Pretty sure M and C were lip syncing but as you see Mary’s vocals are picked up in Diana’s mic when she sings Johnny Bristol’s part.
Printable View
The medley was a very good one but 'WDOLG' was the only one you mentioned that SHOULD have been included. If the tempo was not compatible with the rest of the songs, an easy fix would have been to have it as the first song segueing into 'STOP'. Problem solved.
'Love is Here' is a very forgettable song and even though 'Back in My Arms' is probably my favourite Supremes single, the 'Flo' [[& Mary) lyrics [[my favourite part of the song) could have been an issue [[as it was with Return to Love 30 years later).
in regards to the mic head disappearing, i too have wondered if it fell off or if there were 2 recordings of the performance and for whatever reason there was a need to swap in this portion here. maybe if Diana made a mistake or something
if the head fell off, i wonder if that's why they cut to close ups of Mary and Cindy. By this time, it was not a given that the "girls" would get a close up. If they did, it would usually be timed with some line they were singing. Here they're singing Love Child and other than it's nice to see a shot of each of them, there isn't a particular reason to. UNLESS it's because the mic fell apart and maybe it startled Diana or perhaps she had a reaction to it. so quickly cut to the girls and call it a day
I still think this performance wasn't done before an audience and there were at least two performances which they edited together, hence the mike change. There wasn't enough time for the cone to fall off and then be put back on and have the performance continue otherwise. I also think the shots were planned in advance, including the close-ups of Mary and Cindy. Most tv shows are.
Could, possibly,the dress rehearsal was filmed and this was edited into the studio audience take ? Just a thought.
I remember the show always being telecast live although on occasion some segments were pre-recorded. What we see on You Tube is videos from SOFA Entertainment. They purchased all rights to Sullivan Show. They had access to over a thousand hours of video and kinescopes of the telecast shows and the dress rehearsals. They edited them for telecast as half hour shows on cable tv and also edited many performances for DVDs
My opinion is that Sofia edited the dress rehearsal and live performance in this video and that is why Diana is holding two different mikes.
There was definitely still a studio audiences for taping as we get a brief shot of Diana taking a bow from the audience on the Jackson five debut on the show which is either weeks before or after Ross's departure episode
As one of the exec producers for the PBS versions of the couple hundred shows I syndicated to stations and specials, I can share that with Sullivan the background vocal tracks were almost always pre-tracked for the show. This was done so the the groups [[Miracles, Tops, Tempts, Supremes, Martha) could have dynamic choreography that matched the cutting of 2 cameras typically.
Often with Motown, the camera would arc in tandem with a cut to showcase the moves [[moves not tethered by mic cables) and pull around to reveal a 3, 4 or 5 shot. While the other camera was used generally for close-ups of the lead or once-in-a-while two-shots of the group while the main camera close-up re positioned. If you look at the actual direction of the camera cuts, you'll see they are often the similar camera arc/group moves in motion/camera cut on just about every performance - this gave groups like the Miracles a chance to do their famous "walk-up" on "walk-on" moves for tv tracks where the backgrounds were pre-tracked [[e.g.: If You Can Want/I Second That Emotion/Going To A Go-Go medley).
To my knowledge the lead singers were always live. But they did have simultaneous playback of the rehearsal shows and live show in case the feed went down. BTW - Andy Williams show shared some of the same directors, and you'll see the camera acr/cut/tigth shot/group shot movement) used the same way [[as in Tears Of A Clown) on Andy's show. Most of the Supremes performances [[except for Come See About Me on Ed were directed in exactly the same way with the cameras arcing to motion by the background group as a transition to the next lead vocal).
On the subject of dress rehearsal footage I've just been reminded of something I saw yrs ago it was a commercially released VHS of the best of Hollywood palace in black and white hosted by Bing Crosby it had a brief clip of Sammy Davis teaching Diana a trick with a cane and she gets it wrong..was this broadcast or rehearsal footage ? Reese or sup fan do you know ?
From what I can find, SOFA didn't acquire the Sullivan library until 1990.
In Diana's 1977 tv special, during her Supremes montage, she showed clips from the final Sullivan performance and you can see the different mikes during STOP!, I HEAR A SYMPHONY, and SOMEDAY.
I wouldn't bet my life on it but I'm still leaning towards the idea that the final performance was edited together and actually aired that way in 1969.
I saw the performance when originally telecast in Dec 1969, but there is no way that I would have noticed a mike change or edit.
This is on the Supremes timeline:
December 21
TV show “The Ed Sullivan Show”, final performance of Diana Ross & the Supremes on this show.
Erroneously credited on December 18 by Diana Ross [[which might be a rehearsal date).
Dec 23-Jan 14, 70
Engagement at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas, NV.
Last engagement of the Farewell tour
There is a writeup about the Supremes on the Sofia site, but it contains a few inaccuracies.
On December 21st 1969, Diana Ross and The Supremes performed their final song together as a group, the ironically entitled “Someday We’ll Be Together.” When the cameras cut to Ed, he told the audience that Diana Ross was leaving the group to pursue a solo career. In effect, it ended The Supremes’ run on this very stage where they had risen to fame.
The Supremes did make one more appearance on the show after Diana left the group.
The departure of Ross struck a major blow to the Supremes, who were unable to find success in the years after Diana Ross’ departure... After the group’s final performance in London in 1977, Wilson disbanded the group and retired the name...
Diana became a superstar as a soloist and remains an icon today, but the Supremes with Jean did have success with hit records and appearances at top venues for a time.
Mary did not retire the name. She took every opportunity to use and promote the name and it was always somewhere in her billing.
Interesting article, but it doesn't answer our question
https://www.edsullivan.com/artists/the-supremes/