes Legacy that was keeping her alive


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ2us9_NWGg

[Roberta75]

This is so sad for Supremes fans [[and Mary Wilson fans) to watch. It is 1981, four years after she "left" the group. She then continued to perform as a Supreme because of some contractual obligation that Pedro set up with Supremes Inc. But by 1981, those contractual obligations had to have been long met, and Mary should have been concentrating on her solo career. To perform on stage lip-synching to Jean's and Diana's voices surely was unnecessary.

Mary rightfully takes credit for keeping the Supremes Legacy alive. But at the detriment of getting her solo career successfully launched.

Watching this, maybe it was the Supremes Legacy that was keeping her alive


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ2us9_NWGg


Havent seen this in years. LOL although its more to be pitied than laughed at. Marys doing a great lip job on Diana and Jeans leads and her background ladies are lipping real good to Mary and Cindys background vocals. LOLOLOLOLOLOL

[midnightman]

:[[

I don't even wanna play that last clip. It's sad that Mary had to get down to this to make money! :/

Anyway, any performance from the MSS era was off to me. This was NOT a group in sync with each other at this point. Between 1963 and 1973, they were the baddest of the girl groups [[bad meaning great). Afterwards, a comedy of errors.

[blackguy69]

Technically that last clip wasn’t a Supremes clip

[milven]

Technically that last clip wasn’t a Supremes clip

I guess that is the point. Mary left the Supremes to go solo and here she is performing as a Supreme with two fake Supremes and faking the lead singer of the original group on stage with a poster that says SUPREMES. Mary using Diana's voice as a Supreme almost makes Shantel posing as a Supreme acceptable.

But this is not the worst performance by the Supremes because, as you said, technically, these are not the Supremes.

15794

[Bluebrock]

Havent seen this in years. LOL although its more to be pitied than laughed at. Marys doing a great lip job on Diana and Jeans leads and her background ladies are lipping real good to Mary and Cindys background vocals. LOLOLOLOLOLOL
My goodness. I don't know whether to laugh or cry after watching that. Sometimes there are no words....

[RanRan79]

IMO there's nothing funny about the Mary vid. It was in 1981, the same year Diana loaned her money. Mary was a formerly abused woman with three children who had done one of the bravest things a woman could do and that's leave her abusive husband. This is not a Mary Wilson who woke up that morning and decided "Hey, I'm going to lip sing on TV to the voices of two of my former singing partners for the hell of it". This was a Mary Wilson who did what she needed to do to support her family. I'm sure it was humiliating for her to do this, as it was for Flo to file for welfare, but I get that they did what they felt they needed to do to earn the check with a family to support. I hate that Mary had to resort to this, but I hate more that she was put in this position in the first place. I'm sure some of you get a kick out of seeing Mary when she's down, but where y'all are getting a good laugh, I can't help but to see the positive in this: that woman was a survivor. So many women didn't [[and many still don't) survive their abusive relationships. Mary was so blessed to get out of that alive. Again I hate that she had to do this, but I don't pity her. She goes out there and gives the crowd a real show. You would never know to look at her what she had been through in the last year or so. Hopefully most of you didn't look at it that way and still find it funny. Hopefully this puts the video in some perspective now?

[RanRan79]

As for worst performances, I dislike most of the Scherrie years performances. Someone mentioned the one where Mary was singing on top of a piano. I really hated that one.

I dislike the one with DRATS dancing in tuxedos with canes. Some of what DRATS was doing was getting to be too much now.

Someone mentioned the "Mother Dear" and "Dixie Melody" performance. Agree 100 percent. I also don't care much for the "My World" and "Somewhere" Sullivan performances.

How anyone could dislike the Mod World performances is beyond me. The girls look like they are really enjoying themselves.

[reese]

IMO there's nothing funny about the Mary vid. It was in 1981, the same year Diana loaned her money. Mary was a formerly abused woman with three children who had done one of the bravest things a woman could do and that's leave her abusive husband. This is not a Mary Wilson who woke up that morning and decided "Hey, I'm going to lip sing on TV to the voices of two of my former singing partners for the hell of it". This was a Mary Wilson who did what she needed to do to support her family. I'm sure it was humiliating for her to do this, as it was for Flo to file for welfare, but I get that they did what they felt they needed to do to earn the check with a family to support. I hate that Mary had to resort to this, but I hate more that she was put in this position in the first place. I'm sure some of you get a kick out of seeing Mary when she's down, but where y'all are getting a good laugh, I can't help but to see the positive in this: that woman was a survivor. So many women didn't [[and many still don't) survive their abusive relationships. Mary was so blessed to get out of that alive. Again I hate that she had to do this, but I don't pity her. She goes out there and gives the crowd a real show. You would never know to look at her what she had been through in the last year or so. Hopefully most of you didn't look at it that way and still find it funny. Hopefully this puts the video in some perspective now?

