Supremes Jean, Mary & Lynda Dick Cavett Intv

[Boogiedown]

That was probably his style, go in dumb at let the guest educate you.
likely works more often than not , but when you ask something as stupid as basically asking which one of you is the real supreme, you can’t recuperate from that no matter how smarmy.

i remember Gloria gaynor being interviewed and was asked what her current itinerary was, and she said, “ if you’d done you’re homework you’d know”

hee haw

[sup_fan]

That was probably his style, go in dumb at let the guest educate you.
likely works more often than not , but when you ask something as stupid as basically asking which one of you is the real supreme, you can’t recuperate from that no matter how swarmy.

i remember Gloria gaynor being interviewed and was asked what her current itinerary was, and she said, “ if you’d done you’re homework you’d know”

hee haw

haha Miss Gloria is not to be toyed with! lol anyone that can sing IWS like her

[milven]

That curt comment from Miss Gloria hurt her opportunity to promote her itinerary, which was the purpose of his question. And probably the purpose of her being booked on the show in the first place was to promote her itinerary

[zani57]

That was probably his style, go in dumb at let the guest educate you.
likely works more often than not , but when you ask something as stupid as basically asking which one of you is the real supreme, you can’t recuperate from that no matter how smarmy.

Cavett was/is a strange man. I've seen interviews with him where he thinks he's being cute and he's being cringy. He does ask Jean if she is related to Ernie and then when she answers he says, "I knew that." So, he did have some preparation. I wonder if it was some strange, quirky interview style of his to know the answers but to try to ask them in -- to him -- a "funny" way -- like asking "who is original?" and then being fresh and making it sound like there is some sort of cattle call or beauty contest.
As for the interaction in the group, although the Merv interview I remember was better than this, I do remember watching it on TV at the time, and Mary and Jean having some discussion about how, in Jean's words, Jean has an "atti-TUDE!." They seemed to laugh it off on Merv's show. I also think Merv had a better way of putting guests at ease whereas I think Cavett was / is so enamored with himself that it's not about the guests but about him.

[BobbyC]

uhhhh guys, Cavett wasn't "prepared"--he was given questions to ask before hand. This happened all the time back then. The whole thing was scripted except for the interruption.

[PeaceNHarmony]

uhhhh guys, Cavett wasn't "prepared"--he was given questions to ask before hand. This happened all the time back then. The whole thing was scripted except for the interruption.

Cavett was always interested more in higher culture, and he was excellent with the right type of guest. He did his best here with three rather inarticulate women who had no interest in each other and no remotely interesting answers to the questions. Any interview is a two way street and a skilled interviewee should be able to at least maintain a modicum of interest.

[BayouMotownMan]

Why did Touch bomb so badly?

Many feel that the Supremes had been besting Ross on several occasions except for Ain't No Mountain High Enough. Here lately, Diana's Reach Out I'll Be There tanked while Nathan Jones was surpassing it on every chart. Gordy could not let The Supremes minus Ross get this much success while he was struggling to launch her solo career. Little promotion was given to Touch.

Floy Joy did better because Ross was not recording. Unfortunately the Jimmy Webb lp was released at the same time as Lady Sings and everything was riding on the success of that movie and soundtrack, so no promotion was afforded to that lp either.

Just my opinion. But Imagine if Nathan Jones and the Touch lp had been massive hits while Diana floundered with Reach Out, Surrender and the lp, all three of which did poorly. It would have made establishing her as the next Streisand all that much harder.

[sup_fan]

Why did Touch bomb so badly?

Many feel that the Supremes had been besting Ross on several occasions except for Ain't No Mountain High Enough. Here lately, Diana's Reach Out I'll Be There tanked while Nathan Jones was surpassing it on every chart. Gordy could not let The Supremes minus Ross get this much success while he was struggling to launch her solo career. Little promotion was given to Touch.

Floy Joy did better because Ross was not recording. Unfortunately the Jimmy Webb lp was released at the same time as Lady Sings and everything was riding on the success of that movie and soundtrack, so no promotion was afforded to that lp either.

Just my opinion. But Imagine if Nathan Jones and the Touch lp had been massive hits while Diana floundered with Reach Out, Surrender and the lp, all three of which did poorly. It would have made establishing her as the next Streisand all that much harder.

what's so interesting with the first few albums is the fact that motown didn't completely drop all investment. Right On had the tear-away poster, Mag 7 and NW had gatefold covers with diecuts [[even if the lazy marketing dept ended up doing nothing of interest inside the gatefold) and Touch was released with a promotional radio interview album.

in contrast, look at the shoddy and unimaginative albums for MRATV, the Marvelettes [[with the terrible In Full Bloom album art), even the Four Tops weren't afforded much with Still Water or the other Frank Wilson albums.

