Autopsy: The Last Hours of Florence Ballard on REELZ Channel-Sun 7/29/08 9PM

[franjoy56]

Please mr postman in which flo was involved btw took 3 months to hit t top because t promotion was there and iglmhdtw did get promted in t beginning with the phrase across the board action but died at its critical point in july or aug 76

[Roberta75]

Please mr postman in which flo was involved btw took 3 months to hit t top because t promotion was there and iglmhdtw did get promted in t beginning with the phrase across the board action but died at its critical point in july or aug 76

If IGLMHDTW had the potential to be a top 10 hit it would have been a top 10 hit. Motown didnt kill the 70s Supremes Mary Wilson bringing Pedro Ferrer in as Manager killed the 70s Supremes. All the Supremes hated him for the way he abused Mary and the execs at Motown were sick of his women abusing butt and his ridiculous demmands.

[franjoy56]

If IGLMHDTW had the potential to be a top 10 hit it would have been a top 10 hit. Motown didnt kill the 70s Supremes Mary Wilson bringing Pedro Ferrer in as Manager killed the 70s Supremes. All the Supremes hated him for the way he abused Mary and the execs at Motown were sick of his women abusing butt and his ridiculous demmands.

the supremes were slipping before pedro came in and yes pedro was abusing mary and cindy scherrie and susaye were witnesses and that abuse should have been nipped in t bud. But if motown had continued mgmt of the supremes after jean left they would have died a quicker death. At least pedro got the group a decent hit album high energy with him getting some bookings w a top 40 single at best. Iglmhdtw was meant to be in the top 20 myb top 10 if it was in the cards. I wasnt an insider but the record excluding bad weather was a far cry from their previous releases

[TheMotownManiac]

Please mr postman in which flo was involved btw took 3 months to hit t top because t promotion was there and iglmhdtw did get promted in t beginning with the phrase across the board action but died at its critical point in july or aug 76

what kind of promotion expert are you, sweetness? Please Mr Postman was 15 years prior to this and was released as a race record in many areas of the US. There is no logical way you can compare the two situations - it was two different worlds. IGLMHDTW wasn’t getting any more adds because the song wasn’t going high on any markets. Billboard published those reports to aid program directors - thevsong just wasn’t getting past the halfway point. Motown plugged the hell out of he’s my man and it tanked.

[RanRan79]

where was cousin Hank the legendary singer who wrote and performed the twist? Did he show at the funeral? Are there any pics of him with his cousin? Have yet to see one

I don't believe they are cousins. It has never been documented in any reliable way. Just silly folks thinking all Ballards are related, I'm guessing.

[johnny_raven]

I don't believe they are cousins. It has never been documented in any reliable way. Just silly folks thinking all Ballards are related, I'm guessing.

Hank Ballard's real name is John Henry Kendricks. Maybe he's related to Eddie ... ?

[reese]

I believe Hank Ballard was indeed related to Flo, but I can't remember where I read it.

[midnightman]

Hank Ballard came from Detroit but had family in Bessemer, Alabama. Jessie Lambert was from Bessemer. Jessie was adopted by a Ballard family... it's possible but I don't know if it can be proven?

[midnightman]

where was cousin Hank the legendary singer who wrote and performed the twist? Did he show at the funeral? Are there any pics of him with his cousin? Have yet to see one

Yeah they may not be related at all. Hank also has been dead for 15 years and neither him nor Flo when she was living ever mentioned the other.

[reese]

Hank Ballard came from Detroit but had family in Bessemer, Alabama. Jessie Lambert was from Bessemer. Jessie was adopted by a Ballard family... it's possible but I don't know if it can be proven?

Interesting. I believe Diana's maternal family is from Bessemer as well.

[RanRan79]

I believe Hank Ballard was indeed related to Flo, but I can't remember where I read it.

It's been written a couple of places but I've never seen it attributed to a reputable source. I have yet to read Flo or anyone in her family regarding this connection. There was nothing in the Flo bio or in Maxine's book about it either.

[RanRan79]

Hank Ballard came from Detroit but had family in Bessemer, Alabama. Jessie Lambert was from Bessemer. Jessie was adopted by a Ballard family... it's possible but I don't know if it can be proven?

That would certainly be a wild coincidence. Lol I believe Jesse's adopted Ballard family was from Mississippi if I'm not mistaken.

[RanRan79]

Interesting. I believe Diana's maternal family is from Bessemer as well.

Yes they are [[as is Bo Jackson's family). I wonder if Diana and Flo's Bessemer relatives knew one another. Wouldn't that be crazy?