Very well put.

[reese]

It's hard for me to think of a worst performance. But I think the performance of TOUCH on the MODEL OF THE YEAR ranks up there. First, I can't stand the song in any event. Second, the girls seem so disconnected on this performance. It's almost like each of them are performing solo at the same time.

[RanRan79]

It's hard for me to think of a worst performance. But I think the performance of TOUCH on the MODEL OF THE YEAR ranks up there. First, I can't stand the song in any event. Second, the girls seem so disconnected on this performance. It's almost like each of them are performing solo at the same time.

Believe it or not, I love this performance. Vocally I love it, and it's the only time I've heard Jean sing "Touch" live, so it's special to me. I also love the staging, with the staircase and columns.

[reese]

Believe it or not, I love this performance. Vocally I love it, and it's the only time I've heard Jean sing "Touch" live, so it's special to me. I also love the staging, with the staircase and columns.

It's great to hear differing opinions.

[midnightman]

IMO there's nothing funny about the Mary vid. It was in 1981, the same year Diana loaned her money. Mary was a formerly abused woman with three children who had done one of the bravest things a woman could do and that's leave her abusive husband. This is not a Mary Wilson who woke up that morning and decided "Hey, I'm going to lip sing on TV to the voices of two of my former singing partners for the hell of it". This was a Mary Wilson who did what she needed to do to support her family. I'm sure it was humiliating for her to do this, as it was for Flo to file for welfare, but I get that they did what they felt they needed to do to earn the check with a family to support. I hate that Mary had to resort to this, but I hate more that she was put in this position in the first place. I'm sure some of you get a kick out of seeing Mary when she's down, but where y'all are getting a good laugh, I can't help but to see the positive in this: that woman was a survivor. So many women didn't [[and many still don't) survive their abusive relationships. Mary was so blessed to get out of that alive. Again I hate that she had to do this, but I don't pity her. She goes out there and gives the crowd a real show. You would never know to look at her what she had been through in the last year or so. Hopefully most of you didn't look at it that way and still find it funny. Hopefully this puts the video in some perspective now?

Exactly. I don't find the humor in that video. Mary was going through hard times when that performance was taken. For all the crap Mary gets, I applaud her tenacity to come through the harder times. I'll never trash Mary for this and any thing she does NOW.

[sup_fan]

As for worst performances, I dislike most of the Scherrie years performances. Someone mentioned the one where Mary was singing on top of a piano. I really hated that one.

I dislike the one with DRATS dancing in tuxedos with canes. Some of what DRATS was doing was getting to be too much now.

Someone mentioned the "Mother Dear" and "Dixie Melody" performance. Agree 100 percent. I also don't care much for the "My World" and "Somewhere" Sullivan performances.

How anyone could dislike the Mod World performances is beyond me. The girls look like they are really enjoying themselves.

haha - i mentioned the Mod World one. and i should clarify. it's not that the girls perform poorly. its just such a bizarre bit of staging. so the production is what i find fault with more than whatever the girls did

[vgalindo]

This is so sad for Supremes fans [[and Mary Wilson fans) to watch. It is 1981, four years after she "left" the group. She then continued to perform as a Supreme because of some contractual obligation that Pedro set up with Supremes Inc. But by 1981, those contractual obligations had to have been long met, and Mary should have been concentrating on her solo career. To perform on stage lip-synching to Jean's and Diana's voices surely was unnecessary.

Mary rightfully takes credit for keeping the Supremes Legacy alive. But at the detriment of getting her solo career successfully launched.

Watching this, maybe it was the Supremes Legacy that was keeping her alive


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ2us9_NWGg

I never saw this before. This is truly sad. It’s just so hard to believe!

