Originally Posted by
RanRan79
Which of the scenarios do you find to be unlikely? Are you suggesting that Diana would have vocal chemistry with any two female singers, no matter who they were?
Are you suggesting that a member of the group wouldn't want to sign to Motown? It is alleged that Flo was reluctant to bother with Motown because of rumors in the street. She obviously relented, but what if she had given a hard "no" and the other Primettes backed her up? What then?
Are you suggesting that there are no female groups with unattractive, matronly looking women? I know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, no question. But while I won't single out any member of any of the female groups around at the time, I must say the idea that any one of some of them would work standing with Diana Ross as a group of glamorous young ladies is almost laughable my friend.
Are you suggesting that the sound of those records didn't benefit from the harmony of Florence and Mary? Take a listen to some of those early records. Check out Barbara in the harmony on "Who's Lovin' You", for instance, and then check out "Those DJ Shows" from a few months later when Barbara, who is still in the group, but mysteriously missing from the session. You saying the group sound is unaffected if it's Barbara and Mary singing together with no Flo? Yikes!
Are you also suggesting that Diana had no chance of ending up in a group with women who would not have hesitated to smack the shit out of her every time she got out of line? Flo and Mary put up with a lot. I'm not sure Patti Labelle or Nona Hendryx or Katherine Anderson or Cissy Houston would have had the patience. If you do, well, okay. I, however, do not.
There is only one hit record during Flo's time that is legitimately questioned as to whether or not she is on it, "You Can't Hurry Love". None of the principal players have said she isn't on it. There's an "educated" inference that she isn't. The only other one that was in question was "Stop" and George has since put that "misunderstanding" to rest, for those willing to let it go. So which hits are you questioning exactly?
Those records were great records, but again I reiterate that the Supremes were bigger than their records and that's because of the group itself. I don't think if Marlene officially replaced Florence in 1965 that the hits would have stopped rolling in. I do think the visual image of the group and the chemistry of said trio of members would have been drastically different and the group you would have gotten would have become very quickly Diana Ross and the nameless, faceless Supremes, as it eventually did when Cindy came into the group. No disrespect to Cindy, but all one has to do is look and listen to tons of performances with Flo and then tons of performances with Cindy and see that with just that change in personnel, the group was drastically different.