Motown needed HDH as much as they needed the rest of them. They benefitted from the diverse writers pool they had that had the ability to get hits on several of their acts at the same time.
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The supremes changing to diana ross and the supremes lost their hit cycle with forever came today and some things. But t act became a vegas headliner. Most of t fans stopped buyi ng the records. Funny girl. And talk of f the town both released in 68. were t lowest charting albums of their career along w g.i.t in 69 along w 2 more flop singles that year Someday restored them back t the top but by this time we were waiting f jean to step in t restore t supremes as a group dynamic and f ross to be gone
[QUOTE=franjoy56;511473]The supremes changing to diana ross and the supremes lost their hit cycle with forever came today and some things. But t act became a vegas headliner. Most of t fans stopped buyi ng the records. Funny girl. And talk of f the town both released in 68. were among t lowest charting albums of their career along w g.i.t in 69 and w 2 more flop singles that year Someday restored them back t the top but by this time we were waiting f jean to step in t restore t supremes as a group dynamic and f ross to be gone. Her stardom created by gordys one track mindset destroyed t act we knew as the supremes[ yes thank goodness they had a chance shine in t 70s w jean terrell f however brief/QUOTE]
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Exactly Fran and very accurate. I do remember not being able to enjoy the group again until Jean Terrell joined. It had gotten to the point where I didn't care if they were on TV anymore. They were doing shows like the Bing Crosby and the Bob Hope Special. Those were shows my grandparents watched. LOL!
You presented that well. I had no idea when I used the word "slipping" anyone would find it objectionable , but I do get the point. "Slipping" does not mean they ceased to exist, or weren't still plowing ahead, or weren't still a top act filling rooms in Vegas and appearing on prime time TV.
Arnold Shaw's book is not about The Supremes , nor about Motown . It's bigger, encompassing all of R&B's history right up until the books publishing in early 1970. The Motown section is all of fifteen or so pages and The Supremes part is only a few of those. So it's concise .
The actual wording of Shaw's observation of The Supremes' standing in 1968 was not about them overall , but about their record selling status:
"From 1967 to 1968, the record appeal of the group suffered a serious setback."
That wording maybe makes the premise here more palatable.
I think you're on to something.Quote:
Sotosound:
.... Is it possible that all that happened in reality is that time passed and the world changed and that something similar would have happened whether or not HDH or Flo had left? After all, their original audience was also growing up and changing and wanting different things.
Everything Must Change.....
Exactly. Their status was still high in 1968 but as far as songs on the chart, no doubt they were struggling as much as the other Motown acts. And that's why I don't like it when people separate the Supremes from everyone else. They ended up suffering like all of Motown did. Berry was just lucky to find people who knew how to write songs and sell them to the masses. Love Child was something they had to do to get back on top of the charts.