[Roberta75]

IMO there's nothing funny about the Mary vid. It was in 1981, the same year Diana loaned her money. Mary was a formerly abused woman with three children who had done one of the bravest things a woman could do and that's leave her abusive husband. This is not a Mary Wilson who woke up that morning and decided "Hey, I'm going to lip sing on TV to the voices of two of my former singing partners for the hell of it". This was a Mary Wilson who did what she needed to do to support her family. I'm sure it was humiliating for her to do this, as it was for Flo to file for welfare, but I get that they did what they felt they needed to do to earn the check with a family to support. I hate that Mary had to resort to this, but I hate more that she was put in this position in the first place. I'm sure some of you get a kick out of seeing Mary when she's down, but where y'all are getting a good laugh, I can't help but to see the positive in this: that woman was a survivor. So many women didn't [[and many still don't) survive their abusive relationships. Mary was so blessed to get out of that alive. Again I hate that she had to do this, but I don't pity her. She goes out there and gives the crowd a real show. You would never know to look at her what she had been through in the last year or so. Hopefully most of you didn't look at it that way and still find it funny. Hopefully this puts the video in some perspective now?

A wonderful unbiased view RanRan. I feel bad for laughing but please believe me when I say that I wasnt being mallicious.

[PeaceNHarmony]

I can't help but laugh either, but it's not a laugh against Wilson. Unfortunately this forum is polluted by a few beyond-the-pale wackjobs who dedicate their lives to denigrating Diana and over-hyping Wilson to ludicrous levels so, when something like this turns up, one can't help but laugh. Again, not at Wilson but at some of her more ... creative ... fans.

[sup_fan]

Believe it or not, I love this performance. Vocally I love it, and it's the only time I've heard Jean sing "Touch" live, so it's special to me. I also love the staging, with the staircase and columns.

I agree for the most part Ran - i especially love to get the specific lineup singing their songs. Realize this is MJL so it's not the lineup that recorded Touch, but it's close. This clip is a mixed bag for me. some elements seem strong - the staging, the staircase. Vocally they all sound good too. on the down side, there's 0 interplay between the girls. when they're walking forward together, there might was well be a brick wall separating each of them. not a single glance or acknowledgement. and given the problems in the group, i guess it's not overly surprising. although given the professionalism of each woman, i'd have thought they could have done a bit better job of conveying happiness. The gowns aren't my fav but they're of the period and i realize the girls were trying to update their image to be a bit less over-the-top glitter.

so i give this one a C+ lol

[blackguy69]

Ain’t that the pot calling the kettle black! Lolololol
I can't help but laugh either, but it's not a laugh against Wilson. Unfortunately this forum is polluted by a few beyond-the-pale wackjobs who dedicate their lives to denigrating Diana and over-hyping Wilson to ludicrous levels so, when something like this turns up, one can't help but laugh. Again, not at Wilson but at some of her more ... creative ... fans.

[sup_fan]

many of the worst performances are ones, IMO, where they can't faithfully recreate on stage what was done in the studio.

Nathan Jones on Tonight Show - this is just an audio clip and the TS band is hideous. they sap every ounce of soul and coolness from the backing track. the girls sound great but it's awful overall

You're My Driving Wheel on Merv Griffin - again, it's hard for a tv studio band to recreate the power and massiveness of the recording. it just doesn't translate as well live

Let Yourself Go on Merv Griffin - this one translates a bit better live but the girls do SO much choreography that they're breathless. I appreciate the complex dance moves [[and won't say if i have or haven't learned them myself lol :o ) but the constant racing around impacted their ability to deliver the notes and harmony. plus in the studio they used an echo effect when they sang the title phrase in the chorus. they couldn't do this live so instead the girls are all randomly singing "go, go, go, go, go" and it's distracting.

[RanRan79]

A wonderful unbiased view RanRan. I feel bad for laughing but please believe me when I say that I wasnt being mallicious.

It definitely is an odd performance Roberta. And if this was a video from 1999 or 2019, I'd laugh too and wonder what the hell is Mary thinking. Lol But again, knowing that 1980-81 was a particularly bad time for Mary that resulted in her having to go to Diana of all people and ask for money, there's a realization of just what's going on here. I find it hard to believe that Mary, with all of her Motown training, would've ever done this at any point prior to being broke or after.

My question is what performance is this? Who would invite Mary Wilson to lip sync to "Stop In the Name of Love"? Clearly this is an audience unfamiliar with Diana Ross.

