Mary booed of the stage

[after you]

Supremes Booed of the stage in front of fifteen thousand people , But why

[sup_fan]

are you referring to the Madison Square Garden event?

those musical extravaganzas were mostly focused solely on oldies acts. but the Supremes' set didn't focus on their older songs. I don't know the whole set they did but mary mentions they did Driving Wheel, Let Yourself Go and He Ain't Heavy. so the disco numbers would really not be appropriate for this crowd. and to be doing a cover of another group's relatively recent hit was a bad idea too.

in Dec 76 they had revamped the act for their [[also disastrous) Caesar's Palace show. i believe it was at this time they started using the opening number of Everybody Gets To Go To The Moon/Corner of the Sky. it seems the group was always sort of blindly using their ever-ready Vegas show set, even when not appropriate [[like the 72 Operation PUSH show).

imagine if the girls swirled onto the stage singing Everybody lol

just another example of how the group didn't appropriately adapt their onstage performances

[Spreadinglove21]

are you referring to the Madison Square Garden event?

those musical extravaganzas were mostly focused solely on oldies acts. but the Supremes' set didn't focus on their older songs. I don't know the whole set they did but mary mentions they did Driving Wheel, Let Yourself Go and He Ain't Heavy. so the disco numbers would really not be appropriate for this crowd. and to be doing a cover of another group's relatively recent hit was a bad idea too.

in Dec 76 they had revamped the act for their [[also disastrous) Caesar's Palace show. i believe it was at this time they started using the opening number of Everybody Gets To Go To The Moon/Corner of the Sky. it seems the group was always sort of blindly using their ever-ready Vegas show set, even when not appropriate [[like the 72 Operation PUSH show).

imagine if the girls swirled onto the stage singing Everybody lol

just another example of how the group didn't appropriately adapt their onstage performances

According to Supreme Faith, they were also going to do Tossin and Turnin to please the old rock and roll fans. And if you go by the book, Mary told the anxious promoter that "they knew their fans" but problem was that the group didn't have that many fans left by March 77 and certainly not enough to fill MSG. Which points to a potentially larger problem with the act by then--Mary was in an echo chamber or in a time warp, thinking it was 1968 and the group was playing to large appreciative crowds at the Copa or in Vegas and were looking for a cabaret/slick night club show. I bet even the hits medley didn't please the old rock and roll fans as that medley is awful in terms of arrangement and rushed nature and the over singing.

[TheMotownManiac]

According to Supreme Faith, they were also going to do Tossin and Turnin to please the old rock and roll fans. And if you go by the book, Mary told the anxious promoter that "they knew their fans" but problem was that the group didn't have that many fans left by March 77 and certainly not enough to fill MSG. Which points to a potentially larger problem with the act by then--Mary was in an echo chamber or in a time warp, thinking it was 1968 and the group was playing to large appreciative crowds at the Copa or in Vegas and were looking for a cabaret/slick night club show. I bet even the hits medley didn't please the old rock and roll fans as that medley is awful in terms of arrangement and rushed nature and the over singing.

Mary was a realist, but she was also optimistic. I don’t recall ever speaking to her about this at the time, but I would put money on the fact that, although she knew better than anyone that the group was slipping quickly, playing the garden would be a great gig for her and a chance to perform in front of a large group of people that would at least partly be their fans and open to older music. I agree with you about the medley and the staging, it might have gone over better with the standard medley arrangements and not all that running around. I think if they had done a couple songs that they were famous for, and lured the crowd into them, they would’ve been able to introduce some other material. I was a sucker for how lucky can you get every single time I saw it.

[blackguy69]

One note, the title is misleading, it should read the time the Supremes got booed off stage instead of just Mary.