As for NJ, i think was a good song but not as perfect as it could be. several different fans on here have brought up comments that i think sum it up very well. 1) the unison singing makes the lyrics [[which are a bit challenging to begin with) hard to decipher 2) after the bridge the song doesn't continue to build and climax in a big finish. Jean does a handful of ad libs but not enough. there are some of the synthesizer effects but again, not enough. If they'd trimmed down the unison singing just a little, here and there and just bumped up the ending, i think it would have easily gone top 10. it starts out marvelously but just doesn't quite deliver

[marybrewster]

One question to ponder that I don't know if it's ever been discussed here: it appears [[at least according to Wiki) that some releases were available on LP, cassette, and 8 track. Others were just available only on LP and cassette. This both for 60s and 70s releases. It seems to me that 8 tracks were more popular in the 70s. So, do you think the lack of a 3rd format affected sales?

[BayouMotownMan]

One question to ponder that I don't know if it's ever been discussed here: it appears [[at least according to Wiki) that some releases were available on LP, cassette, and 8 track. Others were just available only on LP and cassette. This both for 60s and 70s releases. It seems to me that 8 tracks were more popular in the 70s. So, do you think the lack of a 3rd format affected sales?

All Supremes releases, including the duets with the Tops were available on cassette and 8 track, I know because I had them. Not all were issued on reel to reel however, after about 1973 Motown only issued it's biggest sellers, or what it expected to be its biggest sellers on reel. Even the dismal Supremes at their Best was issued on 8 track and cassette. Mary Wilson and Partners also issued on all three formats.

[marybrewster]

All Supremes releases, including the duets with the Tops were available on cassette and 8 track, I know because I had them. Not all were issued on reel to reel however, after about 1973 Motown only issued it's biggest sellers, or what it expected to be its biggest sellers on reel. Even the dismal Supremes at their Best was issued on 8 track and cassette. Mary Wilson and Partners also issued on all three formats.

Interesting. That's not what Wiki states, but I take that with a grain of salt. Thanks for clearing that up.

[BayouMotownMan]

Interesting. That's not what Wiki states, but I take that with a grain of salt. Thanks for clearing that up.

What may be confusing Wiki was the CD era, not all releases made it to CD. Every release, no matter how remote, was issued on 8 track and cassette, and up until the 70s, on reel tape. 8 tracks were phased out in the early 1980s, the last 8 track I bought was Smokey's Yes It's You Lady from 1982.

That's not to say the tape versions were easy to come by. Most general outlets only stocked the major releases, record stores usually carried everything. In some cases, such as the Tops duets, they had to be special ordered. In fact, I had to special order Partners, Mary Wilson and Supremes at Their Best. After 1973 the Motown 8 tracks sounded like crap and most went defective fast. The cassettes sounded awful too in the mid 70s. Starting in 1977 Motown starting using the dolby system on their cassettes which gave them significant improvement. They did not however use dolby on their 8 tracks or reel tapes. Nearly all other record companies used dolby on all their tape releases.

Motown was extraordinarily cheap. Even their vinyl was sub par. Most labels used higher quailty schlack so that the sound quality of the lps were of superior sound to Motown, much of which was scratchy and had distortion. When MCA took over distribution in 1983 things did get better in terms of vinyl and tape quaility.

Even the remote High Inergy lps came out on cassette and 8 track up until 1982.

[carlo]

I'm having a hard time keeping up with this buzzing thread... phew! Going back to the earlier discussion of Darlene and the Blossoms on the Jimmy Webb LP, I was listening to one of my favourites tonight, "Paradise". I can hear Darlene around 1:17, specifically at the very end of the line, "A never, never land". I can hear her voice come through on the final syllable of "land". She's certainly in there, but it's understandably harder to distinguish individual voices due to all of the layering that was done. One thing is for sure about Darlene, she has always known how to deliver a vocal that adapts to whatever any producer is looking for. She's always been very capable of changing and disguising her voice, whether it's for the purpose of emulating a child's voice in a commercial, sounding like La La Brooks or blending in to sound like a Supreme in a Jimmy Webb chorale.

[sup_fan]

on a playlist, Once In The Morning popped up. i've always liked that song. although it just further reinforces this as a Jean solo album. the duetting with Jimmy was a great idea. just wish M and L had joined in on this song. it's short - too bad they didn't all get a verse

also with this album supposedly being a fav of Jean's, it's a bit risque lol. the conservative Jean Terrell singing about doing lines of coke in Once in the Morning and in Cheap Loving deciding to quit partying all night and hooking up with stray cats. lol

[captainjames]

I thought this was an uncomfortable interview.