[RanRan79]

many of the worst performances are ones, IMO, where they can't faithfully recreate on stage what was done in the studio.


That's a good definition. I chose performances I just didn't particularly like, but wouldn't necessarily say most of them were really "bad" in any way. But I do think a lot of those Scherrie years performances were pretty bad.

[sup_fan]

yeah - i think with Pedro and Mary focusing on the idea of launching mary as a solo artist, the approach to their live shows and performances suffered. some of the issues during that time are:

1. Mary's mike is ALWAYS the loudest so the balance is off and the 3-part harmonies suffer.
2. lack of pre-recorded performance tracks. not sure what they could have done with this but i thought in the 60s they girls would sometimes sing live to a pre-recorded instrumental. this allows the song to sound more like the original
3. overly choreographed - the complex dance moves got to be too much
4. the ball gowns - the dresses weren't as contemporary or appropriate for their new material

also i'm not sure how to best describe it but something about Mary during this period seems too forced. like she's trying too hard to be liked and glamorous. often she seems to be sort of overdoing it with the dance moves and acting a bit too all over the place. like the Montreaux clips. or Bandstand. she just doesn't come across as a cool, sophisticated leader of the group

[reese]

It definitely is an odd performance Roberta. And if this was a video from 1999 or 2019, I'd laugh too and wonder what the hell is Mary thinking. Lol But again, knowing that 1980-81 was a particularly bad time for Mary that resulted in her having to go to Diana of all people and ask for money, there's a realization of just what's going on here. I find it hard to believe that Mary, with all of her Motown training, would've ever done this at any point prior to being broke or after.

My question is what performance is this? Who would invite Mary Wilson to lip sync to "Stop In the Name of Love"? Clearly this is an audience unfamiliar with Diana Ross.

I'm assuming it is a foreign program since I believe Mary did most of her big shows outside of the USA at this time.

She lipsynced RED HOT as well during this appearance, so the show might not have had its own musicians. Or maybe it was just easier for them to use tracks. Since Mary had been dropped from Motown, she most likely didn't have access to the original backing tracks so she did what she had to do.

[Bluebrock]

yeah - i think with Pedro and Mary focusing on the idea of launching mary as a solo artist, the approach to their live shows and performances suffered. some of the issues during that time are:

1. Mary's mike is ALWAYS the loudest so the balance is off and the 3-part harmonies suffer.
2. lack of pre-recorded performance tracks. not sure what they could have done with this but i thought in the 60s they girls would sometimes sing live to a pre-recorded instrumental. this allows the song to sound more like the original
3. overly choreographed - the complex dance moves got to be too much
4. the ball gowns - the dresses weren't as contemporary or appropriate for their new material

also i'm not sure how to best describe it but something about Mary during this period seems too forced. like she's trying too hard to be liked and glamorous. often she seems to be sort of overdoing it with the dance moves and acting a bit too all over the place. like the Montreaux clips. or Bandstand. she just doesn't come across as a cool, sophisticated leader of the group
That must have been so frustrating for Scherrie and Susaye. There was never a hope in hell of Mary making it as a successful recording artist , yet here she was lording it over a pair of way more talented vocalists. Little wonder the group imploded.

[thanxal]

IMO there's nothing funny about the Mary vid. It was in 1981, the same year Diana loaned her money. Mary was a formerly abused woman with three children who had done one of the bravest things a woman could do and that's leave her abusive husband. This is not a Mary Wilson who woke up that morning and decided "Hey, I'm going to lip sing on TV to the voices of two of my former singing partners for the hell of it". This was a Mary Wilson who did what she needed to do to support her family. I'm sure it was humiliating for her to do this, as it was for Flo to file for welfare, but I get that they did what they felt they needed to do to earn the check with a family to support. I hate that Mary had to resort to this, but I hate more that she was put in this position in the first place. I'm sure some of you get a kick out of seeing Mary when she's down, but where y'all are getting a good laugh, I can't help but to see the positive in this: that woman was a survivor. So many women didn't [[and many still don't) survive their abusive relationships. Mary was so blessed to get out of that alive. Again I hate that she had to do this, but I don't pity her. She goes out there and gives the crowd a real show. You would never know to look at her what she had been through in the last year or so. Hopefully most of you didn't look at it that way and still find it funny. Hopefully this puts the video in some perspective now?
Spot on perfect assessment.