[RanRan79]

Mary was a realist, but she was also optimistic. I don’t recall ever speaking to her about this at the time, but I would put money on the fact that, although she knew better than anyone that the group was slipping quickly, playing the garden would be a great gig for her and a chance to perform in front of a large group of people that would at least partly be their fans and open to older music. I agree with you about the medley and the staging, it might have gone over better with the standard medley arrangements and not all that running around. I think if they had done a couple songs that they were famous for, and lured the crowd into them, they would’ve been able to introduce some other material. I was a sucker for how lucky can you get every single time I saw it.

I think you're right. If they had come out and performed four or so full versions- normal versions- of the Supremes' hits and then had Mary say something like "Do you mind if we do a couple songs from our latest album?" or "Do you mind if we do our latest single?" it probably would have gone over with the crowd much better than what they apparently went out there and did.

[RanRan79]

One note, the title is misleading, it should read the time the Supremes got booed off stage instead of just Mary.

I think the title reads exactly what that person hoped to focus on.

What are the chances that same screen name posts a thread about the time Diana Ross- not the Supremes, just Diana Ross- was booed off the stage some years back? No chance? I'm inclined to agree.

[sup_fan]

it's certainly possible, according to Mary's book, that they went through their old set lists and pulled things like Tossin. but i would expect that would have received less than enthusiastic response either. the point was to sing THEIR hits. not other people's. they hadn't done full versions of the 60s songs since maybe early in the Jean years?

my suspicion is that performances like the Caesar's gig and up coming S America tour were being made haphazardly and last minute. while the girls regularly appeared at some places like Fairmont in San Fran, Bachellors III in Ft Lauderdale, Detroit, i think most of their other gigs were wherever and whenever they could get a booking. their primary source of income was live performances and so they would just take whatever they could get

[copley]

Don't rise to the bait folks. Remember that silence is golden.

[after you]

Don’t get me wrong I love Mary and Flo no bait , just wondering why who was doing lead at the time

[blackguy69]

I know you know better.

Don’t get me wrong I love Mary and Flo no bait , just wondering why who was doing lead at the time

[Spreadinglove21]

Don’t get me wrong I love Mary and Flo no bait , just wondering why who was doing lead at the time

Bitch please.

[TheMotownManiac]

I think you're right. If they had come out and performed four or so full versions- normal versions- of the Supremes' hits and then had Mary say something like "Do you mind if we do a couple songs from our latest album?" or "Do you mind if we do our latest single?" it probably would have gone over with the crowd much better than what they apparently went out there and did.

it was ignorant to boo them period. I know that the general public was unaware of how the Supremes had morphed, but that’s no reason to boo them. Believe me, no matter what you think of the act, Mary went out there and worked as hard as she could every single show. All three of them did. If you don’t like an act, you sit there and wait until it’s over or go smoke a joint. Come back and The Turtles might be on. I would never boo an act. I’ve been in an audience that did it and it was very uncomfortable. She was perfectly fine for whatever it was she was singing but she was absolutely the wrong choice to open for Lily Tomlin.

[after you]

Bitch please how many times have you trashed Ross a favourite hobby of yours for years and one brings up a little information fact that Mary talked about herself I just asked why they where booed of the stage , no big deal things happen

[blackguy69]

Here we go should have seen it coming

Bitch please how many times have you trashed Ross a favourite hobby of yours for years and one brings up a little information fact that Mary talked about herself I just asked why they where booed of the stage , no big deal things happen

[BobbyC]

Remember, let's stay non-toxic and happy and fluffy.

[Spreadinglove21]

Bitch please how many times have you trashed Ross a favourite hobby of yours for years and one brings up a little information fact that Mary talked about herself I just asked why they where booed of the stage , no big deal things happen

Hey I don't mind the topic, it's a topic well worth discussing. But you are being disingenuous when you pretend total ignorance of the topic and pose as an innocent relatively new and naive fan.

I've long thought that the Supremes getting booed off the stage was something years in the making, beginning when they were establishing themselves as Vegas/Copa/Showroom headliners in the 60s and when the 70s came along they didn't change enough. Eventually they got a booking where there would be a big disconnect between the show they were doing and what a lot of the audience came to hear.

