Finally
Attachment 19231
Printable View
Finally
Attachment 19231
It's now officially up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHGEhK_XJxc
That’s just simply the greatest thing in the world! Supremes could not possibly have launched their act any better than this fabulous medley, perfectly executed visually and audibly, followed by their undisputed quintessential Supremes debut 45.
a TKO in the first round!
A few questions:
When the Supremes appeared on the Sullivan Show and performed non-Motown material, who worked on/up the arrangements- and more specifically the medleys?
Case in point, the choice of these songs for Jean, Mary and Cindy really carries a wallop [[not understood by me & likely others at the time) .
After the initial camera pan of the group, the camera centers on Jean's delivery of "If My Friends Could See Me Now" conveyed that Jean would have never expected to be the new lead singer of such a celebrated group as the Supremes. The next song boldly asserts' that 'nothing' [[could Mary have also been thinking 'no-one') will stop this new grouping of Supremes from achieving success. The final snippet ties it all together .. for Jean, this a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Considering Mary's recollection of Berry Gordy's phone call to her shortly after Jean's introduction at the DR&S Farewell and his desire to replace Jean, as related in 'Dreamgirl: My Life As A Supreme" the song comes across now almost as an act of defiance. Could the arranger[[s)/producer[[s) of this medley possibly know the background of the post farewell phone call? Or was this inside information known only by Mary? Did Mary ever mention to anyone close to her that she might have spoken of the phone call/spilled the beans with Cindy or Jean?
It's also notable that this medley is given a high resolution print but the performance of Up the Ladder" a much lesser grade. I assume that is because "Up the Ladder" had already been released on dvd in the lower grade and it was much easier to use the lower quality print.
Motown mostly determined the shows and content, including the tv performances. Although there wasn't a formal Artist Development Dept as they had in 65, there was still a team that would have been preparing group content. Gil, Maurice. These people would have been preparing the musical charts for the orchestras/bands in live shows and also for the tv shows.
And that's why i find it funny that more of the tv content WASN'T done in the stage act too. in particular the later Sullivan ones like the Irving Berlin content, Fats Waller, I Get a Kick, thou swell.
yes i think this medley was specific selected due to the lyrical content. and i think they used it in the live shows too.
Oh man, how this lady could sing. Mary and Cindy do a great job as well. But damn, Jean...I love to hear her sing "If My Friends Could See Me Now". This is what Gordy and Co heard that made them think she was the one to take Diana's spot. That tone, those notes. Love it.
Any fears of the Supremes not succeeding without Diana was squashed during this Ed Sullivan appearance. Jean is amazing here and has amazing stage presence and is very charming. Unfortunately that part of her did not last long while in the group. Mary has such a proud look on her face at the end and its clear they won the audience over with that thunderous applause at the end.
great clip/performance. to bad this is the only clip of the 70s supremes on Sullivan
Ladder is on youtube too. but yes, such a shame MJC didn't appear again on the showQuote:
Originally Posted by daviddh
Wow I never knew that. Why did they never appear again? I know Ed had a soft spot for Diana but the Supremes continued with a winning formula for at least a couple of years. They really deserved a few more spots on the show.Quote:
Originally Posted by sup_fan
I believe someone mentioned that there were plans for a joint Supremes/Four Tops spot but I don't remember why it didn't happen. As it was, Ed's show went off the air a year after this appearance.Quote:
Originally Posted by lakedistrictlad1
Cindy's smile was especially winning, but unfortunately, her wig and outfit did her no favors. The wig's curls coincided with the widest point of her face; she needed to have short or long hairdos that drew the eye away from her cheeks and elongated her face. The outfit was too tight; maybe the costumes were meant to evoke a Broadway vibe to fit with their opening medley, so they tried to copy the look of Dolly Levi's strut down the staircase in a form-fitting red gown, but Cindy was no Carol Channing.
After reading all the comments, I was expecting to be blown away. I wasn’t. Jean was well rehearsed and performed well. Thank goodness for the “Ladder” performance.
I'm usually blown away by Jean's singing. She's a "sing the phonebook" singer for me.