The level of proxy fighting around here is seriously insane. Forum members on both sides of this silly feud should stop using Mary and Diana as proxies and just have it out with each other.

[RanRan79]

yeah - i think with Pedro and Mary focusing on the idea of launching mary as a solo artist, the approach to their live shows and performances suffered. some of the issues during that time are:

1. Mary's mike is ALWAYS the loudest so the balance is off and the 3-part harmonies suffer.
2. lack of pre-recorded performance tracks. not sure what they could have done with this but i thought in the 60s they girls would sometimes sing live to a pre-recorded instrumental. this allows the song to sound more like the original
3. overly choreographed - the complex dance moves got to be too much
4. the ball gowns - the dresses weren't as contemporary or appropriate for their new material

also i'm not sure how to best describe it but something about Mary during this period seems too forced. like she's trying too hard to be liked and glamorous. often she seems to be sort of overdoing it with the dance moves and acting a bit too all over the place. like the Montreaux clips. or Bandstand. she just doesn't come across as a cool, sophisticated leader of the group

I haven't noticed Mary's mic any louder than the others, but it's clear that, when Susaye was added to the group, it was three lead singers on a song regardless of whether or not they were all singing the actual lead. I've said it before, it's like the three of them were competing with each other rather than attempting to compliment one another in the harmony.

The choreography for most of the Scherrie years sucked IMO.

I find this period of Mary to be annoying. I don't think she was trying too hard to be liked or glamorous [[she had years of both under her belt), but she does seem to be extra. I think in some ways Mary regressed as a Supreme. All of those years of being polished seems like it wore off. There was none of this during the Flo years, DRATS years or Jean years. She always came across so smooth and cool. In fact, that's the image I would've given her instead of "the sexy one" [[not that she wasn't sexy, but I don't think she was anymore sexy than Florence or Diana), "the cool one". She just always had that air about her.

But when you think about the position she was in, it's hard not to feel bad for her. This was a woman who spent the first ten years of her singing career nestled between two large personalities in Flo and Diana, two big egos in Flo and Diana, two big talents in Flo and Diana, two take charge personalities in Flo and Diana. In addition to that, Gordy was hands on with everything involving the group, and with Flo gone, Mary still had to contend with everything falling on the heads of Gordy and Ross. With Diana gone, and some of the pressure off, I'm sure Mary felt some responsibility for the group. But Cindy was with her, and to a lesser extent Jean, and Motown still seemed to have some invested interest. With Jean and Lynda's exit, the writing was on the wall for Mary. She was in this all by herself no matter how many women stood alongside her on stage. Nothing about Mary Wilson during most of the Supremes years suggested she was a leader. I'm not referring to lead singer, I'm talking about a leader personality. She really had to throw herself into that role out of necessity, and even then with Pedro standing over her shoulder, she still wasn't exactly in charge. On top of keeping the group together, she was getting her ass beat when Pedro felt like it, and a battered woman's nerves is all over the place. Who can think rationally and keep their mind on straight in that situation? The more I think about it, no wonder she seemed all over the place on stage. How many licks had she taken upside the head? Sad.

[RanRan79]

I'm assuming it is a foreign program since I believe Mary did most of her big shows outside of the USA at this time.

She lipsynced RED HOT as well during this appearance, so the show might not have had its own musicians. Or maybe it was just easier for them to use tracks. Since Mary had been dropped from Motown, she most likely didn't have access to the original backing tracks so she did what she had to do.

That makes sense Reese. It's definitely one of the more odd- if not oddest- performance any of the Supremes ever gave.

[Bluebrock]

I haven't noticed Mary's mic any louder than the others, but it's clear that, when Susaye was added to the group, it was three lead singers on a song regardless of whether or not they were all singing the actual lead. I've said it before, it's like the three of them were competing with each other rather than attempting to compliment one another in the harmony.

The choreography for most of the Scherrie years sucked IMO.

I find this period of Mary to be annoying. I don't think she was trying too hard to be liked or glamorous [[she had years of both under her belt), but she does seem to be extra. I think in some ways Mary regressed as a Supreme. All of those years of being polished seems like it wore off. There was none of this during the Flo years, DRATS years or Jean years. She always came across so smooth and cool. In fact, that's the image I would've given her instead of "the sexy one" [[not that she wasn't sexy, but I don't think she was anymore sexy than Florence or Diana), "the cool one". She just always had that air about her.