To Mary's credit, when she hit the oldies circuit in earnest in the 80s she knew she had to serve up the Supremes songs in full [[despite not being a vocal match) and then add on covers of other oldies, ballads and a solo song or two. It kept her consistently booked until COVID hit.

[Spreadinglove21]

it's certainly possible, according to Mary's book, that they went through their old set lists and pulled things like Tossin. but i would expect that would have received less than enthusiastic response either. the point was to sing THEIR hits. not other people's. they hadn't done full versions of the 60s songs since maybe early in the Jean years?

my suspicion is that performances like the Caesar's gig and up coming S America tour were being made haphazardly and last minute. while the girls regularly appeared at some places like Fairmont in San Fran, Bachellors III in Ft Lauderdale, Detroit, i think most of their other gigs were wherever and whenever they could get a booking. their primary source of income was live performances and so they would just take whatever they could get

One of the saddest bits in Supreme Faith was the passage Mary discussed SMC being booked at some hotel in Evansville Indiana and no one showed up the first night, and for subsequent nights the audiences were very small. And they had to perform on a portable stage which Scherrie fell off of, though she continued the performance.

[PeaceNHarmony]

I had a friend who attended the MSG show the night before and when I asked him about the Supremes his comment was only 'They stunk & got booed off the stage'. I was sad & shocked and did not inquire further. We know that Branson was also not a career highlight - was there a poor audience response there as well or simply low ticket sales?

[sup_fan]

One of the saddest bits in Supreme Faith was the passage Mary discussed SMC being booked at some hotel in Evansville Indiana and no one showed up the first night, and for subsequent nights the audiences were very small. And they had to perform on a portable stage which Scherrie fell off of, though she continued the performance.

i believe she also mentioned that during the terrible Caesar's engagement some people got up and left in the middle of the show.

IMO this all is part of the lack of proper strategy with the management of the group. mary talks about the huge cost of bringing in Holder to revamp the act [[adding in the Dream sequence). the problem is they revamp just wasn't right. the content and style of the show was just not what was needed. similarly when MJL were rehashing the old DRATS show. how they really hadn't updated their live act and image.

with the recent Touch thread on here, i was relistening to the interview version of the lp. where the girls pre-recorded answers to set questions and included a few of the album's tracks. it was potentially an interesting promotional gimmick. and some of the discussion did involve talking about the album, recording and working with Frank, etc. but some of the answers were the same of trite gunk that was getting old by this time. there were the typical discussions of galivanting off to the stores to shop. At one point Mary makes a comment that she's just like other people but has lots of money. ouch

I don't know if it was Pedro [[some of these problems started well before he was around) or mary or poorly selected managers or what. or a combo of all of these. but some really poor decisions were being made repeatedly

[TheMotownManiac]

I agree that it’s more poor management than anything. They really needed someone with a vision for the group. None of the current members had that gift. The dream sequence was so cringe worthy, he did not show them off to their best talents. it was awkward and weird and amateurish, and didn’t belong in my opinion I think they would’ve been much better served to each have a solo sitting on a bear stage on a stool in a spotlight had to show what they could do.
I wish they had taken up Berry. Gordy‘s offer to manage the group. If they were afraid, they weren’t getting promotion, with him managing the group, they might have. Plus, with Gladys, the tops, the spinners gone, and the J5 slipping and getting ready to leave, and the temptation is slipping, I can see where he would want to try very very hard to make that group work, just for the financial stability of the company if nothing else. They had one group that was up-and-coming The Commodores otherwise the majority of their success with it due to diana, Marvin and Stevie smoky wasn’t generating much.

He might’ve been able to turn things around.

[Spreadinglove21]

Was it Geoffrey Holder who put together the Supremes show with the Magic Genie sequence? He's certainly not untalented, but even talented people have bad ideas, or are capable of taking of a potentially good idea and not executing it right.