[midnightman]

Interesting. I believe Diana's maternal family is from Bessemer as well.

Sure did. Think Diana stayed there for two weeks when Ernestine was gravely ill.

[midnightman]

That would certainly be a wild coincidence. Lol I believe Jesse's adopted Ballard family was from Mississippi if I'm not mistaken.

Yeah, Rosetta, Mississippi.

You know what's crazy? For years, people put it that Flo was from Mississippi and Maxine had to correct them and say "no, most of us were born in Detroit".

[marv2]

Interesting. I believe Diana's maternal family is from Bessemer as well.

The guy that fixed my brother's lawn mower is from Bessemer, AL.

[midnightman]

It's been written a couple of places but I've never seen it attributed to a reputable source. I have yet to read Flo or anyone in her family regarding this connection. There was nothing in the Flo bio or in Maxine's book about it either.

Then that was another fable that got passed as truth as time went on and people were like "well if that's true, that's true". Just like that rumor that somehow David Ruffin, Rick James and Melvin Franklin were, in one way or another, "related" to each other.

[johnny_raven]

There are several Florence Ballard family trees on Ancestry, some are quite extensive. Not one of them has Hank ballard [[or John Henry Kendricks) in them.

[marv2]

Then that was another fable that got passed as truth as time went on and people were like "well if that's true, that's true". Just like that rumor that somehow David Ruffin, Rick James and Melvin Franklin were, in one way or another, "related" to each other.

No, no one has ever said that. Melvin Franklin [[aka David English) and Richard Street were cousins [[I went to school with a couple of Richard's cousins). Melvin Franklin was the uncle of Rick James. Those are the three that were related.

[marv2]

Yeah, Rosetta, Mississippi.

You know what's crazy? For years, people put it that Flo was from Mississippi and Maxine had to correct them and say "no, most of us were born in Detroit".

No! That is wrong. Jesse [[Ballard) Lambert was from Bessemer, AL. Lurlee Ballard, Florence's mom was from Rosetta, Mississippi.

[marv2]

her relation to hank was mentioned in several articles including wikpedia which is supposedly the most reliable

No one had denied it anywhere but here. I don't know if they are actually related.

[midnightman]

her relation to hank was mentioned in several articles including wikpedia which is supposedly the most reliable

WIKIPEDIA, that should be a red flag. Most articles quoted Wikipedia's article on her with that dubious claim. One thing about Wiki is if it questions a claim, they'll put a "confirm this" like sign on the statement so they have that going for them.

[RanRan79]

Sure did. Think Diana stayed there for two weeks when Ernestine was gravely ill.

She was actually there long enough to be enrolled in school, so I'm guessing longer than two weeks. Lol

[RanRan79]

Yeah, Rosetta, Mississippi.

You know what's crazy? For years, people put it that Flo was from Mississippi and Maxine had to correct them and say "no, most of us were born in Detroit".

I think even the Rosetta part is fishy. Lurlee was from Freewoods [[which has an interesting history, which Flo's family is tied to) but I think Jesse's adopted family was from further north in the state. But I have seen it written countless times that Flo was from Rosetta. That's people not doing their homework.

[RanRan79]

her relation to hank was mentioned in several articles including wikpedia which is supposedly the most reliable

Wikipedia is not an accepted source because anyone can sign in and add information. Now if anyone can locate confirmation via a Flo Ballard or Hank Ballard relative or quote from either person, then it will be what it is. Until then, for my information, I file the claim under "myth".

[midnightman]

I think even the Rosetta part is fishy. Lurlee was from Freewoods [[which has an interesting history, which Flo's family is tied to) but I think Jesse's adopted family was from further north in the state. But I have seen it written countless times that Flo was from Rosetta. That's people not doing their homework.

Didn't know Lurlee was from Freewoods, MS... hmm... maybe the Rosetta thing is just a myth but where did it start?!

[RanRan79]

Didn't know Lurlee was from Freewoods, MS... hmm... maybe the Rosetta thing is just a myth but where did it start?!

I think Mary's first book is where people connect Flo to Rosetta. Mary did say she got some help from a couple of Flo's sisters for the Flo portions of her first book, so maybe one of them said the family was from Rosetta. I can tell you from my experience as a family historian that you can talk to siblings with the same parents to get their recollections on the family origins and you may end up with different answers to questions like "where was such and such born", and then you find an official document that the person in question may have had to answer a place of birth and only then do you discover that some of that person's kids didn't know what they were talking about. Lol [[Sometimes it's not even that they didn't know what they were talking about, but simply made assumptions because someone lived in a particular place at one time, etc.). Anyway, I don't recall Maxine mentioning Rosetta in her book, only Freewoods. Maybe the family did at some point live in Rosetta though.

