wow.. did not know that! didn't the parents have to sign, Mary's mom, etc?
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wow.. did not know that! didn't the parents have to sign, Mary's mom, etc?
That's quite interesting but that just further proves the Supremes were mishandled by Motown due to them signing them as minors. I know the original quartet fought hard to get in that they didn't care about how they got in and maybe they should've cared about how they were gonna take care of themselves in the long run. I don't think Mary's mother graduated from high school, did she? Diana's mother signed for Diana [[her father was steadfastly against her signing a contract and I believe Diana's parents were separate around that time) and Florence's mother signed for her. I feel the parents should've done what Lula Hardaway did in making sure Stevie didn't get mishandled by Motown.
I'm confused by this timeline. I always thought Motown wouldn't sign them had they NOT change their name. That's always been the official story, at least according to the original Supremes themselves. But Unsung had it like Motown signed them AS the Primettes and they changed their name to the Supremes much later... [[then again, it's Unsung lol)
I believe their earliest recording done at Motown was in October 1960 while they were still the Primettes. It was unclear if "You Can Depend On Me" or "After All" was the first song recorded although I think recently it was realized "You Can Depend On Me" was the first one.
Stevie was somewhat of a special case since he was a very young kid and obviously blind. Special handling was required in Stevie's case...one of the reasons Berry was reluctant to sign him in the first place. I don't believe that Stevie got a much better deal or more promotion than anyone else at Motown. He lived with his family in a middle class neighborhood in Northwest Detroit... It wasn't until Stevie became of age and became a very valuable commodity in the 70's that Berry gave him a lucrative deal with production and songwriting rights instead of losing a hit commodity to another label. The Supremes weren't songwriters, nor did they have any production ambitions or apparent ability in that direction, so it was a much different story. When the guardians sign off, it's a done deal...and I have NO doubt based on the fact that the future Supremes used to hang out at Motown looking for any opportunity to get involved, that they were ecstatic to get the opportunity to become a part of the Motown stable...
bear in mind, the late 1950's and early 1960's were VERY different than the past decade or two.. now, there are protections in place for EVERYTHING.. back then, when I was a kid [[born in 1952) it was the "Wild West', anything went, especially where females, people of color, etc were concerned.. trying to place modern circumstances on events from 50 years ago won't get you very far
That's very true...When I was 17 my mom needed to sign a recording contract for me. I believe they had given me a copy of the contract to show her first...then we went to the office and it was..."sign, sign"...They didn't giver her a literacy test, ask her if she understood what she was signing, or ask if she could read. I wasn't a female, nor considered a person of color [[although the group I signed with were)...Only in later years based on a campaign by former child actor Jackie Cooper and more currently Paul Peterson of Donna Reed Show and teen singing artist fame, that laws were implemented to help avoid childhood exploitation regarding work standards and contractual agreements...
Marv,Thanks for postin' The Supremes Mary Jean and Lynda,singing Bad Weather,on The Bob Hope Special,the ladies were on point,looking good and sounding good,Supreme
Yeah I imagine the record industry was a really different animal back in those days... I can't even imagine having those type of contracts in 2016!
The girls sang this great song on so many TV shows both in the USA and the UK, and probably other parts of Europe as well.
I know we have debated on here why "bad weather" was not a big hit in the USA, but I am equally mystified as to why it didn't do that much better in the UK. It was given lots of airplay, the girls promoted it, and the single was readily available. I remember being with my cousin when he bought it and the record store had several copies in stock, fully expecting it to be a substantial hit. In my opinion it was one of the finest Supremes records of all time.
Once again regarding Jean I remain puzzled, and slightly angry as to why this was.
Mary has written that Lynda had aligned herself with Jean.
Since at that point, from what I am reading here, there was no way for Jean, Mary and Lynda to continue at Motown harmoniously, and Mary did not want to leave Motown; what would happen if Jean and Lynda approached a new label - perhaps with Cindy - and tried to get a contract under a new name. Many other groups reinvented themselves under new names. [[Starship, LaBelle, Ray Goodman & Brown).
Though, I doubt that Cindy would have gone with them. She seemed to be loyal to Mary - although that loyalty was not appreciated by Pedro who supposedly fired her.
But then, Cindy wasn't loyal to her Bluebells when she left to become a Supreme.
So who knows. Doesn't really matter about shoulda coulda, but it is fun to speculate.
To Marv , or who ever can answer this. did the Supremes ever perform AUTMATICALLY sunshine?? I always liked that song. I assume this is when Cindy was out and Lynda was in or they could have been in UK touring.
the ladies did some great stuff in the 70s. they should have stuck to their own material but I realize they had little to say about it.
