Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
Barbara's mother initially balked but she did sign the contract for her daughter to be a Supreme and Motown recording artist along with the other ladies' mothers. It appears her last known recordings as a Supreme were in December 1961, but she did not officially leave the group until the spring of 1962. The group's recording schedule in 1962 is probably their most sparse. My gut tells me there are some recordings from 1962 that haven't been discovered/are lost/damaged/unsuitable for release. Perhaps a few of these might have Barbara on them. Strangely, the Supremes, like other Motown acts, moonlighted at other labels as backing vocalists, and there are some recordings with the Supremes on background during this time that have Barbara with the ladies on other labels. Just seems strange she'd sing with them somewhere else and not at Motown. Or maybe they were gigging at other labels because of the sparse recording schedule at Motown? Very interesting period in the group's history.
when was Flo's rape? was that after Barbara left the group?

there was also a time where Flo and Barbara were out temporarily due to their grades suffering and their parents making them quit for a bit. D and M were doing some duet gigs and backing vocals.

it might also be helpful to layer in the sessions where they were backing vocalists. like for Marvin or Mary Wells. i have all of the data from the EE and books on the Supremes sessions but they could have filled some of that time with other studio work