Holder or not, I wonder if the Magic Genie concept, with each Supreme portraying a famous performer, could be viewed as capitalizing [[or ripping off to be less charitable) on Diana Ross' success portraying Billie Holliday?

[sup_fan]

I agree that it’s more poor management than anything. They really needed someone with a vision for the group. None of the current members had that gift. The dream sequence was so cringe worthy, he did not show them off to their best talents. it was awkward and weird and amateurish, and didn’t belong in my opinion I think they would’ve been much better served to each have a solo sitting on a bear stage on a stool in a spotlight had to show what they could do.
I wish they had taken up Berry. Gordy‘s offer to manage the group. If they were afraid, they weren’t getting promotion, with him managing the group, they might have. Plus, with Gladys, the tops, the spinners gone, and the J5 slipping and getting ready to leave, and the temptation is slipping, I can see where he would want to try very very hard to make that group work, just for the financial stability of the company if nothing else. They had one group that was up-and-coming The Commodores otherwise the majority of their success with it due to diana, Marvin and Stevie smoky wasn’t generating much.

He might’ve been able to turn things around.

agree! people keep saying "well motown did nothing for them so why should they trust Berry this time?" well the answer is clearly the group wasn't able to do much on its own so it couldn't be any worse with Berry. if motown still did nothing, they'd be no worse off. if they played the political game and went along with things, maybe they'd get a little more.

others on here have said that motown was late to the disco game and when the Sups hit well on the disco charts with He's My Man and Walking, supposedly Motown thought "hmmm like it or not the Sups still have a following, especially with gay men and the discos" so let's use them as a ready-made disco act and off we go

[BayouMotownMan]

The problem was...the booking should never have been made.

But Pedro and Mary insisted because it paid top dollar at MSG. Unfortunately, it was strictly an oldies package. I remember Dion was there and some other groups from the 50s and 60s. The Supremes had that slick Vegas/Disco act.

Fans were writing and telling Mary for weeks not to do the gig. The Supremes were the headlining act.

The place was full of bikers and that "rough" set who were there to feel young again.

A big part of the problem was all the promos played on radio and tv. They were playing songs like Baby Love and Stop...the original recordings with Diana Ross. The same promos played samples of the other acts to be there as well and when these acts took stage, they LOOKED like who they were supposed to be. The general public showed up assuming they were getting a classic Supremes grouping, many expected Ross. They were less than impressed when Mary, Scherrie and Susaye came onstage in face paint and disco garb.

I used to have an audio recording from that show. I'll try to remember. They were introduced to thunderous applause and opened with a medley of Let My Heart and Let Yourself Go. Mild reaction. Mary welcomes the crowd and then Susaye did He Ain't Heavy. The booing started then. Mary came back to the main mike trying to calm down the audience and persuade them to listen to "her" song. She did How Lucky Can You Get...and the booing and jeering started drowning her out. Next was the 60s hit medley starting with Someday. Now when they started singing this you could hear thunderous reaction...but by then it was too late. Way too late. They were being cursed at and management brought them offstage with one Supreme answering an irate fan by flipping the finger as they were exiting.

This is the way I remember the show but admittedly I have not listened to this tape in many, many years. To be honest, one listen was enough. It was just that painful to hear this iconic, ground-breaking group forced offstage by a hostile audience.

Backstage, fans I spoke with said Mary tried to calm everyone but MSG management was furious with the group. One of the ladies started sobbing uncontrollably and Pedro finally got them packed up and hustled them out of the arena.

As they were exiting, fans, some crying with them, hugged and kissed the ladies. I think the tears were not just for the concert reception but the recognition that the greatest female group of all time was now dead.

[RanRan79]

I'm gonna take a guess here:

Scherrie flipped the bird.

Susaye cried uncontrollably.

Bayou????