[sup_fan]

IMO in the end, it seems as though Dick has minimal interest in speaking with the girls. while i'm not necessarily a huge DC fan, i will agree that his stronger work was when he was interviewing a guest that could generate more conflict or controversy. his guests were often much more daring than Merv's or Mike's. Dick would go into uncomfortable topics and wasn't hesitant to ask those questions. The Supremes were never going to fit into that sort of thing and so it seems as if they were booked more as an afterthought. like the scheduling department discovered they needed someone for a random timeslot.

[REDHOT]

I really love this, sure i'd would have like to see they whole thing, with them singing The Supremes 60s Medley and Tossin And Turnin', but i'll take what i can get, Mary Wilson Jean Terrell and Lynda Laurence are BEAUTIFUL here.

[marybrewster]

Jean was probably PO'd from the get go, having to sing the 60's medley.

[sup_fan]

Jean was probably PO'd from the get go, having to sing the 60's medley.

what i can't understand is why they didn't create 1 medley the combined 60s and 70s tunes? at least on the japan show they did 1 medley for each decade. but you could have easily combined various songs from both eras. at least then it wasn't a "diana medley"

In the Apollo show in Dec 72 they did 2 60s medleys!! and then only Stoned love and IGIMTM.

[RanRan79]

what i can't understand is why they didn't create 1 medley the combined 60s and 70s tunes? at least on the japan show they did 1 medley for each decade. but you could have easily combined various songs from both eras. at least then it wasn't a "diana medley"

In the Apollo show in Dec 72 they did 2 60s medleys!! and then only Stoned love and IGIMTM.

If the stories about her objections to singing the Diana era songs are true, what I can't understand is the absurdity of Jean expecting for those songs to be ditched in favor of any of the stuff she was recording or wanting to sing. They're the freaking Supremes. Jean wouldn't have the job- or probably even want it- if it hadn't been for all those 60s hits. To me it would have come across as disrespectful and unappreciative of the history of the group, if the rumor is true.

[Roberta75]

If the stories about her objections to singing the Diana era songs are true, what I can't understand is the absurdity of Jean expecting for those songs to be ditched in favor of any of the stuff she was recording or wanting to sing. They're the freaking Supremes. Jean wouldn't have the job- or probably even want it- if it hadn't been for all those 60s hits. To me it would have come across as disrespectful and unappreciative of the history of the group, if the rumor is true.

I love Jeans voice and think shes a great performer but her rumored homophobia bothered me. She has a right to her opinions and viewpoints but when you consider the massive amount of LGBTQ+ fans the supremes had and have then maybe she shouldve joined another group.

[PeaceNHarmony]

I love Jeans voice and think shes a great performer but her rumored homophobia bothered me. She has a right to her opinions and viewpoints but when you consider the massive amount of LGBTQ+ fans the supremes had and have then maybe she shouldve joined another group.

I concur. And, Ms. Roberta, your mailbox here is full and I was unable to relay information regarding our mutual friend Mr. B. But I did relay that you were asking / thinking of him. I hope you are well -

[sup_fan]

If the stories about her objections to singing the Diana era songs are true, what I can't understand is the absurdity of Jean expecting for those songs to be ditched in favor of any of the stuff she was recording or wanting to sing. They're the freaking Supremes. Jean wouldn't have the job- or probably even want it- if it hadn't been for all those 60s hits. To me it would have come across as disrespectful and unappreciative of the history of the group, if the rumor is true.

my understanding on this topic is that 1) jean never wanted to sing a song the same way twice. even if directed so by motown or their conductor. she wanted to interpret things her way and do things her way as an artist. People would expect to hear a song a certain way and she was doing her own thing 2) the comparisons with Diana were pretty constant and people would say "that's not how Diana did it" or things like that. no one was interested in hearing Jean's interpretation of a song. they wanted to relive their memories of how they used to sound. so as time went on, she grew frustrated with the constant comparison and criticism. plus these older songs and medleys were always in the show while her more recent hits were being trimmed away

it's possible she saw the old songs tied with the old image and style of the group. she had the assumption when she joined that she would lead the group into a new decade and do new things. she could style the group as she wanted, seeing as she was the lead singer. but the group never really advanced from their old image. and as the group started to decline in popularity, she felt it reflected on herself. and when she tried to change things for the better, they didn't happen

[bradsupremes]

If the stories about her objections to singing the Diana era songs are true, what I can't understand is the absurdity of Jean expecting for those songs to be ditched in favor of any of the stuff she was recording or wanting to sing. They're the freaking Supremes. Jean wouldn't have the job- or probably even want it- if it hadn't been for all those 60s hits. To me it would have come across as disrespectful and unappreciative of the history of the group, if the rumor is true.

