2021

[jim aka jtigre99]

This year is the 60th Anniversary of the Supremes signing to Motown and it seems that it really has not been celebrated like it should have. I have to say that a lot of that is because of the passing of Mary Wilson. Mary Wilson was seriously the champion of the Supremes, not allowing the group to fade from public consciousness because she would make the rounds on television. It seems that nothing has been planned and we are now going into the 9th month of the year. The silence is truly speaking volumes on how important Mary Wilson was as the biggest promoter of the group. Still, there have been some things that 2021 have brought us.
Diana Ross is releasing her first new music in a number of years, many fans are beyond excited for this release. It is quite exciting.
Mary Wilson, before she passed, managed to work with Universal to have her 1979 album released with an Expanded edition which included her 4 songs that Motown rejected and released her from her contract as well as a newer song. We are still waiting to see if a physical CD of this will be released. I am not sure if it ever will, since it has not had any fanfare. Perhaps, the download did not sell very well.
Scherrie & Susaye continue to sing and perform virtually. With the pandemic, not much new can be going on. Fortunately, they are still with us and in great voice. The down side is that many fans are not as aware of them as they should be[[They were among the very most talented group members) and the groups moniker is quite a mouthful and clunky-Scherrie & Susaye,Formerly of the Supremes with Joyce Vincent.
Jean Terrell and Lynda Laurence have seemingly retired from performing.
Cindy Birdsong has retired from public life and performing due to poor health.
This year is nearly 3/4 over and the celebrations that should have been don't seem to be coming. Only Ross' new music has sparked anything and not as much as a legendary Supreme should receive. What are your observations of what could or should be in 2021?

[Ollie9]

A 60th Anniversary commemorative dvd would have been a fantastic treat for all Supremes fans Jim. It could have included rare clips of both farewell concerts, unseen live performances and film footage of their trip to the Far East during the 60’s.
I guess we will have to console ourselves with the much anticipated expanded Reflections package being released any time soon....I hope.

[RanRan79]

A 60th Anniversary commemorative dvd would have been a fantastic treat for all Supremes fans Jim. It could have included rare clips of both farewell concerts, unseen live performances and film footage of their trip to the Far East during the 60’s.
I guess we will have to console ourselves with the much anticipated expanded Reflections package being released any time soon....I hope.

Great idea Ollie. A television special would've been a nice option also. Mary's passing surely took some of the wind out of the anniversary. That last video of hers where she talks about what she planned to do for Black History Month is so sad. She was so happy. I looked forward to her plans. However, aside from releasing her debut album, I wonder how much work Mary had done or planned to do as far as getting something big going for the anniversary.

It's at this point that my annoyance with Diana increases. I'm sure plans for her new album started prior to the pandemic and this is certainly the reason the album is coming out during the 60th anniversary of the Supremes, as opposed to last year. But as the last surviving member of the original group- and I said this when Mary died and I obviously feel the same way still- the Supremes belong to her. It's up to her to now make sure these kinds of milestones are commemorated, that the Supremes' importance to music history- history in general- doesn't fade away. [[Of course the music itself isn't going anywhere, but the story itself needs to stay alive.) I want to see her become more involved in all things Supremes. Yes, the FLOS are great, and Scherrie and Susaye and Lynda are to be applauded and appreciated for maintaining the legacy of the post Diana period, which is important in it's own right. But it's the 60s Supremes that captivated the world, and now there's only Diana to tell us about it.

Lastly, what the hell is Berry Gordy doing? I know he's old as dust and water [[thankfully) but from all accounts he's still an active and busy man. Flo, Diana and Mary did a lot of the work, but Gordy was the brains behind the operation. One could argue that the Supremes are as much his baby as Diana's at this point. I imagine he probably has more pull and connections to have fired off a number of anniversary commemorations. I'd like to see him get behind this also.

The year isn't over, so hopefully something other than Reflections EE is coming. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't fear that December 31st will get here and we have nothing for the 60th, something big for the 60th. The group's legacy deserves it.

[carlo]

I am feeling hopeful we will see at least one release by the end of this year. Sadly, I think gone are the days where we will see an anniversary special broadcast or documentary, dedicated solely to The Supremes. They certainly deserve it, but it seems that we will only get anything of that nature, if it is expressly a Motown anniversary celebration...and even the most recent ones seem to be more geared toward having younger artists pay tributes, which sadly takes away from any potential screen time that could have been used toward featuring the Motown legends who are still with us. The music industry is an interesting world, to say the least.

I would also love to see Diana take on more of a role with The Supremes legacy now, in light of Mary's passing. However, as much as I love Diana, I have always gotten the sense that she tends to view The Supremes more as being a piece in the grand scheme of her decades long career, rather than having an interest in focusing on that era, like Mary did.

[Ollie9]

I am feeling hopeful we will see at least one release by the end of this year. Sadly, I think gone are the days where we will see an anniversary special broadcast or documentary, dedicated solely to The Supremes. They certainly deserve it, but it seems that we will only get anything of that nature, if it is expressly a Motown anniversary celebration...and even the most recent ones seem to be more geared toward having younger artists pay tributes, which sadly takes away from any potential screen time that could have been used toward featuring the Motown legends who are still with us. The music industry is an interesting world, to say the least.

I would also love to see Diana take on more of a role with The Supremes legacy now, in light of Mary's passing. However, as much as I love Diana, I have always gotten the sense that she tends to view The Supremes more as being a piece in the grand scheme of her decades long career, rather than having an interest in focusing on that era, like Mary did.

I agree. Unlike Mary, Diana has never been one for sentiment or looking back.The Supremes were just the launching pad for a solo career. She’s appears happy the songs evoke special memories for people, but i don’t she cares enough to be involved with expanded releases or 60 year celebrations. It’s a great shame as it’s all part of her legacy, and a few liner notes would make any new releases that extra bit special.

[Boogiedown]

Missing Mary :[[

[DWSheffer]

In a nutshell, I think everything said above was discussed immediately after Mary's death and has come true for the most part. We already assumed that without her, the anniversary may very well go basically unnoticed, most unfortunately.

I think we can add to the list of those not helping the cause, the Motown Museum. If the mission of the Museum is to "preserve, promote and celebrate the authentic Motown story", then why would they not be promoting the hell out of the Supremes' 60th anniversary this year? I know it's focus is on the 50th anniversary of "What's Going On", but why the Supremes didn't have front and center, or at least share the spotlight with WGO, is beyond me. Without the success of the Supremes, well.......

[RanRan79]

Good point DW about the Motown Museum.

Does anyone think we're being a bit "bratty" about this? I mean as fans of the Supremes, we've gotten a lot that fans of other groups can only dream of having. Perhaps we ask for too much? I sometimes wonder if we come across to George and Andy and the rest of the crew, or Universal, or even the Supremes themselves and Motown in general, as if we're ungrateful and never satisfied. Maybe we expect too much?

Anyway, I'll add to the list that the Supremes have a ton of fans in the entertainment industry. Would be nice if some of the bigger names decided to do something.

[Spreadinglove21]

If Diana does any kind of interviews to promote Thank you when the album comes out maybe she'll be more open to answering questions about the Supremes, especially given the gratitude theme of the album. But I'm not holding my breath.