Quote Originally Posted by marybrewster View Post
The 70's EE listed all "official" in the back of one of its compilations. This included Barbara.

Some have said over the years that Lynda wasn't an "official" Supreme; just a sub for Cindy.

Diana has also said that Cindy wasn't an "official" Supreme; just a sub for Flo.

What I'm interested in is, who were "official" Vandellas, after Betty? Were Lois and Sandy contracted through Motown, or Martha?
I think all of the 9 Ladies were official Supremes, signed to Motown. I think some fans look at Lynda as a sub for Cindy since her tenure with the group was really only 18 months. I think Diana, even if she may have wanted Flo to leave the group because her problems were having her miss performances, is a bit like Mary was in looking at the group as Diana, Mary and Flo and both Diana and Mary's sentiments are with the original trio. On the other hand, when RTL came about and Mary and Cindy were not "accepted" and Lynda and Scherrie were chosen Diana said that they were carrying on the legacy of the group for all of those years. In a way, not true and true. I don't think they would have reformed as the FLOs had Mary's Dreamgirl had not sparked interest in the Supremes. Plus, the original FLOs included Jean and Lynda who wanted to leave the Supremes and Motown and change the name to something else [[like the Butterflies) but then later on are the very ones using the name from 1986-on. Plus, I understand that Lynda very much ran the business so I can see some fans looking at her as a sub for Cindy because of her short tenure and her actual significance to the group.
As for Martha, I heard that she has stated that the Vandellas were not a group group like the Supremes but she had them travel with her on the road as a need for company. I am not sure how true that is.
I am still waiting for Shantel Baker to write her book. She could probably set us all straight on who was what in each group as she is the Ultimate authority.