[midnightman]

I think Mary's first book is where people connect Flo to Rosetta. Mary did say she got some help from a couple of Flo's sisters for the Flo portions of her first book, so maybe one of them said the family was from Rosetta. I can tell you from my experience as a family historian that you can talk to siblings with the same parents to get their recollections on the family origins and you may end up with different answers to questions like "where was such and such born", and then you find an official document that the person in question may have had to answer a place of birth and only then do you discover that some of that person's kids didn't know what they were talking about. Lol [[Sometimes it's not even that they didn't know what they were talking about, but simply made assumptions because someone lived in a particular place at one time, etc.). Anyway, I don't recall Maxine mentioning Rosetta in her book, only Freewoods. Maybe the family did at some point live in Rosetta though.

Maybe but why even go with that assumption and put it in your book? That's why it's important to do more research lol

But yeah that could be true. I remember for years that my father said they came from Virginia, then my aunt had to remind me my grandfather came from Enfield, NC [[my dad was born in NYC). So yeah it happens.

[johnny_raven]

According to the 1920 Census [[when Lurlee was 9, going on 10), her family lived in Knoxville, MS.

[midnightman]

Now things get more suspicious...

[johnny_raven]

Although Freewoods and Rosetta are both less than 5 miles from Knoxville ...

[sup_fan]

while of course i wasn't there, there have been multiple books that site this. so i think it's true. in some later interviews, flo even notes that maybe there were situations they both could have handled better.

the girls were not lifelong friends. they met while in high school through the Primes setting up the Primettes. as far as i can tell, they weren't even really close friends prior to the Primettes. sure they knew one another. M and F apparently both sang in a talent show at school. but in none of the books is there significant content, recollections or stories of funny times, antics, adventures, etc that they had prior the formation of the Primettes.

so they didn't have a long and strong history and bond prior to the group. but they did certainly share an amazing experience together. with time and maturity that comes with age, i think D and F both recognized where they had been right and where they'd been wrong in the past. and while they might not ever be "sisters" again, they could at least mend old fences.

[RanRan79]

Maybe but why even go with that assumption and put it in your book? That's why it's important to do more research lol

Well I don't think that's the kind of thing you vet out when your writing your own autobiography and decide to include a little history of someone connected to your story. I think Mary did what she was supposed to do: she asked one or more Ballards about the family origins and that's what she was told. She had no reason to question it.

[RanRan79]

In earlier thread someone mentioned that Flo went to see Mahagony in 1975 then called Diana and had a long conversation with her to smooth things over. Is that true? If so it makes sense that Diana was overwhelmed with grief at the funeral. I wouldnt make much sense for Diana to be saddened as much if they were bitter rivals till the day Flo died but then again some people put their past indifferences aside when it comes to death

Both Flo [[in her interviews with Peter Benjaminson) and Diana [[in one or more publications after Flo's death) confirmed this conversation. IMO the fans have a bigger rivalry going on than anything that took place between Diana and Florence. They were both young ladies trying to figure out their place in this world and they often handled situations in an immature fashion like 99 percent of the other folks their age. Like most people who allow themselves to mature and wise up, they weren't interested in carrying on the bickering of 20 somethings in the 1960s into being 30 something with children in the 1970s. While both have recalled some bad times, both Flo and Diana have spoken about the fact that there was genuine love between them. Only the fans seem to want to keep the nonsense going.

[RanRan79]

while of course i wasn't there, there have been multiple books that site this. so i think it's true. in some later interviews, flo even notes that maybe there were situations they both could have handled better.

the girls were not lifelong friends. they met while in high school through the Primes setting up the Primettes. as far as i can tell, they weren't even really close friends prior to the Primettes. sure they knew one another. M and F apparently both sang in a talent show at school. but in none of the books is there significant content, recollections or stories of funny times, antics, adventures, etc that they had prior the formation of the Primettes.

so they didn't have a long and strong history and bond prior to the group. but they did certainly share an amazing experience together. with time and maturity that comes with age, i think D and F both recognized where they had been right and where they'd been wrong in the past. and while they might not ever be "sisters" again, they could at least mend old fences.