Yes Daviddh,they did it in they're live shows,and i'm here to tell you,the 3 part harmony was tight,at one time they had it in a medley also,Mary and Jean and Lynda sound great together,singing Automatically Sunshine ,live
Mary, Jean & Lynda were a great vocal unit for the short time they were together. I love Lynda's voice on Stoned Love [[not the lead version but the one in Japan though that version was too fast lol).
Bluebrock,
Jean, Mary and Lynda did appear on TOTP in April 1973 performing "Bad Weather". I don't recall seeing the ladies on any other UK TV show at that time so I don't know what the variety show was to which you refer.
Ivor
yes I have the LIVE IN JAPAN cd and and love their harmony...but I just have never seen a video of them performing it.
strange Mary never invited Flo back in the 70s
they were a great unit for while, great harmony and Lynda put some spice back in the vocals that wasn't there since Florence left.
Up The Ladder To The Roof is still a favorite of mine, it was so fresh sounding. I think it still holds up. Stoned Love was great and had that Motown sparkle, I do think Nathan Jones was under rated,in my opinion. Floy Joy was good. but after that ,the hits were less frequent.....for everyone. even DR had only a few hits.
Mary wrote she thought about it but felt Florence's problems weren't resolved, especially when Flo visited her in California .
Well remember when Mary said she invited Florence onstage to perform with her, Scherrie and Cindy and she played tambourine but didn't wanna sing because her "heart wasn't in it"?
I guess the Motown thing made it difficult for her to officially reunite if she wanted to but Florence, from what I gather from her last interviews, was alright being solo and rather remember the memories than go back and reunite as a Supremes member. It just wasn't in the cards for her.
The Supremes never lacked for talent, that is for sure. It was a curiosity that someone as talented as Jean Terrell with a number of top 10 and top 40 hits on her hand never went further after leaving the group. She certainly had the pedigree as the lead singer of the Supremes. I am sure record companies had interest but I think like Florence lacked drive even if they had the talent. I know Diana Ross and Mary Wilson both have a tremendous amount of drive and that is why both are still doing what they love. Susaye Greene has written songs, has photos and art as well as her singing, Scherrie Payne writes songs, plays, sings solo with the FLOs and TourDeForce and Lynda Laurence also sings with the FLOs. I don't know her but I am sure if Jean Terrell really wanted to perform and be out there making her mark, she certainly would be able to.
Yes they did Laserdk. I remember this performance but JML also performed "automatically sunshine" on a different show. It could have been any number of shows such as Lulu, Cliff Richard, Wheeltappers and Shunters etc etc. It was definitely not TOTP because the song had peaked by then, and I am not getting mixed up with the girls appearance on Cilla Black performing two songs inc "Nathan Jones" - that was JMC. I watched it with my friend and his elder brother who was a huge Supremes fan. They performed it live as I recall.
after you verbally attack and try to humiliate the head of your record label, it's not likely he'll take you back.. and as justified as she might have felt she was, other record label heads back then would not be in a rush to sign her and possibly experience the same things..
Berry Gordy was not one to cross and has, or at least believed he had the power to abruptly end careers if you crossed him and he chose to do so...I know from firsthand sources about an incident in the 80's with a former major Motown star [[whose name I won't mention here), who walked out on a rehearsal because she was upset that another vocalist was singing one of HER signature songs on a television show that she was also participating in. Mr Gordy tracked her down and told her that if she didn't return to rehearsal IMMEDIATELY, she would never work in the business again ...She returned...
Sorry Bluebrock, not sure why I got "Bad Weather" and "Automatically Sunshine" mixed up there. However, I would love to have seen the ladies perform "Automatically Sunshine" live on whatever UK show as I never knew they had done so and I'm peeved that I missed that one. I do remember seeing the ladies perform "Nathan Jones" on Cilla Black's BBC1 show and around the same time, in October/November 1971 I remember Jean being a judge on the annual [[and awful) "Miss World" show which the BBC used to air.
Ivor
When Mary invited Florence onstage during visit with her in California, that was in 1974. The following year, she knocked the audience out in Detroit performing for a Joan Little [[Remember her?) benefit concert in which she sang "Come See About Me" and "I Am Woman".
Well Diana Riss slapped him across the face and she continued! Florence threw a drink in his face after being tormented on how she looked fat. And Florence was doing much better right before her death. She got standing ovation at that Detroit benefit and was getting offers for work. It's impt not to forget this and how hard she fought to come back personally and professionally!!
Florence's comeback was just starting when she died...