Last night I received a phone video from a fan that warmed my heart.
Last Sunday Miss Susaye Greene made her official debut as the newest Former Ladies of Supremes trio along with Scherrie Payne and Joyce Vincent at a small private gathering in Sherman Oaks, CA. All three ladies are stunning.
Appropriately introduced by J. Randy Taraborrelli who briefly reflected on his years working with Scherrie and Susaye, the ladies took stage in stunning crimson gowns trimmed in black sustaining the image of class and glamour that every grouping of Supremes are known for. All three ladies are slim and svelte and in incredible voice.
Opening with You Keep Me Hanging On and sharing the leads the ladies got the audience in a party mood.
Then Miss Susaye took full lead on Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart and she nailed it! Singing in Diana Ross’s key she delivered a funky if restrained vocal until the very end when she hit the high notes that gave the exclamation point that she had indeed been bitten by that love bug. So good was this interpretation that the ladies might consider opening their set with this exciting classic. Susaye had the crowd jumping. It reminded me of her tenure with the Supremes when she would bring the house down with He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother.
The highlight of the abbreviated set came with Joyce Vincent sang the opening verse of How Do You Keep The Music Playing in a clear, warm voice that was followed by Susaye and then Scherrie. At the end of the song I had chills as all three ladies harmonized with Susaye hitting those upper register notes that she is known for to incredible effect. I literally had chills. The crowd of mostly young people rose to their feet giving Scherrie, Susaye and Joyce a well-deserved standing ovation. This was the best interpretation ever given this song by any grouping of ladies over the years.
Scherrie closed the show with You Can’t Hurry Love. Like Susaye she stayed loyal to the original recording. I had a thought during this song at how disappointed most fans were in the 1970s when the ladies sang these classics in fast-paced medleys. Hearing them in their entirety is so exciting. Miss Payne sounds exactly as she did in those years and in her 7
th decade is slim and sexy. She could probably fit into those old gowns. She remains a crowd pleaser and, of course is still, the little lady with the big voice.
As Scherrie told the crowd, this would have been the grouping of Supremes after Mary Wilson left for a solo career in 1978. One can imagine the incredible body of work we would have gotten had Motown not woefully decided to retire the name. That new dimension of Supremes as planned is finally available.
A special shout-out is appropo here to their manager Eric Iversen. Eric runs his own business in LA but spends an enormous amount of time managing and directing the Former Ladies of Supremes. When his group takes stage he makes it his personal business to insure that his ladies are Supreme. They look great and sound great. He is to Scherrie, Susaye and Joyce what Berry Gordy was to Diana, Mary and Florence. His contribution to the legacy is immeasurable.
This grouping of FLOs is quite dynamic. I have enjoyed all groupings of Supremes through the years. Sometimes I would enjoy the later groupings but still yearned for their predecessors. When Cindy joined I loved her, but missed Flo. When Diana left, I loved Jean Terrell but sometimes wished Diana was still there. Same when Jean left. Watching Scherrie, Susaye and Joyce yesterday I must say I experienced full enjoyment and missed no one.
Rick Bueche
Bookmarks