I pretty much agree with this, although I would add that there are very few lifelong friends when you're 13/14 years old. Lol That's usually the age when you do start to find "lifelong" friends. Mary says that she and Flo became friends after that talent show, and she also wrote that she and Diana were already in the same circle of friends, but they weren't close friends. Would these three people have become friends without the Primettes? Stranger things have happened, and in the world of adolescents it's impossible to rule anything out. Lol But they did bond through the group and I think throughout their lives we see their bonds show up every now and then. You don't buy Christmas presents and pay for surgeries and loan large sums of money unless there's something more than a past working relationship at play. Lol

[RanRan79]

Sup fan, did you see my reply to you in the Bring It On Home to Me thread?

[RanRan79]

Although Freewoods and Rosetta are both less than 5 miles from Knoxville ...

Makes sense, the same general area.

[midnightman]

Well I don't think that's the kind of thing you vet out when your writing your own autobiography and decide to include a little history of someone connected to your story. I think Mary did what she was supposed to do: she asked one or more Ballards about the family origins and that's what she was told. She had no reason to question it.

That does make sense.

[ralpht]

I deleted the thread. A rather silly topic in my opinion. As a point of interest, good road crews will use a QTip dipped in mouthwash to clean the wind screen of the mics and get rid of any foul odors accumulating there.

[midnightman]

I knew I blocked this person for a reason. Just why? Thanks Ralph for deleting that thread!

[Roberta75]

back in the 60's entertainers didnt pay much attention to halitosis or if their mouth stunk after smoking. Nowadays they take better care of their teeth brushing etc. If i detect any sort of mouth odor on a woman i am dating any beauty associated with them goes down the toilet . In my opinion if Flo Ballard Diana Ross or Mary Wilson breath stunk i am no longer infatuated with them. Thats how i am

Im blocking you. Have a real nice life.

[IMissFlo93]

back in the 60's entertainers didnt pay much attention to halitosis or if their mouth stunk after smoking. Nowadays they take better care of their teeth brushing etc. If i detect any sort of mouth odor on a woman i am dating any beauty associated with them goes down the toilet . In my opinion if Flo Ballard Diana Ross or Mary Wilson breath stunk i am no longer infatuated with them. Thats how i am

Gaack-aack! Thanks for bringing up their bad breath, fartski322! You just ruined good music and the appreciation of culture and crossover appeal. Shouldn't we be celebrating music and not bring back the everyday BAD parts of the 60s and lifestyles of certain people!


Look, I wouldn't date someone with bad breath either, but Flo is dead and Diana and Mary are growing old. Why should it matter by now? You just basically ruined memories of various trips to see family with the music i listened to in the car, let alone my collection of Supremes albums and singles.

I wonder if truly have a problem with bad breath, a young kid, or just a troll.

[milven]

back in the 60's entertainers didnt pay much attention to halitosis or if their mouth stunk after smoking. Nowadays they take better care of their teeth brushing etc. If i detect any sort of mouth odor on a woman i am dating any beauty associated with them goes down the toilet . In my opinion if Flo Ballard Diana Ross or Mary Wilson breath stunk i am no longer infatuated with them. Thats how i am

I'm glad the moderator deleted your thread. I can understand why you would be interested in odors. After all, look at the screen name that you picked for yourself fartski322

What a ridiculous post on a music board. We are not interested in odors here. Perhaps your posts and questions would be better suited on a board about body functions, persperation and bad breath.

[marv2]

In earlier thread someone mentioned that Flo went to see Mahagony in 1975 then called Diana and had a long conversation with her to smooth things over. Is that true? If so it makes sense that Diana was overwhelmed with grief at the funeral. I wouldnt make much sense for Diana to be saddened as much if they were bitter rivals till the day Flo died but then again some people put their past indifferences aside when it comes to death

That is not true. That did not happen.

[midnightman]

Think this person was a previously banned SDFer that is mad that Ralph banned them... be on alert people...

[snakepit]

[QUOTE=midnightman;485374]Think this person was a previously banned SDFer that is mad that Ralph banned them... be on alert people...



[/QUOT

You may be correct about that

[snakepit]

Is that remark aimed at me or the several others who have very quickly taken a dislike to your posts?

[snakepit]

Yet you've been blocked by several members....I wonder why?
If you are referring to the post with the video of a door closing and you being banned previously...I didn't post it!
You seem to have a problem reading and comprehending information.

[midnightman]

He's probably talking about me.
This dude definitely is illiterate.

[ralpht]

Sorry for the recent problem, gang. I don't remember approving fartski's application for membership. Anyway, I banned him permanently. also, I'm sorry for the delay. Sick as a dog right now. Nothing makes me feel a little better when not feeling well than getting rid of some asshole trying to mess with the forum