Originally Posted by
sup_fan
i think there are two different scenarios to consider and we can use the Diana period for this.
within the framework of the original Supremes, except for maybe very very very early, Flo was never THE lead singer. Flo was never really the "shared" lead, shouldering half or so of the work. in 61 or so, Flo did some lead recordings but of the overall recordings, that was barely 1/3 of the total. by 62 it was all Diana leads, for the most part. with occasional for F and M. the earliest live recordings we have for the group also support this.
reason i'm dredging this back up is to show that during the DMF era, there were several years where it was most clearly Diana as the lead singer with occasional leads from M and F. there was a lot of 3-part harmony work though, and the overall presentation was still that of a group
where by 66 that group approach was declining. the recordings were becoming more of an assembly-line approach, just crank things out. even the glorious R&H set doesn't have quite the same 3-part harmonies or group approach as the earlier sets like Sam Cook or There's A Place. so it was clear that the group was evolving in a DR launch pad. and trouble brewed up
so if Flo came back for a possible MSF lineup or something, i don't immediately think Flo would have rebelled against the idea. if they approached the MSF line up like they did the MSS lineup, with 3 singers being spotlighted, i think it is possible flo would have been fine. i don't think she thought she HAD to be the primary or only lead singer. i don't think she would have begrudged mary being heavily featured. but i do think the bullshit that M and Pedro offered up with using the group as a launch pad for Mary's solo career would have been a problem. just like it was in the 60s
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