Thanks Mary Brewster. I'm trippin about Diana telling Mariah [[if it's true) not to do the high note at the end. I guess Diana say "Heifer you know I can't do that, so don't you try it". Lol They all looked like they were having fun though.
Thanks Mary Brewster. I'm trippin about Diana telling Mariah [[if it's true) not to do the high note at the end. I guess Diana say "Heifer you know I can't do that, so don't you try it". Lol They all looked like they were having fun though.
It is unfortunate the whole thing did not totally collapse before it was ever announced to the public.
Mary wanted a third. She even said in an interview she would need to be paid as a third. She wanted creative input. And to be an equal. That'll never happen! We all want a reunion but most people want Diana to be the center of it all, and given Diana's star cred, Mary will never ever be offered anywhere close to what Diana will. I don't know if Mary would still need a third now...it shouldn't be about money. They should just reunite for a performance at the Grammys or a Motown special again, it doesn't have to be a monetized tour! Money makes everything messy. Mary is my favorite Supreme but let's be honest here...the promoters will never offer Mary, Cindy, or anyone else what they'll offer Diana. And Diana can't even command the kind of money she used to either...she actually plays in casinos now.
True, but at Motown they were equal stars [[as Supremes). Their post Supremes careers aren't comparable in any logical way. Michael Jackson and Tito Jackson were paid the same at Motown but I hardly doubt that if MJ were alive today that he and Tito would get the same amount of money for going on tour together. That's just the business.
I would love to see these two still very active singers reunite in the thing that first brought them together. A television special [[like an awards show) might be a good place, as would some type of charity event. A tour is out of the question. I don't think the public's interest is enough to warrant it anymore. But even if they never come together in song again we still have their great body of work as the Supremes, which should always overshadow this RTL crap revisit.
You talk as if they were to be performing on different stages. As the Supremes you have to have Mary Wilson and in this case Cindy Birdsong since it was billed as "Diana Ross & the Supremes". They were being presented as a group. Berry Gordy would have paid them the same amount equally. SFX was a bunch of fools and we all laughed hard when this tour was cancelled in a most public way.........LOL!
SFX was not willing to leave any of their money on the table, nor was Diana Ross. Why expect Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong to do so?
Last edited by marv2; 04-13-2017 at 12:51 PM.
Didn't Diana, Mary, Flo and Cindy paid equally in the 60's because Diana and Berry insisted that the contracts remained that way and to avoid any animosity withing the group. After Diana left was when the salaries change.
I hate I'm allowing myself to stay in this mess, despite a million posts ago when I said there was no point. But anyway, something just isn't adding up with my business sense. If Diana Ross is actually investing in the tour [[using her own money to make things happen), and Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong are being paid 4 million bucks and not being asked to spend a penny, what exactly was the problem again?
This tour crashed and burned because the childish egos of the two original legendary Supremes refused to take a backseat to grown woman common sense. After everything that had transpired between these women in the years between Motown 25 and the tour [[aside from their conversation after the death of Mary's son), they needed to have an airing out session. Too many people underestimate the importance of clearing the air. I see it everyday along with the problems that continually arise from things not dealt with. They should have locked themselves up in a hotel suite somewhere, laid all their interpersonal issues on the table, screamed, cussed, smack the ish out of the other, cried, purged, hugged and then moved on to the question of "How do we get this thing off the ground so that it's beneficial for everyone involved?".
Instead Diana tried to act like this was a normal business venture, Mary took her opportunity to find the power she feels like she never had when Ross was in the group the first time around, and then Diana got childish and decided she would show Mary who's boss and go out on the tour with "Mary's Supremes" instead. And as a result many of the fans felt shafted. Diana's reputation took a hit. Mary still hasn't garnered 4 million for anything since. And worst of all, Cindy got lost in the shuffle.
And rabid Supremes fans have something to argue about for the next 17 years. Oh joy.
RanRan, its real pitiful when you think of it. Miss Ross and Miss Wilson have moved on and Miss Birdson forgive both ladies in 2001 but a few fans take it real personally and I truly believe when they leave this here earth there very last words will be Diane......RTLllllllll sigh or Mary RTLllllllllsigh I wish I was joking but thats how serious and personal this cr*p is to them. It shouldnt be but it is. Smh.
Sadly, you may be right. Not sure why any fan takes these things personally. Do they not have actual issues going on in their lives? I know I sure do. Discussing RTL is cool, but I aint taking this bulls**t personally, especially if Diana and Mary aint losing no sleep over it. Now this time I'm going to take Mary's advice for real: time to move on. Is there an ignore thread feature?
They weren't going to pay Mary Wilson or Cindy Birdsong $4 million. They started off by offering Cindy something like $ 850,000 and by the time Mary was finished with them she had gotten them up to $ 4million for herself and something around $ 2 million for Cindy when Diane said no, the train has already left the station.....! Yeah it had left the station and ran into a brick wall! LOL!
Lol. And it derailed too!
Cho cho boo boo!
what is so beautiful was when Diana said she would find another way to reconnect to the fans since that is what RTL was about and,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, reconnect she did !!!!! She has been touting her butt off and the reviews have been outstanding.
just to add in some facts....the promoters offered MW 2 million and Cindy 1. but DR doubled that amount to 4 Million. it was DR who offered her more to sign on to do the tour.
Here's the full page ad which was in our local newspaper [[Atlanta Journal Constitution). I have this secured in a framed poster. [[I am not sure if I have attached the photo correctly).
That's pretty cool, jobucats, thanks for sharing! Nice to have that kind of memorabilia. Wish I did.
I as well! I did have that ad for a while, from the Sunday NY Times, for the MSG show, which was excellent!
I will refrain from participating in the pettiness on display in this thread - it's just not my style.
However, I will say what a missed opportunity this was for everyone involved.
This could have been a truly legendary reunion/tour.
Truly sad.
I thought the ad campaign for RTL was quite nice [[see poster above) but the tour book was lacking IMO; in both it and the resulting shows' video screens there was zero Supremes-specific retro/nostalgic photos, videos, etc. On one hand it was nice as it made RTL its "own" show and not just a nostalgia-fest but a nostalgia-fest is what people wanted! At least they wore the "Reflections" dresses and sang the "Copa" song but had it been Mary and Cindy I can only imagine what the show had been like retro-wise - it was called RETURN To Love, after all! Oh, what could have been...
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