But when you think about the position she was in, it's hard not to feel bad for her. This was a woman who spent the first ten years of her singing career nestled between two large personalities in Flo and Diana, two big egos in Flo and Diana, two big talents in Flo and Diana, two take charge personalities in Flo and Diana. In addition to that, Gordy was hands on with everything involving the group, and with Flo gone, Mary still had to contend with everything falling on the heads of Gordy and Ross. With Diana gone, and some of the pressure off, I'm sure Mary felt some responsibility for the group. But Cindy was with her, and to a lesser extent Jean, and Motown still seemed to have some invested interest. With Jean and Lynda's exit, the writing was on the wall for Mary. She was in this all by herself no matter how many women stood alongside her on stage. Nothing about Mary Wilson during most of the Supremes years suggested she was a leader. I'm not referring to lead singer, I'm talking about a leader personality. She really had to throw herself into that role out of necessity, and even then with Pedro standing over her shoulder, she still wasn't exactly in charge. On top of keeping the group together, she was getting her ass beat when Pedro felt like it, and a battered woman's nerves is all over the place. Who can think rationally and keep their mind on straight in that situation? The more I think about it, no wonder she seemed all over the place on stage. How many licks had she taken upside the head? Sad.

Good post. I think you raise some valid points here. I have never been a fan of Mary Wilson as a singer and never will be . Her behaviour towards former Supremes members has been questionable at times, but she did not have it easy with that absolute pig of a man Pedro beating her and placing a wedge between her and the other girls. I still maintain she did not possess the star quality to make it as a successful solo recording artist, but i do think with better guidance she could have been an important member of the Supremes for many years, just the way Otis was/is for the Temptations.

[Circa 1824]

Post Ross, the Supremes moved and entertained as though they had ants in their pants. It was almost amusing.

[marv2]

This one! Diana Ross looks like she is high as a kite!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixEOMB6jyEE

[sup_fan]

all three of them look so disinterested. mary's just sort of bopping around in the background, cindy seems to have her eyes glued on the monitors above and diana looks catatonic.

and during Someday on Sullivan, it wasn't much better.

the girls just seemed SO tired. perhaps they were just worn down by it all

[marv2]

all three of them look so disinterested. mary's just sort of bopping around in the background, cindy seems to have her eyes glued on the monitors above and diana looks catatonic.

and during Someday on Sullivan, it wasn't much better.

the girls just seemed SO tired. perhaps they were just worn down by it all

Diane looks like she hit the joint a few times here.

[kenneth]

IMO there's nothing funny about the Mary vid. It was in 1981, the same year Diana loaned her money. Mary was a formerly abused woman with three children who had done one of the bravest things a woman could do and that's leave her abusive husband. This is not a Mary Wilson who woke up that morning and decided "Hey, I'm going to lip sing on TV to the voices of two of my former singing partners for the hell of it". This was a Mary Wilson who did what she needed to do to support her family. I'm sure it was humiliating for her to do this, as it was for Flo to file for welfare, but I get that they did what they felt they needed to do to earn the check with a family to support. I hate that Mary had to resort to this, but I hate more that she was put in this position in the first place. I'm sure some of you get a kick out of seeing Mary when she's down, but where y'all are getting a good laugh, I can't help but to see the positive in this: that woman was a survivor. So many women didn't [[and many still don't) survive their abusive relationships. Mary was so blessed to get out of that alive. Again I hate that she had to do this, but I don't pity her. She goes out there and gives the crowd a real show. You would never know to look at her what she had been through in the last year or so. Hopefully most of you didn't look at it that way and still find it funny. Hopefully this puts the video in some perspective now?

You know, you make some good arguments, but it's sad to think that Mary had so little artistic integrity that she resorted to this, especially considering how vocal a critic she has become about "fake" groups with hired stand-ins instead of original members such as in the sad history of the Marvelettes.

I can't imagine that Diane Ross let this go unaddressed. There must have been a "cease and desist" letter to Mary's team that this was unacceptable.

Lots of people have to support their families in difficult circumstances, but to me this is one of those things that really attests to who you are as a person. Yes, maybe Mary couldn't get paid $15,000, or whatever she was paid for this horrendous spectacle, by using her own voice and singing live to the Supremes' songs. But there are lots of other ways to support your family and earn a living besides lip syncing to someone else's performance.

Sad and embarrassing.