In 1970, Diana Ross performed for the last time with The Supremes, at a show in Vegas

[sup_fan]

Okay Sup, let's not get carried away. Had Flo been noticeably drunk she either would've been dismissed- as she was- or Motown would've just had to do damage control. There would not have been any "Flo was drunk! We gotta end the Supremes" talk. As far as I can tell, the reviews for Flo's appearance with the group that last time were great, so how bad could she have been? That's not to shrug off the potential for fallout had things gotten worse, but it's not like Flo went on stage, snatched Diana's mic and then did her own show to the confusion of the audience, making her a liability had she been invited to attend the Farewell show.

Let's be real, the only real scandal that had the potential to end the Supremes is [[a) One of them ended up pregnant with no husband, [[b) one of them was outed as gay, [[c) possibly some type of racial or sexual scandal [[like Mary dating the married Tom Jones). This was the entertainment industry, Vegas no less, drunk stars was not uncommon. True, the Supremes had a certain image and being drunk certainly was not a part of it. But Motown could've spun a drunk Supreme in any number of ways. Lets be real, as far as any of us really know, Diana's "breakdown" in Boston the year before was the result of a bad drug trip, not mental and physical exhaustion, as was reported.

well that was sort of my point. we were fortunate it wasn't a situation like that. none of us know of course just how drunk Flo was that night. was she a little buzzed or slurring her speech drunk? she had also previous been too drunk to even go on stage with them in New Orleans.

the stories of that night are bad enough - she was off her mark, singing flat and exposed her stomach on the Fat routine line. My suggestions were extreme but meant to be examples of what could maybe have happened that was even worse.

I've not seen any reviews from that Flamingo run and i thought they typically reviewed opening night. flo was dismissed a few days into the run.

but what if her antics had been on opening night? and let's not exagerate what she did. let's just say the reviewers watched her that night - poor reviews of lacking of showmanship, off singing, poor timing, odd behavior would not have helped the group. Otis williams writes that the Temps debut in Vegas was very rough for almost the same reason - Paul was drunk on stage. and then the group didn't return to Vegas for years

[kenneth]

It did have a US release. It was re-titled Captured Live on Stage! It was a 2 CD release.

Also, the exclamation point was in the title of the CD, I wasn’t yelling. Lol

that’s funny! It’s just like when you read texts or emails that are in all caps the voice in your head is always somebody yelling! LIKE I AM NOW!

[antceleb12]

the last time Flo performed as a Supreme in Vegas, she selfishly nearly ruined the group. coming onto any stage [[much less one of the premier Vegas show rooms) drug was inexcusable.

what if she had fallen down or tripped and fell? or good lord! what if she got sick or ran off the stage and got sick? or what if her "fat is where it's at" stomach gesture had been more noticed by the press or audience - causing gasps, boos and poor reviews? what if she simply took her mic from the stand and ad libbed or went off script?

if anything worse than what actually happened HAD occurred, the group would have been ruined. it's quite possible the group would have disbanded and diana go solo prematurely. which would mean no Love Child, no duets with Tempts or TCB. no Jean-era 70s material [[which is lovely), possibly no superstar career for Diana

so what deranged mind at motown would ever want to risk repeating this?

No, I merely wondered if anyone had possibly considered inviting Florence to the Farewell. I think we're all well aware of the fact that she would not have been considered to join them on stage. And as RanRan79 pointed out, I think you're blowing Florence's antics a little out of proportion. None of us know what actually went down that night; there are a host of stories told by different people, fueled by stress, personal bias, and heightened emotions. The Supremes were the biggest thing since sliced bread at the time; if there was anything even noticeably off about one of the Supremes that night it would have been blown up all over the news.

[RanRan79]

well that was sort of my point. we were fortunate it wasn't a situation like that. none of us know of course just how drunk Flo was that night. was she a little buzzed or slurring her speech drunk? she had also previous been too drunk to even go on stage with them in New Orleans.

the stories of that night are bad enough - she was off her mark, singing flat and exposed her stomach on the Fat routine line. My suggestions were extreme but meant to be examples of what could maybe have happened that was even worse.

I've not seen any reviews from that Flamingo run and i thought they typically reviewed opening night. flo was dismissed a few days into the run.

but what if her antics had been on opening night? and let's not exagerate what she did. let's just say the reviewers watched her that night - poor reviews of lacking of showmanship, off singing, poor timing, odd behavior would not have helped the group. Otis williams writes that the Temps debut in Vegas was very rough for almost the same reason - Paul was drunk on stage. and then the group didn't return to Vegas for years

A lot of what ifs though. The truth is that what supposedly did happen wasn't so bad that anyone should've been like "Oh my gosh! Somebody invited Florence to the Farewell! What will she do when she gets here? Is she gonna run onstage during the Supremes medley, push Cindy down and resume her position? Get security! Get...sec...urity!!!"

In a more perfect world, Flo would have indeed been invited to Diana's farewell. And truth be told, Diana should've been invited to Mary's, er, the actual end of the Supremes period. The Supremes belonged to Flo, Diana and Mary regardless of who owned the rights, then or now. And it would've been fitting for those three ladies to be present during those two momentous occasions in 1970 and 1977. Of course nobody expects or expected them to be at either, but that isn't the same as pointing out that they should've been there.

