Ran ran across this pic and had to share
Attachment 18771
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Ran ran across this pic and had to share
Attachment 18771
These are eye catching. But never could figure out why they continued to wear them after Diana left. I am assuming Jean couldn't fit in Diana's; it just looks odd that Mary would be wearing the green with Jean and Cindy in blue.
Because these were less than a year old when Diana left. I would have never expected for them to get rid of their entire wardrobe and get a brand new wardrobe. Now I will say any gowns from 1968 and earlier should have been gone.
i agree it didn't look right. but also get it that they were quite new. maybe what they should have done is either 1) have a new 3rd one made in blue for Jean or 2) have a 3rd one made in a 3rd colorQuote:
Originally Posted by marybrewster
I agree supfan. A third in a different color would have been fantastic!
I certainly don't think they should have gotten rid of their entire wardrobe either; that's foolish. But by 1971 they certainly had amassed enough of their own costumes. At least enough to put these to rest.
I would say by the end of 1971 I would have retired this outfit
IMO by 71 they should have been evolving into a new look. even the new costumes were frankly just extensions of the DRATS look. just like the DRATS gowns ditched the chiffon and empire waists of the DMF era, by 71 MJC should have been working on a new look for the group. they'd safely and successfully made the transition to a new lead singer and had some big hit songs in 70. they needed to do something new visually and all to follow the new approach and sound that their music was making
so i don't think these pantsuits were necessarily out of style by 71 or "old fashioned" looking. the girls did those white pantsuits with the poncho style tops [[the ones on the Andy Williams show). but most of the JMC outfits - the brown feather sequin pantsuit, the yellow dresses, the lavender gowns, etc - just were not new enough from the DRATS stuff
Only problem is they were in a catch 22. Half the fans wanted them to change their look. Half wanted the gowns. And you have to factor in the cost of replacing all of the old gowns. By 1970 I personally would have ditched any gown from 1968 and earlier. By 1972 all of the DRATS gowns would have been retired.Quote:
Originally Posted by sup_fan
yeah i know - look at how fans snipe about the gowns MJL were wearing. the floral ones in LA on the tour with the Temps, the plainer chiffon ones on Kate Smith. seems like the girls were exploring some new looks but hadn't really hit on anything just yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by blackguy69
Obviously when playing a showroom like Vegas, go for the glitz. but on some tv shows and at other venues like Operation PUSH, i think they needed a more modern and hip look.
One thing I've never been able to wrap my head around is the thought that there wasn't money to buy new gowns post 1970. I will agree, maybe there wasn't money to buy three $5000 gowns. But you can walk into a Macy's today and in the formal section will find hundreds of stage quality gowns for $100 - $300. Which 50 years ago would have been $50 - $150. I myself just bought a gorgeous, floor length sequin gown for $99. So was the institution that bankrupt that they couldn't afford a few hundred dollars?
in the gown exhibit there were [[at least when i saw it several years ago) some display cases with other memorabilia, such as receipts for the gowns or for alterations.
certainly there were options that could have been more cost efficient than the heavily beaded and sequined gowns. like those plainer MJL era gowns. even if a big named designer did them, the cost of construction would be less.
the Floy Joy cover art shows them in contemporary looks that were super chic and stylish yet not so Vegas-y. same with those red outfits MSS wore on Soul Train and the photo shoot for HE lp
Actually I just had a discussion with someone who thought that in order of JMC to fit into the DRATS gowns that they had to loose weight. I told him that the gowns would have been altered to fit and as for Mary, she was small enough to squeeze in Diana’s gown without any major altering
i suppose it just depended on the dress. Jean was able to wear the yellow pantsuit while C and M kept the orange ones - the ones from DRATS doing Someday on Hollywood Palace
but then for whatever reason Mary got the green one in this pic above. frankly i would have thought the poncho style top would have been easier to alter than those yellow and orange pantsuits
If you notice that pants suit fit Diana a bit looser than Mary and Cindy. I had no problem with Mary wearing the green one. She was most often in the middle took over the stage banter and was the only original left
actually in the Jean shows, Jean delivered a majority of the dialog and definitely was the lead on 99% of the songs.Quote:
Originally Posted by rod_rick
Actually I never seen or heard from any JMC shows that Jean did 99% of the show. from the shows of JMC I saw and heard, the dialogue was split between Mary and Jean and Jean did the majority of the leads while Mary did her featured number plus there were a lot more unison singing .Quote:
Originally Posted by sup_fan
the bootlegs i have from the Central Park, Carter Baron and others Jean is definitely doing nearly all the leads. Mary did Can't Take My Eyes and then perhaps a quick line in a 60s medley.
then as for the dialog, Jean would generally do the welcome to our show bit, she'd do the majority of the "Once upon a time..." lead in with the 60s medley, the bulk of the band intros. Mary, Cindy and later Lynda certainly had more to do than back in the DRATS era. but Jean was still doing the vast majority of the dialog
The 68 DRATS shows is a prime example of Diana doing all the leads and 99% of the dialogue. During the JMC it varies. When they play Detroit Mary does almost all of the talking. Also Mary did do Oh Happy Day. Also Cindy starts getting dialogue during this periodQuote:
Originally Posted by sup_fan
other than the comedy lines in You're Nobody, M and C barely did any talking in DRATS. at least until the farewell tour. on the album, Mary does a little bit. who knows if she was doing some in the shows preceding Frontier or not. But in the 68 Europe tours on tape, I don't know that M and C do anything other than sing.Quote:
Originally Posted by blackguy69
I would have loved Mary doing the speaking part on I'm Gonna Make You Love Me
Mary [[and to a lesser degree Cindy) definitely started doing more during the Jean years
then during the scherrie years, Mary pretty much does all of the stage dialog and about half of the leads
Interesting that you say that since when I listened to the Japan '73 album, Mary and Jean did most of the banter. I don't think Cindy ever talked lolQuote:
Originally Posted by rod_rick
In the Central Park concert bootleg, Cindy does have some comedy lines. even making some great comments like "they even let me speak now" and one after Mary tells Cindy to go back to her dressing room of "you're not getting rid of me too!" these might not be 100% exact quotes but you get the picture. lots of laughter from the audience who seemed to love itQuote:
Originally Posted by midnightman
as for the Japan release, you're right that Lynda doesn't say too much. she had a couple of lines here and there. But that could also be just edited out. it's possible that for the album, they trimmed a lot of the banter since it would have taken up time that could be used for music.
i have a few MJL bootlegs too like Valley Forge, PA with the Temps and the December 72 show at the Apollo [[where they also appeared with Eddie Kendricks). Lynda doesn't have much more here either.