Initially she probably didn't have a problem with it, but I agree that the 60s hits had to be sung in some form. I know during the rehearsals at Valley Forge in 1972 when Gil pulled the charts for "Love Child," Jean flat out said "I'm not singing this. This is not my song." And it was dropped. I've never understood why she did "People." Did she really want to sing that song or was that pushed onto her? That song had been in their show as early as 1964. There couldn't have been a more contemporary song she could have done??

I understand her frustration especially as time went on when she began to amass her own hits in the group and those were either dropped completely or reduced to a medley. I'd get irked too. All of Jean's hits should have been done in full. If they wanted to represent the 60s, I would have used the hits medley during the DRATS era. The rest should have been given to their current hits with Jean, songs from their current albums, and contemporary covers. If people wanted to hear the 60s hits sung the way Diana did them, they could have easily go see her whenever she came to town. She was doing that exact same hits medley for years.

[sup_fan]

Initially she probably didn't have a problem with it, but I agree that the 60s hits had to be sung in some form. I know during the rehearsals at Valley Forge in 1972 when Gil pulled the charts for "Love Child," Jean flat out said "I'm not singing this. This is not my song." And it was dropped. I've never understood why she did "People." Did she really want to sing that song or was that pushed onto her? That song had been in their show as early as 1964. There couldn't have been a more contemporary song she could have done??

I understand her frustration especially as time went on when she began to amass her own hits in the group and those were either dropped completely or reduced to a medley. I'd get irked too. All of Jean's hits should have been done in full. If they wanted to represent the 60s, I would have used the hits medley during the DRATS era. The rest should have been given to their current hits with Jean, songs from their current albums, and contemporary covers. If people wanted to hear the 60s hits sung the way Diana did them, they could have easily go see her whenever she came to town. She was doing that exact same hits medley for years.

i agree that the 70s hits should have remained in the show. when they did reduce things to medleys, i don't see why it was a 60s medley or a 70s medley. they could have just done 1 medley with a few hits from both eras. I do think something like Stop could have warranted being standalone. or jean's amazing rendition of My World.

of course if they'd cut some of the MOR junk, they would have had ample time in the show for more hits, both 60s and 70s.

I wonder if Jean picked People because it rotated in with her other solo numbers - which included MacArthur Park, the look of love, he ain't heavy. you'll never walk alone.

frankly i'm not a fan of jean doing a solo number. or any of the women for that matter. they are performing as a group and you're buying a ticket to see a group. i feel that within that limited time on stage, they could have better used this slot for group material. it was even worse in the MSS era, especially since they were often doing an opening act and had less stage time.

[marybrewster]

Which begs the questions:

#1: how come the hits medley was NEVER updated, for either the 70s Supremes or Diana? To this day, Diana is still doing it, and it was also in Mary's show.

#2: with all the #1 hits, why was "My World" left in their for so long?

#3: if Jean was "forced" to do a 60's medley, couldn't they have at least created one that was more suitable for her range?

[Boogiedown]

Sounds like Jean just got tired of being the also ran.

The way Dick cavett treated her , all of them is rather shocking, like he had no idea who they were , some singers who used to dress alike in gowns. He must have been directed to not mention Diana Ross, and he lost all interest. Lynda gets mentioned only thanks to Mary. Dick should’ve said, let’s get to know this new supreme…
I give this lame interview an F.

what did he mean by I think you’re doing another song? He doesn’t know or its title ? Was he worried after his pitiful interview they might walk off instead ?

RE: Jean singing PEOPLE. That is most odd. Not wanting to sing LOVE CHILD maybe she didn’t like voicing the whole insinuation of the song’s story…
Did Jean bring any outside songs to the Supremes that she wanted to sing?

