I have a different perspective of the Supremes than a number of the posters here. I became a fan of the group in 1970 through an older friend of mine. The first record I ever bought was Up The Ladder to the Roof. By this time, Diana Ross was a solo singer and I also became a fan of hers. Until the advent of the internet, I had very limited memories of her portion of being in the group. I bought both the new Supremes and new Diana Ross material and I also went back and bought the material of the Supremes with Florence, Mary and Diana as well as Diana Ross & The Supremes with Cindy. I really looked at The Supremes and Diana Ross as separate entities due to the fact I was really listening to current music. I thought Diana was great and that she had a very distinct voice and look as well as being a good actress. I really liked the Supremes and thought they were terrific. I also noted how very beautiful Mary Wilson was and how much I loved her voice when she sang on a spotlighted lead. Plus, Mary and Cindy really looked great together and had a lot of razzle dazzle. I did notice that starting with Touch their sound started to change and was more progressive yet sometimes in some songs Jean's voice which was a nasal combination of Diana Ross and Dionne Warwick started to sound shrill at times and bold and confident at other times. When Cindy left and Lynda came in, the group sounded and seemed more contemporary but the combo of Jean, Lynda and Mary never really excited me as much as the first JMC combo. Diana was moving into movie stardom and Lady Sings The Blues was amazing and she was amazing. But also at this time with the JML group, you heard less and less of them and when they seemed to return to form with Bad Weather, it never hit the charts or was played locally. For almost 2 years, never really heard about the group at all and there were no album releases. I didn't know what was happening, I hoped I would hear from my favorite group sometime soon. After Touch Me in The Morning, Diana was also not on the charts as much until her return with the movie Mahogany and its theme. She was great. Finally, around 1975 Motown released a new single and album from the new incarnation of the Supremes. Naturally, Mary was still there. Cindy was back in the group and there was a new member Scherrie Payne. At first, I was like who is this and is she related to Freda? She had a very strong voice and I became really excited but she was strong, looked very glamourous and beautiful. After the sometime shrill offerings of Jean near the end of her tenure, her voice was an exciting and welcome change. Plus Mary , whose voice I already loved, was singing more leads. I was very excited with this new grouping.But it seemed being away for a few years and with Diana's ever growing superstardom, they were overshadowed and overlooked by the record company. I could tell that even back in 1972 when I won Floy Joy over the radio when they used to have contests to win albums that were new and not doing well [[I also won Lesley Gore's Mowest LP Someplace Else Now from the same radio station) and I heard the DJ say we are giving this away but we've played this. Diana was ascending higher as a movie and music star. The Supremes were exciting but overlooked, calling in to get their records played were hard, except one DJ said to me he thought Scherrie was "hot". Finally, there was another new album High Energy with Susaye Greene providing a new multi octave range replacing the beloved Cindy Birdsong. They hit the top 40, heard I'm Gonna Let My Heart Do The Walking played on the radio but it seemed that Motown was very Diana centric as at the same time she had the stellar Love Hangover at #1, one of my favorites by her. The Supremes jumped at this renewed interest and they released their newest and last album. It had a beautiful cover and some really great songs with Mary, Scherrie and Susaye all singing lead vocals. Still, even though disco was starting to become more mainstream pop, it didn't carry over to those charts like Walking did. As great as I felt this album was, it wasn't played as much on the radio. Then I became a member of the fan club and I read the Supremes were doing a final appearance in London on June 12, 1977 and Scherrie & Susaye were carrying on with a new third member and Mary was going solo. I wasn't sure about another group, especially one without Mary. She was the rock, the anchor, the beauty that kept me there from 1970 on. I was hopeful for Mary that she would finally get to shine and I was excited for her. History has it Motown retired the Supremes even after they chose Joyce Vincent Wilson from Dawn and it took 2 years before Motown put out Mary's solo LP. I liked it, but I thought it would have been a different choice in songs, since disco wasn't Mary's forte. I later heard her unreleased demos and thought that was more what I wanted to hear. I later heard Scherrie & Susaye with Partners and it seemed slightly uneven but there were a number of songs I really liked, the prior year Jean had a solo LP from a different label and I really liked it, but it also wasn't played. After the Wiz, Diana didn't make movies since at the time it didn't do well at the box office. By 1979, she reunited with Ashford & Simpson and then did her Chic LP the following year to much success. In 1983, Diana Ross reunited with Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong on Motown 25 for a very shortened song. It was disappointing considering how this group was the one that took Motown to the top. Not until 1986 did I read there were tensions between them. In 1984, Motown wanted to reunite the Supremes ala the Temptations using Mary, Scherrie & Cindy. That fell apart because Motown didn't want Mary & Scherrie to share leads, they only wanted Scherrie to do them. Mary rightfully declined due to this degrading indignity. When Mary's book came out, the former Ladies of the Supremes formed to capitalize on the fact that the name Supremes was once again out there. They had a number of incarnations, much like the group did in the 1970's but it was good to hear Scherrie Payne. In 2000, we were hopeful for a reunion of the Supremes but that was not meant to be. I won't get into it, but I totally feel Mary was right to hold out for more money and some say in the reunion. I don't think the promoters were aware of how important Mary was to the history of the group. I know I didn't even follow it when Diana was there, I was a big fan of her solo career. I do think it should have been approached differently than it was. So, as you see the Supremes and Diana Ross mean something far different to me. I don't fall into the Diana vs the Supremes, Diana vs Florence,The Supremes vs Diana camps at all because I came in in 1970 and I liked both of them. I love the music and I don't enjoy seeing anyone tear someone down just to promote who they like. I liked them all. Certainly, to varying degrees and I liked some singers better than others just like I like some songs better than others. I LIKED THEM ALL! I still do.