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  1. #51
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    i love the idea of the Sups being special guest stars on Diana! i think that would have been marvelous. but obviously Berry was wanting the public to think of Diana as just Diana.

    but how great would it have been to have Jean and Diana tossing lines on Someday back and forth, similar to how they did with Smokey. Or a new hits medley with Diana singing Ladder and Jean singing reach out.

  2. #52
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    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    I once read where Cindy said she and Mary didn't like Syreeta or didn't get along with her, something along those lines. So if that's true, that would've been another reason for Mary to put her foot down. Also, one has to wonder how much contact the ladies would've had at that point where Mary confirms with Syreeta anything.

    As for a white lead singer, I think that would not have gone down well with much of anybody. The group would've certainly have lost much of it's Black fan base and Black radio as well, which was sometimes the only thing that was keeping the group afloat.
    ‘Mary was vehemently opposed to Syreeta - even after Jean left there was not even a thought about her. She said “we just got rid if one diva, we didn’t want another coming in and taking control of the group.” She also stated Cindy was against Syreeta as well. I don’t know anything about her personally, but if she was the lead singer and lynda came into the group they would’ve really had the attention of Stevie wonder.

  3. #53
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheMotownManiac View Post
    ‘Mary was vehemently opposed to Syreeta - even after Jean left there was not even a thought about her. She said “we just got rid if one diva, we didn’t want another coming in and taking control of the group.” She also stated Cindy was against Syreeta as well. I don’t know anything about her personally, but if she was the lead singer and lynda came into the group they would’ve really had the attention of Stevie wonder.
    interesting. I'd always wondered what the issue was with Syreeta. mary said she wanted someone with a group mindset and that they didn't see the Sups as a stepping stone to a solo career. I don't really know anything about Syreeta and her personality. if she would have been a fit or not

  4. #54
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    Mary had stated that everyone knew Syreeta wanted a solo career hence the stepping stone comment.

  5. #55
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    I became a fan in 1970 and Up The Ladder to the Roof was the first song I bought. The Supremes were guest stars on variety shows but unlike DRATS with the Tempts did not have their own special. Diana did. I think it was obvious that Motown and Berry were not behind them like they were previously. Of course, they were still having them on shows and releasing songs , but they were not on like they had been and promoted the same way. Jean was a great replacement on record but on television she just did not have the razzle dazzle that Diana did and Mary and Cindy visually took most of your attention.Jean seemed to kind of just stand there, sometimes even looking overwhelmed or uncomfortable. Plus, I agree the NWBLS album cover was dated and it really did need Stoned Love as its title or Stone Love if pressed properly. Nathan Jones was a good song but apparently it couldn't be recreated live because I never heard it on TV. Once Cindy left, you didn't see them on tv as much save singing the third single from Floy Joy-YWSSL, which already had 2 top 40 hits not sung on TV. By the time of IGIMTM and Bad Weather, they were on tv but it seemed like the staging was now one like DRATS with Jean separated from Mary and Lynda. Motown was letting them just carry on without any solid plan or effort. Then when Jean and Lynda left and they didn't record for 2 years it was basically silence except for what Mary could bring on her own. I think the problem was not Jean being replaced but the silence for those 2 years. When they came back with 2 recognizable Supremes stars and a fresh, new voice in Scherrie Payne they didn't promote them at all from a company standpoint. Basically, I think any television they had then was through Mary's friendships and contacts. Motown could have easily promoted the group with its fresh, new dynamic sound but left them alone because of the tension between Mary continuing it on and the company wanting to go into movies and not having the Supremes continue. I don't think Jean leaving was the reason they were in limbo. Jean was a great voice on record but her stage presence was not what was expected from their sound. Granted, MSS sounded great on record but did not provide the visual experience that their recordings promised but they still were more dynamic. Scherrie brought much more glamour and poise than Jean did. I think everyone who wanted Flo as a lead singer, in ways got their wish when Scherrie was in the group-her strong dynamic soulful voice was just great and really could have taken the group much further if they had been in Motown's favor at the time. The lack of pushing the Supremes in the 1970's is apparent, Motown had given Diana all the support-her own special, a movie and sleeves for her singles[[pink one for Reach Out and blue for Remember Me) and aside from ANMHE hitting #1 pop, her chart action on the pop chart was similar to the Supremes with multiple songs hitting #16 and below. Diana did have spotty pop chart action but the treatment from the company was OBVIOUSLY quite different, even to the untrained eye. Motown was clearly putting all of its eggs in one basket and the Supremes were relegated to a different hen house.

  6. #56
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    great points Jim. and that was part of my thoughts with originating this post. the MJC lineup released plenty of albums and singles, they were on tv often. but there just wasn't a big **WOW** other than the excitement at the beginning of a newly reformed group.

    i too have said that Jean often looked uncomfortable on stage or tv. or maybe another way to say it is she just didn't look as dazzling or exciting. now in that first Sullivan clip, she is really delivering. at least during the songs. during the beginning of the Nothing Can Stop Us medley, she is quite animated and conveys quite a bit of personality and sparkle. and she looks amazing during Ladder too. however on my home VHS of this show, after Ladder, Ed calls them over for a chat. and she sort of looks like a deer in headlights.

    i get it. this was her first major tv appearance, first performance with the Supremes and was under MASSIVE pressure. but it's too bad she didn't seem a bit more excited in the mini chat.

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