[floyjoy678]

I'm gonna take a guess here:

Scherrie flipped the bird.

Susaye cried uncontrollably.

Bayou????

It may have been the reverse as I seem to recall that it was Susaye who flipped the bird.

Scherrie was in a bad place emotionally during that time so I wouldn't be surprised if she was doing the crying.

[RanRan79]

Headlining at MSG really was a no brainer to take up. Sure, at that point the group didn't want to be- or need to be- known as an oldies act, but when the hits seem to have dried up and you're sometimes taking whatever gigs you can get, headlining at MSG was too good to pass up. Ultimately, taking into account Bayou's recollections, the fault wasn't the audience [[although I agree with Maniac that booing was unreasonably disrespectful) nor the promoters, it was the Supremes and Pedro.

Pedro was out of his league as a manager. Maybe if Mary were an up and coming solo artist, Pedro being allowed to manage her might make sense. But these were the freakin Supremes. You don't have some novice managing the Supremes. One could make the argument that a good manager would have turned the gig down. I'll allow the argument, but I just don't think the group was in position to turn that kind of money down. My argument is that a good manager would have recognized what would be expected of the group and build a set around it: the hits.

The fact that the audience wasn't unruly on the initial "Walking" and "Let Yourself Go" backs up my initial thought, that had the group come on and sang some hits and introduced a couple of their new tunes, and did a couple more hits, they could have avoided disaster. Honestly, I'm going to lay some serious blame at Mary's feet here because of all the three Supremes, plus Pedro, she was the real veteran. She understood this kind of stuff and yet she led her group into a disaster by not re-structuring the act to fit the audience. She should have known better.

[RanRan79]

It may have been the reverse as I seem to recall that it was Susaye who flipped the bird.

Scherrie was in a bad place emotionally during that time so I wouldn't be surprised if she was doing the crying.

I knew I would probably have it wrong, but I couldn't resist giving it a go.

[TheMotownManiac]

Was it Geoffrey Holder who put together the Supremes show with the Magic Genie sequence? He's certainly not untalented, but even talented people have bad ideas, or are capable of taking of a potentially good idea and not executing it right.

Holder or not, I wonder if the Magic Genie concept, with each Supreme portraying a famous performer, could be viewed as capitalizing [[or ripping off to be less charitable) on Diana Ross' success portraying Billie Holliday?

I don’t think it had anything to do with Lady sings the blues.yes, Jeffrey Holder did it, and it’s not that the concept was bad, just the execution. Frankly, the material was a little beyond them. I don’t mean this to sound insulting, because you have no idea how much they wanted this to impress people, but they kind of acted like 10 year olds playing dress up. 10 years later, Mary would be able to really sell that, but she was not there yet. None of them were. I suppose they were used to being handed wretched comedy pieces on variety shows, but the only one that ever really made it work was Diana, and not always. That skit with Michael Jackson, on her special for example, neither one of them had the talent to make that bit work. And I don’t think she ever got one laugh on, “our conductor drinks. “

[after you]

How is that Even possible I have heard of such a thing being booed of the stage those ladies had Magnificent voices

[BayouMotownMan]

Headlining at MSG really was a no brainer to take up. Sure, at that point the group didn't want to be- or need to be- known as an oldies act, but when the hits seem to have dried up and you're sometimes taking whatever gigs you can get, headlining at MSG was too good to pass up. Ultimately, taking into account Bayou's recollections, the fault wasn't the audience [[although I agree with Maniac that booing was unreasonably disrespectful) nor the promoters, it was the Supremes and Pedro.

Pedro was out of his league as a manager. Maybe if Mary were an up and coming solo artist, Pedro being allowed to manage her might make sense. But these were the freakin Supremes. You don't have some novice managing the Supremes. One could make the argument that a good manager would have turned the gig down. I'll allow the argument, but I just don't think the group was in position to turn that kind of money down. My argument is that a good manager would have recognized what would be expected of the group and build a set around it: the hits.