[RanRan79]

my understanding on this topic is that 1) jean never wanted to sing a song the same way twice. even if directed so by motown or their conductor. she wanted to interpret things her way and do things her way as an artist. People would expect to hear a song a certain way and she was doing her own thing 2) the comparisons with Diana were pretty constant and people would say "that's not how Diana did it" or things like that. no one was interested in hearing Jean's interpretation of a song. they wanted to relive their memories of how they used to sound. so as time went on, she grew frustrated with the constant comparison and criticism. plus these older songs and medleys were always in the show while her more recent hits were being trimmed away

it's possible she saw the old songs tied with the old image and style of the group. she had the assumption when she joined that she would lead the group into a new decade and do new things. she could style the group as she wanted, seeing as she was the lead singer. but the group never really advanced from their old image. and as the group started to decline in popularity, she felt it reflected on herself. and when she tried to change things for the better, they didn't happen

I can understand the frustration, but work is frustrating a lot of the time. Some stuff on the job has to go in the "it is what it is" category. At no time, no matter what, no matter who, should the Supremes take the stage and fail to sing some of the songs that put them on the map. If Jean really complained about having to do them, it seems like a complaint for complaining sake, considering how many other issues she had a legit right to complain about.

[RanRan79]

Initially she probably didn't have a problem with it, but I agree that the 60s hits had to be sung in some form. I know during the rehearsals at Valley Forge in 1972 when Gil pulled the charts for "Love Child," Jean flat out said "I'm not singing this. This is not my song." And it was dropped. I've never understood why she did "People." Did she really want to sing that song or was that pushed onto her? That song had been in their show as early as 1964. There couldn't have been a more contemporary song she could have done??

I understand her frustration especially as time went on when she began to amass her own hits in the group and those were either dropped completely or reduced to a medley. I'd get irked too. All of Jean's hits should have been done in full. If they wanted to represent the 60s, I would have used the hits medley during the DRATS era. The rest should have been given to their current hits with Jean, songs from their current albums, and contemporary covers. If people wanted to hear the 60s hits sung the way Diana did them, they could have easily go see her whenever she came to town. She was doing that exact same hits medley for years.

I agree Jean's hits should have been done in full. No idea why "People" was in the act again. Good grief. I think two or three Supremes hits from the 60s should have been in full, one obligatory medley of a few other Supremes hits, all the Jean era singles in full, along with select album tracks. A song like "People" had no business in the show.

[RanRan79]

i agree that the 70s hits should have remained in the show. when they did reduce things to medleys, i don't see why it was a 60s medley or a 70s medley. they could have just done 1 medley with a few hits from both eras. I do think something like Stop could have warranted being standalone. or jean's amazing rendition of My World.

of course if they'd cut some of the MOR junk, they would have had ample time in the show for more hits, both 60s and 70s.

I wonder if Jean picked People because it rotated in with her other solo numbers - which included MacArthur Park, the look of love, he ain't heavy. you'll never walk alone.

frankly i'm not a fan of jean doing a solo number. or any of the women for that matter. they are performing as a group and you're buying a ticket to see a group. i feel that within that limited time on stage, they could have better used this slot for group material. it was even worse in the MSS era, especially since they were often doing an opening act and had less stage time.

I don't mind Jean having solos because I'm wild about her. Honestly, as much as I love and respect Mary and Cindy, and even Lynda, if half of any show were just Jean, I'd be okay.

But yeah, the show needed an almost complete overhaul. By 1972 the group had enough hits and album tracks [[along with the 60s Supremes stuff) to do an entire hour or more show without much or any additional outside covers. It really appears that no one in their camp had any real forward thinking vision for the group. The Jean groupings could've really wowed in the concert circuit with the right ingredients.

[RanRan79]

Which begs the questions:

#2: with all the #1 hits, why was "My World" left in their for so long?

I think there's an argument to be made regarding the ability to swap in and out the various #1 songs the Supremes had. However, don't underestimate "My World Is Empty". It may not have reached #1, but it was a huge hit and, as far as I can tell, has remained extremely popular, more so than some of the #1s themselves. The song is classic.

[Boogiedown]

Also

what did dick mean by you’re not really the Andrew [andrea?] sisters are you ? What prompted the sudden question ?

and why was Mary so quick at answering , no we’re not.

the many years later Mary Wilson would’ve indignantly asked, what do you mean by that ?

[Roberta75]

I concur. And, Ms. Roberta, your mailbox here is full and I was unable to relay information regarding our mutual friend Mr. B. But I did relay that you were asking / thinking of him. I hope you are well -

Well thats real kind of you my dear. Please send my love and best wishes to that dear and lovely man Bluebrock who I miss on this here forum.

I need to look into my mailbox issue.

MMy best to you as well dear.

