Quote Originally Posted by TYK1986 View Post
I meant more immediately after she officially joined in July. Unlike the Vandellas and Marvelettes, who were mostly replaced by the Andantes or who ever was available, the Supremes seemed to still sing their own background, although we know not on all songs. Didn't Jean record a few demo's just to get a feel of how she would sound.
i think the difference is that background singing is more "standard" from song to song, group to group. of course there are some unique differences but the real key is about excellent harmonizing and blend.

you bring up Jean and i don't think that's an apples to apples comparison. by definition, the lead is going to have very different styles and tones. Gladys Horton, Diana Ross, Gladys Knight and Jean Terrell might all approach a song very differently. but frankly they could have all utilized the same backing tracks

now this isn't to downplay or minimize the contributions of the backing vocals. If you can't harmonize well, it's gonna be awful. and BG singers have the additional task of having to carry the harmony notes versus the melody. that too makes it more complex.

So i think they probably didn't "test" Cindy like the did with Jean because it's two totally different types of singing. I'm sure they at least tried to figure out her range and not arrange vocals that were too high.