The fact that the audience wasn't unruly on the initial "Walking" and "Let Yourself Go" backs up my initial thought, that had the group come on and sang some hits and introduced a couple of their new tunes, and did a couple more hits, they could have avoided disaster. Honestly, I'm going to lay some serious blame at Mary's feet here because of all the three Supremes, plus Pedro, she was the real veteran. She understood this kind of stuff and yet she led her group into a disaster by not re-structuring the act to fit the audience. She should have known better.

Oh it wasn't just that they were booing and jeering the ladies, that was bad enough, but toward the end they were cursing them and calling them names. This resulted in long time fans approaching the bikers doing this and then some violence broke out. It was a royal mess.

[Motown Eddie]

Mary Wilson was so optimistic about promoting the latest Supremes' LP at that time that she [and The Supremes' manager, Pedro] ignored all the warning signs about performing at an Oldies Concert. The audiences at those shows just want to stroll down Rock & Roll's memory lane and don't want to hear anything that sounds contemporary. Also, the crowds at those oldies shows in the mid to late '70s hated disco music with a vengeance [and this was just a few years before those infamous 'anti disco rallies' started]. There was no chance that The Supremes could've won that crowd over. In her book Supreme Faith, Mary talked about how embarrassed and hurt she was at having her & the group booed off the stage back in '76.

[Spreadinglove21]

Mary Wilson was so optimistic about promoting the latest Supremes' LP at that time, that she [and The Supremes' manager, Pedro] ignored all the warning signs about performing at an Oldies Concert. The audiences at those shows just want to stroll down Rock & Roll's memory lane and don't want to hear anything that sounds contemporary. Also, the crowds at those oldies shows in the mid to late '70s hated disco music with a vengeance [and this was just a few years before those infamous 'anti disco rallies' started]. These was no chance that The Supremes could've won that crowd over. In her book Supreme Faith, Mary talked about how embarrassed and hurt she was at having her & the group booed off the stage back in '76.

Yeah, MSS getting booed off the stage at MSG at the oldies show, and some of that audience, based on Bayou's account, "Oh it wasn't just that they were booing and jeering the ladies, that was bad enough, but toward the end they were cursing them and calling them names. This resulted in long time fans approaching the bikers doing this and then some violence broke out. It was a royal mess", could certainly be viewed as a precursor or harbinger of the Disco Sucks riot at Comisky Park in Chicago.

[reese]

Around this time, I sent away for and received a newsletter from the Supremes' fan club. Already, there were letters from fans expressing how they thought it was a bad idea for the group to do an oldies gig. Too bad Mary and Pedro didn't listen.

Rick Nelson had a similar experience at a MSG oldies concert that led to him writing his last hit, GARDEN PARTY.

[BayouMotownMan]

There were letter writing campaigns for years to the fan clubs and to Motown complaining about Pedro being in charge. When Mary finally left and filed suit, she gave a lengthy interview to Soul Magazine. As Mary was taking Motown apart with accusations, the writer showed Mary one of the fan letters Soul Magazine received denouncing Pedro. This put Mary on the spot but she defended him saying he was doing more for the Supremes when Motown "hadn't done **** in years." Pedro then took the credit for the success of I'm Gonna Let My Heart Do The Walking, though what he had to do with that limited success is beyond me.

[TNSUN]

These fans most likely were waiting to hear, "Baby Love", "Stop in the Name of Love", "I Hear a Symphony" and "Someday We'll Be Together". Some times I will leave a Diana Ross Concert being a little sad that she did not sing, "Someday We'll Be Together".Lovely song that should be introduced to her younger audiences, along with "These Things" -will keep me loving you-. Another song that would have been a hit with the song entitled "Keep Me Loving You". Musically, the song would be modified to keep with the new title.

