Originally Posted by
RanRan79
There are three kinds of difficult replacements. For the sake of this discussion I'll christen them the Diana type, the David type, and the Florence type. The Diana type is the most difficult group member to replace. The Diana type is considered the front person, the lead, maybe even the face. The Diana type has become that which identifies the group. For the general public, when the Diana type leaves, sometimes so does public interest. Sometimes even the fanship moves on, either with the Diana type into the singer's solo career, or abandoning both.
The David type is still a dangerous replacement issue, but not as difficult as the Diana type. The David type is identifiable but not necessarily the life blood of the group. A David type's replacement has to be carefully considered but there's a bit more of a cushion for error as there are other group members to keep the brand moving along.
The Florence type is the easiest group member to replace but difficult just the same. A Flo type is one who is beloved by the public, is sure to be missed, but because the group's dynamic [[with the public) mostly hinges on the Diana or David type, the Flo type replacement mostly just has to make the public comfortable with the switch. Nothing too crazy as to throw off what the public has come to love.
Jean and Billy had incredible shoes to fill stepping into the roles of damn near exclusive lead singers. Their groups already had a thing going on and the roles they stepped into had already been so clearly defined, especially Jean's. Luckily for both, Motown hooked them up with good records that kept them in the public's good graces.
Dennis' transition was probably a little easier because for all the talk about David and his role in the group, the Temptations were a quintessential GROUP. Everybody had a role. Everybody had a lead. David wanted the Tempts to be all about him but it never was. Eddie's voice was probably nearly as identifiable as David's was. Dennis had the benefit of being eased in by four men who could [[and did) help carry the load. The fact that Dennis was an exciting singer/performer in his own right probably helped the public go "okay, we can get with this dude" in replacing someone as unique as David.
Cindy Birdsong has spoken about how difficult it was stepping into Florence's shoes. The public loved Flo. She was one third of the most popular female singing group...one third of the most popular American group at the time. Of course she was going to be missed. And it made sense that Motown would seek out someone who had a "similar" look and, while I wouldn't say Flo and Cindy had a similar sound, Cindy was capable of singing the top harmony, which was Flo's thing, and so it made sense that Motown would replace Flo with a soprano. And of course Cindy's job was made even the more difficult because there was controversy over the reason why Flo left. Motown and Flo had a standard answer but the streets were saying something else. But as difficult as all of that must have been, Cindy was coming into a group where most of the pressure- and the spotlight- was on the Diana type...as in Diana Ross herself.
My idea about replacements is that they are what they are. As long as the music continues to be great, kudos to them for a job well done.
Bookmarks