Fondly,

Roberta

[sup_fan]

the Jean group doesn't appear to rehash the 60s hit medley that DRATS used for years. Stop/Come See/my World/baby love was used from 67 - 70 and then by Diana for years after she left

on David frost they did Stop, Come See About me, a snippet of Back in my arms, you keep me hangin on, reflections, up the ladder

on Dick Cavett Reflections, Where did our love go, Baby love, Stop, My world is empty

at the apollo in Dec 72 - Stop, come see about me, love is here [[LIH makes up 2 mins or so, they do the majority of the song)
2nd 60s medley at Apollo was Reflections, where did our love go, baby love, my world

at the Carter Barron theater in 71 - they did same medley as David Frost

Central park - stop, come see with snippets of both baby love and back in my arms again, you keep me hangin on, reflections, up the ladder

[sup_fan]

I think there's an argument to be made regarding the ability to swap in and out the various #1 songs the Supremes had. However, don't underestimate "My World Is Empty". It may not have reached #1, but it was a huge hit and, as far as I can tell, has remained extremely popular, more so than some of the #1s themselves. The song is classic.

this has been a question all along - why were some songs only in the act briefly? the DMF lineup pretty much moved past WDOLG and given it was THE song the started it all, you'd think it would have been used more.

DMC seemed to ditch You Can't Hurry Love quickly. it's as if they decided "we'll have 1 tambourine song in the act" and once The Happening hit, they used that for the next year or so. but given how huge YCHL was it too should have remained in the song

and did Diana ever use Someday in her act? it was an instrumental on the Evening With DR album. but it never seems to be one she does.

they seemed to quickly establish a set formula for the group which was typically to use 4 or so songs in full and then 1 more song or medley. they would typically use the last four biggest hits and then a basic early 60s medley. and that's it.

[reese]

Which begs the questions:

#1: how come the hits medley was NEVER updated, for either the 70s Supremes or Diana? To this day, Diana is still doing it, and it was also in Mary's show.

#2: with all the #1 hits, why was "My World" left in their for so long?

#3: if Jean was "forced" to do a 60's medley, couldn't they have at least created one that was more suitable for her range?

Diana has updated her medley quite a few times.

Re Diana, in her initial solo shows, I believe she did the STOP!/MY WORLD IS EMPTY WITHOUT YOU/BABY LOVE medley for a while. But by 1973, she had added I HEAR A SYMPHONY [[for some shows).

For her 1976-1978 AN EVENING WITH... shows, it was a different medley including STOP! / YOU CAN'T HURRY LOVE/REFLECTIONS/MY WORLD.../ I HEAR A SYMPHONY. She did this same medley [[along with BABY LOVE) during her TOUR '79 shows, although at some point, she just did BABY LOVE.

For her early 80s shows, she was doing the "Rock and Roll" medley including REFLECTIONS/BABY LOVE/STOP!/ITCHING.

Later, she did another medley of WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO/BABY LOVE/STOP!/YOU CAN'T HURRY LOVE/YOU KEEP ME HANGIN' ON/ ITCHING. At times, the latter two were dropped.

After RETURN TO LOVE, she stopped doing medleys for the most part and did Supremes songs in their entirety.

[sup_fan]

during the early Jean years, it does appear that the group sort of backed off of doing too much MOR content. with the DRATS they were really covering showbiz and Rat Pack content. with jean they were doing less of that but had layered in more contemporary hits like Love Story, Love the one you're with, can't take my eyes, lean on me, love train, we've only just begun, the border song.

for a long while, Feelin Good and the occasional People were the only showtunes.

then in mid 72, they reverted back to the DRATS tunes with Somewhere, You're nobody, etc.

in the review of the debut with Jean in Dallas in Feb 70, the show included You keep me hangin on, reflections, the happening, medley of hits including baby love, i hear a symphony, come see about me, stop, love child. also if they could see me now, don't rain on my parade, once in a lifetime, texas medley of Big D and Deep in the Heart of texas, up the ladder, macarthur park, something, raindrops keep falling on my head

[Spreadinglove21]

during the early Jean years, it does appear that the group sort of backed off of doing too much MOR content. with the DRATS they were really covering showbiz and Rat Pack content. with jean they were doing less of that but had layered in more contemporary hits like Love Story, Love the one you're with, can't take my eyes, lean on me, love train, we've only just begun, the border song.

for a long while, Feelin Good and the occasional People were the only showtunes.

then in mid 72, they reverted back to the DRATS tunes with Somewhere, You're nobody, etc.

in the review of the debut with Jean in Dallas in Feb 70, the show included You keep me hangin on, reflections, the happening, medley of hits including baby love, i hear a symphony, come see about me, stop, love child. also if they could see me now, don't rain on my parade, once in a lifetime, texas medley of Big D and Deep in the Heart of texas, up the ladder, macarthur park, something, raindrops keep falling on my head

JMC singing a song about Big D?! That sounds edgy for 1970.