[TNSUN]

A great way to end the song via a few fade outs of"Keep Me Loving You" a la the band "Kiss" -"I'll Keep Loving You".

[RanRan79]

There was no chance that The Supremes could've won that crowd over.

Having not seen or heard the show, and previously only reading details in Mary's second book, I'm relying on Bayou's recollection of events. If the crowd didn't immediately turn on the group for starting with a medley of disco songs, I think it speaks to the fact that they were willing to give the group a chance. Perhaps the thought was "Okay, I hate this new crap, but I'll sit through this because 'Baby Love' is surely coming up". That the trouble starts with "He Aint Heavy", so not a disco cut, and spirals out of control with "How Lucky", I think the problem goes back to Mary not understanding- or not caring about- the assignment, which was to sing the stuff that the audience wanted to hear: the 60s stuff released under the name Supremes.

I think it's a safe bet that almost no one in the audience was there to hear the Supremes' latest music, nor hear their takes on someone else's hit and a Barbra Streisand song. Had the group gone from the "Walking/Go" medley into any number of the Diana era hits, I don't think it's unreasonable to conclude that the gig would have worked out. That it didn't isn't on the audience as the first bad move, it's on the Supremes.

Now, having said that, this is not me suggesting that the behavior of the audience was acceptable or that the audience wasn't filled with buttholes. Their reaction to the disappointing headliner was out of line.

[RanRan79]

There were letter writing campaigns for years to the fan clubs and to Motown complaining about Pedro being in charge. When Mary finally left and filed suit, she gave a lengthy interview to Soul Magazine. As Mary was taking Motown apart with accusations, the writer showed Mary one of the fan letters Soul Magazine received denouncing Pedro. This put Mary on the spot but she defended him saying he was doing more for the Supremes when Motown "hadn't done **** in years." Pedro then took the credit for the success of I'm Gonna Let My Heart Do The Walking, though what he had to do with that limited success is beyond me.

To be fair to Mary, what else was she going to do but defend Pedro? Failing to do so could've resulted in a serious beating.

[Spreadinglove21]

Has Scherrie or Susaye ever given their account of this event? Be curious to get their perspectives if anyone dares to go there with either of them.

[RanRan79]

Has Scherrie or Susaye ever given their account of this event? Be curious to get their perspectives if anyone dares to go there with either of them.

I'm hoping they both write a book. My position is always that it's best to have as many recollections and as much documentation around a subject as possible. Most of the indepth info we have for the 70s Supremes comes from Mary and of course it would be her side of the story and how she viewed things. As we know, multiple people can experience the same events and come away with different perspectives. I'd love to know what Scherrie and Susaye's thoughts were, not just on the MSG show, but their entire time as Supremes. Lynda too. Fingers still crossed that somehow, someway, someone will get Jean to do some real documenting of her career.

[daviddh]

i thought ,at some point Scherrie or Susaye discussed this event. cant remember when. both stated they didnt want to do it but were booked anyway.i think Mary persuded them for financial reasons but ,as already stated , she refused or failed to understand this was an oldies show.
she claims motown did nothing when BG offered to manage them twice. twice she turned him down. hmmmm.
i havent heard this show but , i did see another show with Scherrie and Cindy in the group. the new lead singer was praised with having good stage presence and vocals but the show was less than stellar. to many standards. fans wanted hits.
i remember thinking when is someone going to wake up and smell the coffee. it never happended and only got worse.
sorry , this over the top, He Aint Heavy , was not the place for a garden oldies type, or any Supremes show. i cringed at songs like Everybody Gets To Go To The Moon, What About Today.
with the talent this ladies had, no reason they couldnt deliver some great harmony on these hit songs

[Motown Eddie]

If the crowd didn't immediately turn on the group for starting with a medley of disco songs, I think it speaks to the fact that they were willing to give the group a chance. Perhaps the thought was "Okay, I hate this new crap, but I'll sit through this because 'Baby Love' is surely coming up". That the trouble starts with "He Aint Heavy", so not a disco cut, and spirals out of control with "How Lucky", I think the problem goes back to Mary not understanding- or not caring about- the assignment, which was to sing the stuff that the audience wanted to hear: the 60s stuff released under the name Supremes.

