David Nathan's 1974 Interview with Mary Wilson on Changes Within the Supremes
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By David Nathan
Copyright [[c) 2010 by David Nathan/Soul Music.com
Home > SOUL MUSIC INTERVIEWS & FEATURES > Classic Interviews & Features > CLASSIC FEATURE: The Supremes 1974 Interview
PERHAPS MORE than any other female group around today, The Supremes have undergone what seem like almost regular personnel changes and to my mind, it's quite amazing that the institution as such, still exists. Kicking off, with the departure of Florence Ballard, then, of course Diana Ross, the group has tried to retain the success formula that once put them way above all their competitors.
But what with these internal changes, the departure of the Holland/Dozier/Holland team and what appears to be some confusion as to which direction the group should head, their success – or at least chart success – has been severly restricted of late. Now comes the news of yet more changes and David Nathan got the chance to check out with Mary Wilson, the only remaining original Supreme, exactly what's been happening...
"Well, let me explain. Cindy Birdsong has come back into the group, having had a baby and she's now back permanently. Linda [[Laurence) was only brought in on a temporary basis anyway, just to take over from Cindy. Jean Terrell just resigned from the group – I really can't tell you why because I don't know – she just left. Anyway, we now have Sherrie Payne [[Freda's sister) to replace Jean.
"How did we manage to find her? Well, Lamont Dozier heard that we were looking for a new Supreme a few months back and he knew that Sherrie was unhappy being with The Glasshouse so he suggested we might like to get together. She's now been with us for some three months and everything seems to be working out well."
With all these constant changes, I asked Mary if she ever got tired and considered just giving it all up. "No, never!" was her swift and indignant reply. She qualified it further.
"Sure I get tired with all the comings and goings but I'd never consider going solo. The Supremes mean too much to me and to so many people that I wouldn't even dream about just quitting altogether. No, I've never even thought about making it on my own!"
Mary did admit that the group have been going through a pretty rough patch chartwise and she explained: "We were all very disappointed that 'Bad Weather' didn't make it and we really don't know why. I personally thought it had all the right ingredients for a hit but we've been told that one of the problems these days is that unless you're on the charts consistently, a lot of radio stations just won't give you a chance."
"The fact is that we haven't had a big chart record for a long time now so that may have been one of the reasons why no one really got onto that single. But, you know, it's a totally concentrated effort and it really is a matter of coming up with right material at the right time. A lot of hard work goes into coming up with the right record and finding the right producer. Since 'Bad Weather' we haven't recorded anything with anyone but we expect to be starting back into the studios very shortly."
Any suggestion that possibly the girls might be behind the times is almost totally rejected since Mary feels that the public expects certain things from The Supremes and it's very hard for the group to move off into a totally different direction. She concedes that not having had a big hit record may have lost the group some of its followers and she does feel that a big hit would bring a whole new audience to the girls.
"However, we are well aware that there are still many people who have been with us from the beginning and are still with us – and we really appreciate them."
Mary revealed that she doesn't expect The Supremes to undergo many major changes as far as their act is concerned and she says that with the return of Cindy and the arrival of Sherrie, there will be more sharing of the lead singer's task. "Both Sherrie and I will be sharing lead and Cindy will gradually be doing that too. In fact all of us will be doing a little of our own thing in the future on stage."
On a completely personal level, Miss Wilson is no longer Miss Wilson – since she was married several weeks back to a young gentleman she met in Puerto Rico, Mr. Pedro Ferrez. What happened? "We just met and fell in love!" was the straight answer I got to a pretty dumb question! Mary said that she digs being married since "all my friends have got married now – Diana, Cindy and so on. I guess it's about time for me." She intends to start up a family in due course and the girls' future schedule is being planned to ensure that they have sufficient time at home with their families.
On the subject of coming over to this country, Mary said that there had been plans for the girls to make it during April but the energy crisis had put paid to that. "We do expect to get back around September. In the meantime, please say 'hi' to everyone from me, won't you?" No doubt, by the time we see The Supremes again, the new line-up will have established itself and hopefully they'll be returning with a hit record under their collective belts. It's surely only a matter of time before The Supremes are back on the hit track.
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CLASSIC FEATURE: The Supremes 1974 Interview
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