[sup_fan]

JMC singing a song about Big D?! That sounds edgy for 1970.

haha - well mary had recently ended her affair with Tom Jones so maybe she was still pining away for him lol

the Big D is a nickname for the city of Dallas of course lol

[marybrewster]

JMC singing a song about Big D?! That sounds edgy for 1970.

Mary didn't meet Pedro until 1973.

[marybrewster]

Diana has updated her medley quite a few times.

Re Diana, in her initial solo shows, I believe she did the STOP!/MY WORLD IS EMPTY WITHOUT YOU/BABY LOVE medley for a while. But by 1973, she had added I HEAR A SYMPHONY [[for some shows).

For her 1976-1978 AN EVENING WITH... shows, it was a different medley including STOP! / YOU CAN'T HURRY LOVE/REFLECTIONS/MY WORLD.../ I HEAR A SYMPHONY. She did this same medley [[along with BABY LOVE) during her TOUR '79 shows, although at some point, she just did BABY LOVE.

For her early 80s shows, she was doing the "Rock and Roll" medley including REFLECTIONS/BABY LOVE/STOP!/ITCHING.

Later, she did another medley of WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO/BABY LOVE/STOP!/YOU CAN'T HURRY LOVE/YOU KEEP ME HANGIN' ON/ ITCHING. At times, the latter two were dropped.

After RETURN TO LOVE, she stopped doing medleys for the most part and did Supremes songs in their entirety.

Thanks. What I think I meant initially was it seemed like the same 4 or 5 songs were recycled in the medleys, both for the Supremes, and Diana: always Stop. Always Baby Love. In theory these were their biggest, or most recognized hits, why not full length versions? Seems like "Love Is Here", "Happening", "WDOLG", "Back/Arms" were never included.

[captainjames]

Personally I thought it was just an awkward interview and it appeared that Mary needed to take charge and answer all the questions to save the interview [[this is one of the things she had mentioned that Diana did in interviews). The Supremes were doing good on the charts for a while and honestly I don't think Berry did anything to smother that. If he was making money he was okay with it. His eye was on motion pictures now and that was his goal and it was either with Diana Ross in Lady, Mahogany or with someone else in the Last Dragon. He kind of stepped away from the recording piece of it.

[sup_fan]

Thanks. What I think I meant initially was it seemed like the same 4 or 5 songs were recycled in the medleys, both for the Supremes, and Diana: always Stop. Always Baby Love. In theory these were their biggest, or most recognized hits, why not full length versions? Seems like "Love Is Here", "Happening", "WDOLG", "Back/Arms" were never included.

WDOLG made it back into the medleys during the 70s. mary often sang that lead part

Back in my Arms was often included just as a chorus, during the end of the CSAM segment. but then in the later MSS years it was back. in the Caesar show they did an mary was lead singing "how can Scherrie tell me what to do? when she lost her boy so true. and Su, she never knew. that the boy she loves is a romeo" a bit awkward with those last lyrics

Love is here was included in the Jean years and it seems to been a longer segment of the medley. they would do 2 verses or so. maybe jean really liked this one. but they didn't do the spoken passages

but the Happening - nope. other than the review from the Dallas Fairmont debut which listed it, i've never heard of it being included.

Nothing But Heartaches was included in the MSS giant dress medley at Caesar's. the medley is interesting in that it includes some of their "lesser" hits. it starts with Baby Love but Susaye is actually singing WDOLG, Back in my arms again, nothing but heartaches [[emphasizing the I Can't Break Away line), Love is an Itching, you keep me hangin on. I imagine they must have been doing some goofing on the various lines of "set me free, you keep me hanging on, I Can't break away, tearing apart and i can't scratch it" all while in the huge red mega dress. Mary said there was awkward silence where there was supposed to be laughter so maybe they were trying to be funny with these lines of tearing and itching and breaking away while they're all tangled up in this stupid dress. lol

Love Child and Someday were back during the Scherrie years. and during the 72 tour w the temps it was wonderful to hear them all do I'm Gonna Make You Love Me.

Symphony isn't used much though

[sup_fan]

Mary didn't meet Pedro until 1973.

hmmm - was that the reason? lololol i'd always wondered. i mean - if you believe stereotypes and all lolol

[marybrewster]

hmmm - was that the reason? lololol i'd always wondered. i mean - if you believe stereotypes and all lolol

My first boyfriend's last name was Alvarez. It's not a stereotype. At least with him, lol.

