Originally Posted by
sup_fan
in the pre WDOLG days, Berry was sure that the Supremes [[and especially Diana Ross) had IT. i'm greatly paraphrasing here but he was looking for a female singer that he could develop and mold into a mega star. One that would cross over into the "white" pop world as that was were the major money was to be made. So his goal was always to have an ingenue to launch into superstardom.
Mable John was an early potential candidate but was much more a blues singer and Berry wanted pop. Freda Payne was another candidate but her mother wouldn't let her sign. I think he was hoping Mary Wells would be one but at the same time, he was growing more and more enamored with the Supremes and Diana. even at a young age, Diana possessed a star ability. she was a consummate performer and had amazing drive. She also really developed in the studio. All of these kept berry's interest peaked. Plus she was equally an enamored with him and so they both quickly developed a strong rapport and bond.
M and F also had real showmanship and abilities and so he was taken with the whole group. and with the possibilities of what they could achieve. When so many of their releases struggled, it was sort of a contest to see who could strike gold first. They did "girl group" songs such as Never Again and I Want a Guy, sultry bosa nova tunes a la Mary wells with Breathtaking Guy and Your Heart Belongs to me, harder edged r&B with Let Me Go and You Bring Back Memories. and then country with the Clarence Paul stuff.
it was just sort of an approach of turning over every stone trying to find SOMETHING that would hit. cuz berry knew once they could unlock the hits with Diana, there would be no stopping it
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