When Diana Ross left the Supremes in 1970 and Jean Terrell took over, there was an opportunity for both the Supremes as a group and Diana Ross as a solo to maintain their status as 2 huge hitmakers. It started out that way, with Ross having a #20 hit and the Supremes having a #10 hit, followed by a #21 hit.Then Ross had a #1 pop hit with Ain't No Mountain High Enough and the Supremes with a #1 R&B[[#7 pop) hit Stoned Love. Motown saturated the market too much with Ross having Diana Ross, Surrender and Everything is Everything hit the market closely and the Supremes having Right On, New Ways But Love Stays,Touch and with the 4 Tops The Magnificent 7 and The Return of the Magnificent 7. Surely, for fans of both this was an awful lot of saturation. Plus many of the songs on these LPs were cover versions of Motown and others hits.This was the time where albums were becoming important and filler with a hit or two no longer caused people to buy albums. Then there was the fact that although Jean Terrell was a much better singer than Ross, she did not possess the razzle dazzle that Ross had on television.By the time we saw DRATS, they were no longer the hit making Supremes but were now an established group that was a part of mainstream entertainment. When Terrell joined they needed to become hitmakers again since they were starting anew. Jean just did not draw people in with her television and live performances and even Wilson and Birdsong were quite more a visual focal point than Terrell. Then by the time of Touch, they were touring and Nathan Jones and Touch were not on television. Then when Birdsong left and they had Floy Joy out, the songs hit the top 20 and then top 40 but the momentum was slowing down quite a bit. Lynda Lawrence was added, she looked slightly like Birdsong but did not convey the warmth of Birdsong nor did she blend as well vocally or visually with Wilson. Jean, Mary and Lynda felt like a completely different group and concept and they did not catch on. JML had the lowest charting singles hitting #85 & #87. Plus at this time Motown had moved to California and was focused on Ross and making movies. While Ross was given a television special of her own in 1971, the Supremes were merely guest stars on others variety shows and specials, they had nothing of their own. Then when Terrell and Lawrence left in 1973, the Supremes had no releases at all until 1975. When the Supremes came back, they had been gone from the scene for nearly 2 years except for touring. They no longer had Terrell as lead singer. Now Mary Wilson, who had sang shared leads with Terrell was sharing leads with new lead singer Scherrie Payne and Cindy Birdsong was back. Visually and vocally, they had pizzazz and a great dynamic. Still, with now a second new lead replacement and so much time out of the public eye it was an uphill battle. By this time, Berry had washed his hands of the group and probably was hoping that the Supremes would stop so the focus could truly be just Diana. Plus, as the Supremes reemerged Diana was starring in her second movie at the same time after having received an Oscar Nomination for her first. The Supremes started to manage to gain some activity, this was purely due to the willpower of Mary Wilson. Then Cindy left a second time in 1976 and was replaced by Susaye Greene. Techinically, this trio was perhaps the most talented in terms of ability. Visually, they were not the most dynamic since both Scherrie and Susaye were so much shorter than Mary, who ironically was the shortest of the original trio. When they released High Energy and had their last top 40 hit, it came at the same time as Ross' Love hangover. It seemed there was a lot of bad timing and overlap with the solo Ross and the new Supremes releases. Clearly, too much saturation early on, too many covers on the early LPs, Birdsong leaving and many other factors caused the downfall in 1971-72. Clearly, the music the group put out was more progressive and atristically miles beyond what the original and DRATS groupings could ever hope to produce. But like I noted even DRATS were no longer the consistent chart toppers that the Supremes were-mainly because HDH left and the group was now focused to elevate Ross and they were now more than a group, they were established stars in the entertainment business who no longer needed hit after hit to be considered a top entertainment group. Yes, they still needed hits which is why Gordy focused to make Love Child, I'm Livin in Shame and Someday We'll Be Together top 10 hits to keep them relevant along with maintaining their established position. With Terrell, they had to prove themselves all over again. She had the voice but lacked what was expected live and on television. She didn't click with the audience as Ross had or as Wilson, Ballard and Birdsong did. Perhaps, that may have been a reason why Gordy changed his mind after seeing her on stage with the group. Yes,she had been his choice and from a voice standpoint an excellent one yet he knew long term it may not have been best for the group. Still, I was one who bought all of the Supremes and Ross' output during that time. I liked the Supremes a bit more, but still liked Ross. At that time, I wondered why the Supremes were not on top like I felt they should have been. There were so many factors, including some Motown politics that I didn't see as a young teen. Still, I love their music to this day. I just wish more people-the mass public-had enjoyed the missed opportunity of the Supremes. I truly still enjoy and love their music and I thank them for sharing their talents with us.