[marybrewster]

WDOLG made it back into the medleys during the 70s. mary often sang that lead part

Back in my Arms was often included just as a chorus, during the end of the CSAM segment. but then in the later MSS years it was back. in the Caesar show they did an mary was lead singing "how can Scherrie tell me what to do? when she lost her boy so true. and Su, she never knew. that the boy she loves is a romeo" a bit awkward with those last lyrics

Love is here was included in the Jean years and it seems to been a longer segment of the medley. they would do 2 verses or so. maybe jean really liked this one. but they didn't do the spoken passages

but the Happening - nope. other than the review from the Dallas Fairmont debut which listed it, i've never heard of it being included.

Nothing But Heartaches was included in the MSS giant dress medley at Caesar's. the medley is interesting in that it includes some of their "lesser" hits. it starts with Baby Love but Susaye is actually singing WDOLG, Back in my arms again, nothing but heartaches [[emphasizing the I Can't Break Away line), Love is an Itching, you keep me hangin on. I imagine they must have been doing some goofing on the various lines of "set me free, you keep me hanging on, I Can't break away, tearing apart and i can't scratch it" all while in the huge red mega dress. Mary said there was awkward silence where there was supposed to be laughter so maybe they were trying to be funny with these lines of tearing and itching and breaking away while they're all tangled up in this stupid dress. lol

Love Child and Someday were back during the Scherrie years. and during the 72 tour w the temps it was wonderful to hear them all do I'm Gonna Make You Love Me.

Symphony isn't used much though

I wonder what ever became of that ill-fated "dress". It had to be huge, and heavy. Was it only uses once? An expensive misstep.

[sup_fan]

My first boyfriend's last name was Alvarez. It's not a stereotype. At least with him, lol.

yes i know it's not 100% - i've done the scientific testing personally! lol

[sup_fan]

I wonder what ever became of that ill-fated "dress". It had to be huge, and heavy. Was it only uses once? An expensive misstep.

my guess is yes i think it was only used for that Caesar show, which was also cut short because it was such a flop. so after that, it went into storage

Brad shared a hilarious story about it. it's in mary's collection - i believe he said it's red, perhaps a fire engine red or a bright shade i think? he didn't mention if there was any patterning or styling of it. But he and mary were going through the gowns as she was working on the gown book. he had hoped it would be included but no one could figure out how the hell it worked LOLOLOL i hope he's reading these posts and chimes in! it was a great story!!

to add to the complete "fever dream" aspect of this Caesar's show, mary explained that George came to them with the idea of them them spoofing the cast of Hair which had spoofed the girls. ok even spelled out it seems like a rather odd [[putting it nicely) concept. this was late 76 and hair had closed on Broadway back in the summer of 72. this was definitely an outdated concept.

But the segment of the show starts with a poorly performed imitation of Ed Sullivan doing one of Ed's typical botched introductions. and then the girls start the medley. but no where ever in the show was there 1 reference to the musical Hair to provide some perspective to the audience. there's this wonky bit over the PA system of a fake Ed Sullivan introducing the group and then they're singing a GH medley emphasizing the lyrics of "i can't break away" "set me free why dontcha babe" etc and wearing this massive red uni-dress.

IMO such nonsense could only be the result of mountains of coke. so unless each of the tables at Caesar's had a mirror and a rock on it for each audience member to do a few lines so they could share in your hallucinations, it was never going to work!

[sup_fan]

mary also mentions during this ill-fated Caesar's run that motown called a meeting back at the offices in LA, requiring M and P to attend. the primary topic of the meeting was S and S dissatisfaction with the management of the group. Mary calls them out in Sup Faith as "how dare they" since she had brought them into the group.

but for fuck's sake mary - if you strategic direction for the group first included the outdate Dream segment and then this Caesar's atrocity, then yes. they have a perfectly valid complaint and the management of the group [[which was owned by Motown, not mary) was inadequate.

[marybrewster]

mary also mentions during this ill-fated Caesar's run that motown called a meeting back at the offices in LA, requiring M and P to attend. the primary topic of the meeting was S and S dissatisfaction with the management of the group. Mary calls them out in Sup Faith as "how dare they" since she had brought them into the group.

but for fuck's sake mary - if you strategic direction for the group first included the outdate Dream segment and then this Caesar's atrocity, then yes. they have a perfectly valid complaint and the management of the group [[which was owned by Motown, not mary) was inadequate.

I can only surmise that by 1976/1977, Mary was scratching her head on how to "reinvent" the group, and ideas like the uni-dress somehow were mistaken for brilliance. It MIGHT have worked. Might. But no set up or explanation left the idea deflated. I don't think the Supremes were known for their comedic timing either. So I imagine it was a disaster from start to finish.