[sup_fan]

A lot of what ifs though. The truth is that what supposedly did happen wasn't so bad that anyone should've been like "Oh my gosh! Somebody invited Florence to the Farewell! What will she do when she gets here? Is she gonna run onstage during the Supremes medley, push Cindy down and resume her position? Get security! Get...sec...urity!!!"

In a more perfect world, Flo would have indeed been invited to Diana's farewell. And truth be told, Diana should've been invited to Mary's, er, the actual end of the Supremes period. The Supremes belonged to Flo, Diana and Mary regardless of who owned the rights, then or now. And it would've been fitting for those three ladies to be present during those two momentous occasions in 1970 and 1977. Of course nobody expects or expected them to be at either, but that isn't the same as pointing out that they should've been there.

simmer down there Bon Qui Qui lolol

what Flo did in Vegas was pretty bad and the group was fortunate it didn't really get noticed much [[by that i mean we don't have all sorts of newspaper articles going bonkers about the drunk surpreme on stage). But this also wasn't the first problem with flo. she didn't show up for a show in jan and they had all of the history of problems which we don't need to go into here. The Vegas incident was the final straw.

i don't know exactly when real problems began in the group. in July 66 Flo was a no show for those recording sessions, including You Can't Hurry Love. by July 67 we had the Vegas incident. so it was at least a year of some pretty serious group conflicts and issues, maybe even longer.

so that's my point. they had been dealing with a lot of shit [[some started by flo, some by diana, some by berry...) and it was getting worse and worse. It wasn't an amicable separation. there was real damage done to the personal and professional relationships.

Also the Farewell in 70 wasn't about the Supremes but about Diana. M and C barely got any recognition during the show - it was all focused on Diana. so why on earth bring in another women that might shift some spotlight? especially one that was such a problem

[RanRan79]

simmer down there Bon Qui Qui lolol

what Flo did in Vegas was pretty bad and the group was fortunate it didn't really get noticed much [[by that i mean we don't have all sorts of newspaper articles going bonkers about the drunk surpreme on stage). But this also wasn't the first problem with flo. she didn't show up for a show in jan and they had all of the history of problems which we don't need to go into here. The Vegas incident was the final straw.

i don't know exactly when real problems began in the group. in July 66 Flo was a no show for those recording sessions, including You Can't Hurry Love. by July 67 we had the Vegas incident. so it was at least a year of some pretty serious group conflicts and issues, maybe even longer.

so that's my point. they had been dealing with a lot of shit [[some started by flo, some by diana, some by berry...) and it was getting worse and worse. It wasn't an amicable separation. there was real damage done to the personal and professional relationships.

Also the Farewell in 70 wasn't about the Supremes but about Diana. M and C barely got any recognition during the show - it was all focused on Diana. so why on earth bring in another women that might shift some spotlight? especially one that was such a problem

Sup, I will cuuuttt youuuu.

Arguing Flo shifting some of the spotlight is an excellent point, if only just to ponder it all. The truth is that Flo was really only on good terms at this point with Mary, so she would have been the one who extended the invite. And honestly, I don't think she cared to have Flo there. Not to say she didn't want her there, but it wasn't a concern. It wasn't a concern of anyone's. Just like I doubt anyone would have been concerned with her even attending. If Flo was going to show up to a DRATS show and start some shit, she'd have had multiple opportunities before hand to do it.

What would've really been funny is if Gwen or Marvin had invited Flo to attend as their guests. Would I love to have been a fly on the wall when Diana, Mary and Berry learned she was out there. Would she have gotten a chance to sing on "Aquarius"?

[sup_fan]

Sup, I will cuuuttt youuuu.

Arguing Flo shifting some of the spotlight is an excellent point, if only just to ponder it all. The truth is that Flo was really only on good terms at this point with Mary, so she would have been the one who extended the invite. And honestly, I don't think she cared to have Flo there. Not to say she didn't want her there, but it wasn't a concern. It wasn't a concern of anyone's. Just like I doubt anyone would have been concerned with her even attending. If Flo was going to show up to a DRATS show and start some shit, she'd have had multiple opportunities before hand to do it.

What would've really been funny is if Gwen or Marvin had invited Flo to attend as their guests. Would I love to have been a fly on the wall when Diana, Mary and Berry learned she was out there. Would she have gotten a chance to sing on "Aquarius"?

yeah i think Mary took the Farewell show as a part of work. she mentions how it was really just a formality. it wasn't the emotional sendoff that fans took it as so therefore the emotional idea of having the original grouping together one last time wouldn't have been a possibility. sure Mary was still in touch with flo. but this was work.

if we want to open ANOTHER can of worms - a similar discussion could be had about Flo rejoining with L and J left lololol. like how Tony Turner suggested in his book lol

even though Flo joined MCS on stage, that was frankly probably more of a publicity ploy than any serious thought of Flo rejoining. I don't mean that mary flew Flo out for the purpose of a sensation at the concert and generating buzz. i don't think it was that planned or premeditated.

the unfortunate thing is that Flo never got better, mentally. she had serious problems and when work and life started getting extremely stressful and problematic in 65, 66, 67, she didn't have the capabilities to work with it. and after she left, life only got more stressful and problematic.