I have been looking in hindsight at Motown in 1970 and the Supremes, and I have a few opinions[[that are definitely just my own). As much as I love the Supremes and that Up The Ladder to the Roof was the first song I ever bought, Motown had really sealed the fate of the group. I looked at it from Motown's perpsective. Motown had already been using the name of the Supremes since 1967 to launch Diana Ross' solo career when it changed the name to Diana Ross & The Supremes. The mass public still had the group name that it loved out there, but it was different and all done to showcase Diana Ross. The original group was over in 1967, when Florence was gone and replaced by Cindy Birdsong. Cindy resembled Florence but did not have her loud, bombastic voice, although she seemed more comfortable with their new, more elaborate glamour image. She managed to visually and vocally blend with Mary Wilson and they were used as visual and vocal backdrops to Diana Ross until 1970. Plus, the Andantes were used on recordings as backing vocalists far more, getting people more used to Diana Ross rather than the established group sound, even if the Andantes had been used prior to "sweeten" vocals, there was an established group sound prior to the name change. In 1970, Motown had clearly been behind Ross, featuring her prominently and they were behind her in her solo endeavor to prove they were not wrong to single her out. Motown had a loyalty to the group name, they saw its worth to use it to help Ross the past few years to establish her as a solo while in the Supremes framework. In 1970, there was only one original member that Motown would have any loyalty to-Mary Wilson. Cindy had done a great job replacing Florence, so I am sure there was also some loyalty to her for coming in during a difficult time and doing such an excellent job. Still, by this time it was only Mary that Motown would really be loyal to because of her status as an original member and their long history together. Gordy had chosen Jean Terrell as the new lead singer, so he must have been impressed with her voice. While Ross was far more pliable and distinctive as a singer, arguably Terrell was a better singer. Still, when she was announced Gordy saw her onstage with the group and had wanted to replace her with Syreeta, which did not happen. I am just thinking Gordy saw that Terrell did not possess the razzle dazzle stage presence that Ross had [[even though he clearly liked her voice) and in my opinion she did not have the stage presence that even Wilson and Birdsong had. If they wanted to replace her, Motown clearly had no loyalty to her and were not going to be behind her to make her a success. By 1970, Motown clearly was out to exploit the name from its familiarity with the record buying public and the mass public who saw them on television. No matter how good the songs were, how well they kept up their stage shows and what they did on television, Motown wasn't going to focus on the Supremes, they were going to use the name to get what they could like they did from 1967 on. Clearly, Motown was loyal to Ross and seeing her succeed first and foremost. I think this would be what the perspective of Motown as company would be-they had their main name group lose its identifiable lead singer with only one member from its origins, one who had been there 2-3 years and a brand new lead singer who they secretly wanted to replace. Motown lavished the group with gowns during the 1967-on era yet in 1970 they were refitting the new group in the old gowns rather than focusing on new gowns and/or new looks for a completely new grouping, that alone showed that they were not putting money and the push behind this new grouping. For me,personally, the 70's Supremes were who got me into Motown and I followed them and all their members because I was so impressed with their voices, looks and style. I also followed Ross and thought she was terrific and went back and bought what she recorded with the group as well as her new solo efforts. So, in my opinion, Motown no longer had as much loyalty to the group, they were going to make money off of its name and use what they could get from the new groups talent but they were clearly not focused with a clear vision to take the group beyond and into new territory, there was no long term plan for the group now. It was use the name, use their talents and just see what will work and go from there. Plus, I have to say no matter who was in the group they were focused on Ross because they had chosen her and had she failed it wouldn't have said much to singling her out and pushing her, the company push was really behind her because her success would mean more to the company. Mary had been a very loyal and long term employee but Motown never seemed impressed with her and Gordy told her she "couldn't sing". Cindy was somewhat relatively new and was rarely used in the studio prior to 1970, so the company loyalty to her was even less than to Mary. I think on record, Terrell ran circles around many singers in the company but she was new and opinionated. I would think if the company was behind her, there would have been a huge amount of publicity behind who was going to replace the well known lead singer in their top group but I don't recall seeing much publicity about Terrell in that manner. I get that it was now a group group again, but public curiosity about the new lead singer should have been very big and played up if the company was behind the new group. I just new now they were really only out to make what money they could from the group name using the talents of the replacements without much expenditure for the group. At least, looking at it now from a company perspective, I think that is where their mindsight was. As fans, when we reflect we see so much missed opportunities from the company regarding the group and how its new chapter should have been handled.