There's one more thing a Rock & Roll Oldies Crowd doesn't like; a performance that smacks of a Las Vegas Review and that's been the standard operating procedure for a Supremes concert during the mid '70s. I agree that if The Supremes had done versions of their '60s hits at the MSG show, they would not have gotten the hostile response they received. And I agree that members of the audience were way out of line with their behavior towards the group.

[blackguy69]

But Mary had a point. Why would she let BG manage them again when he wasn’t doing anything for them

[milven]

But Mary had a point. Why would she let BG manage them again when he wasn’t doing anything for them

Because at the very least, he probably would not have booked them into an oldies show doing their new songs and covers of other songs - especially since Rick Nelson did the same thing a few years earlier and and was booed off stage as pointed out in a post above. Rick did the booking against his better judgement and was pissed off for being talked into it, left the stage and the building and wrote GARDEN PARTY about the sad experience.

https://calendar.songfacts.com/october/15/8008

Maybe Sherrie or Susaye could have done the same thing and wrote about their booing experience and have a hit too.

[BayouMotownMan]

But Mary had a point. Why would she let BG manage them again when he wasn’t doing anything for them

That's just the point, perhaps if Mary had allowed him control back over the group it could not have been any worse than it was. His offer came after the success of the High Energy lp and single. He was having trouble with Ross and "punished" her for not cooperating with his vision by giving major hit records to Thelma Houston and High Inergy for recordings she had declined. So, if he could have given the Supremes a big hit, if only to put Ross in her place, at least the group would have lasted longer and not been shot down in such a way as MSG.

Scherre Payne never knew BG approached Mary about taking the group back over until not that many years ago. Susaye was too new and probably never knew it either. Mary surely knew both ladies would have demanded going with Gordy over Pedro.

[blackguy69]

And what makes anyone think being managed by BG would really turn things around in the group

That's just the point, perhaps if Mary had allowed him control back over the group it could not have been any worse than it was. His offer came after the success of the High Energy lp and single. He was having trouble with Ross and "punished" her for not cooperating with his vision by giving major hit records to Thelma Houston and High Inergy for recordings she had declined. So, if he could have given the Supremes a big hit, if only to put Ross in her place, at least the group would have lasted longer and not been shot down in such a way as MSG.

Scherre Payne never knew BG approached Mary about taking the group back over until not that many years ago. Susaye was too new and probably never knew it either. Mary surely knew both ladies would have demanded going with Gordy over Pedro.

[jobeterob]

And what makes anyone think being managed by BG would really turn things around in the group

Berry had a lot of experience and huge success

Diana was going and effectively gone

And you couldn’t do any worse a job than Pedro and Mary did

They/she should have jumped at the chance

Basically none of the Supremes had any chart success and had to rely on any bookings and publicity they could scrounge up -I think they would have had a chance

[blackguy69]

Everything that everyone has said is in hindsight after the fact. What was BG and Motown doing for them from October 73 til before Pedro took over around May 1975. True BG wouldn’t have booked them for the MSG gig. But don’t kid yourselves thinking being managed my BG was going to be a return to the hit making days.

Berry had a lot of experience and huge success

Diana was going and effectively gone

And you couldn’t do any worse a job than Pedro and Mary did

They/she should have jumped at the chance

Basically none of the Supremes had any chart success and had to rely on any bookings and publicity they could scrounge up -I think they would have had a chance

[jobeterob]

I think you could well be right. The Supremes had gone silent for way too long and their day was passed as was the day of many Motown groups. It was the era of the singer songwriter and Diana Stevie and Marvin.

Still you’d be much better off with Berry than Pedro I feel