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  1. #1
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    The Supreme Sham

    http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2010/0...-supreme-sham/

    By Abdul H. Azeez

    The much publicised ‘The Supremes’ concert held yesterday did not, in fact, feature ‘The Supremes’ at all.

    The group purported to be ‘The Supremes’ was in fact a cover/tribute band known as ‘Sounds of the Supremes’. The band that performed, is headed supposedly by a former member of The Supremes known as Kaaren Ragland, when in fact Ragland had never performed with the original line up of The Supremes at all.

    Gold FM together with its print media partners, however, billed the band as ‘The Supremes’ giving the impression to long time fans of the band that it was in fact the original Supremes and not a tribute band that was performing. Speaking to The Sunday Leader, the General Manager Programmes – Gold FM, Nilan Kaluaarachchi said that “the band billed is the original Supremes, it is not a cover band.” When asked about the web notification on the website of a band named ‘Sounds of the Supremes’ billing them to perform in Colombo on the same day as Gold FM’s purported ‘Supremes’, he said that “The name ‘Sounds of the Supremes’ must simply be a tagline that they use.”

    Such ignorance on the part of the very organisers of the concert is highly unlikely and we are forced to face the possibility that Gold FM actively sought to defraud its customers by giving them false information about the concert. Correct information as to the status of The Supremes and Ragland’s cover band is amply available on the internet to anyone willing to go to the trouble of Googling their name and one wonders if the people that attended the concert forking out their hard earned cash for tickets even realised that they were seeing a diminutive tribute band that was far from the real thing.

    Their assertion that Kaaren Ragland performed with the band during its latter stages would also be open to debate among loyal fans. The band known as The Supremes no longer exists. The famous Motown records group broke up in 1977 with its infamous lead singer branching off to a successful and controversial solo career. Original member of The Supremes, Mary Wilson then started a world tour and it was as a back-up singer for this tour that Ragland was hired. Mary Wilson continued to tour with Ragland and another back up female singer until the mid-’80s. It was at this point that Ragland started the band Sounds of the Supremes, in 1989. The move sparked a bitter lawsuit between Mary Wilson and Ragland with the former insisting that any artist who hadn’t performed with The Supremes and wasn’t signed by Motown should not be allowed to use the name The Supremes. Ragland however, insisted that the group ‘carried on’ after its break up and was billed as The Supremes even during Wilson’s tour. The court ultimately decided in Ragland’s favour, but only allowed her to use the name Sounds of the Supremes. The website for the Sounds of the Supremes, together with the date listing their performance in Colombo can be found at this address: http://www.soundsofthesupremes.com/appearance.htm.

    Tribute bands have performed in Sri Lanka before, but they have always been billed as such and not the original thing. The fraudulent nature of Gold FM’s publicity for this event must be taken seriously by the authorities and concert-goers alike.

  2. #2
    Sneaky behaviour by Gold FM, but I have to ask - what did disgruntled concertgoers [[if there are any, other than the reporter?) looking for "the original Supremes" think they were going to see?

  3. #3
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    They thought they were going to see Mary Wilson's show. She did a well publicized gala concert there last year and as the chief spokesperson for HDI [[Humpty Dumpty Institute), she toured the country giving lectures on the dangers of landmines.

  4. #4
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    Mary planted this story.

  5. #5
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    No she didn't , stop it.......hehehehehehehehe!

  6. #6
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    Mary is opening up her market. She is putting these groups on notice. I'm sure she made some connections in variouos countries during her Motown50 tour.

  7. #7
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    Ive seen Supremes concert posters twice in New Zealand over the past 10 years...no official members taking part in these shows...My curiosity didnt get the better of me so I didnt go...

  8. #8
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    Well, no one would be foolish enough to attempt to bill an act as "The Supremes" here in New York. Kaaren Raglands group or the Flo's have ever performed here to my knowledge.

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    What I never understood was the thought that some people really think they are seeing THE SUPREMES....

  10. #10
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    I don't know skooldem, some people are just shady and the ones that get duped don't ask enough questions. I remember a time back in the early to mid 90's all these CD's floating around that had the pictures of Diana, Mary and Florence and labeled the Supremes only to later learn that they were just re-recordings done by the FLO's. It's all in the billing, the labeling.

  11. #11
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    Id think Motown should do something about these kinds of things as they gave Mary such a hard time about billing.

  12. #12
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    ..is there such a thing as Motown anymore ? or just some Universal and Hip O workers assembling compliations every few months ?

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    It is almost in Universal Motowns interest to have many grouping of Supremes, Temptations and whatever running around doing concerts.

    Most people that attend like the show and then run out and buy a CD of the Supremes or Temptations. And not many people are buying CDS anymore. Of course, maybe the people that attend just go home and burn another CD so it turns into a larger rip.

    Pretty strange that the Sounds of the Supremes seem to have as many bookings on Ticketmaster as either the FLOS or Mary Wilson.

  14. #14
    smark21 Guest
    I think most people who go to a show by Kaaren Ragland or even the FLOS really don't care. They know it's not Diana Ross in the grouping but that's OK, they're not paying much, if anything to see the show. They just want to hear the old songs competently performed with some traffic cop moves and some swaying choreography perfomred by 3 black women in gowns and wigs so they can take a stroll down memory lane.

  15. #15
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    "Pretty strange that the Sounds of the Supremes seem to have as many bookings on Ticketmaster as either the FLOS or Mary Wilson"

    Nah, not a chance. the Flo's don't perform in the U.S. for the most part although they just did a show at a casino in Indiana and one for a girls gymnastics program somewhere in the U.S. The Sounds of the Supremes must play some pretty remote places as I have never heard them advertised in or near New York.

    Mary Wilson is not on this level.

  16. #16
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    Jobeterob, I may be looking at the wrong Ticketmaster, but from what I just saw they had no dates listed for the Former Ladies of the Supremes and the name "Sounds of the Supremes" doesn't come up at all just "Sounds of the Seasons". They list 8 concerts for Mary Wilson, but they did not have the October concert scheduled for the Landis Theater in New Jersey or the shows in November in Orlando. Which Ticketmaster did you see? Here's the one I checked:

    http://www.ticketmaster.com/search?t...18&search.y=12

  17. #17
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    They have 5 shows listed for Diane even one right up the street here on Long Island at the Tilles Center.

  18. #18
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    "It is almost in Universal Motowns interest to have many grouping of Supremes, Temptations and whatever running around doing concerts."

    Too bad it is against the law in most States...........

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by smark21 View Post
    I think most people who go to a show by Kaaren Ragland or even the FLOS really don't care. They know it's not Diana Ross in the grouping but that's OK, they're not paying much, if anything to see the show. They just want to hear the old songs competently performed with some traffic cop moves and some swaying choreography perfomred by 3 black women in gowns and wigs so they can take a stroll down memory lane.
    I agree. Most "FANS" of any memeber of the Supremes know who they are paying to see and or not see......and if they don't well....they deserve to see what they see....just stupid....

    Bill

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by luke View Post
    Id think Motown should do something about these kinds of things as they gave Mary such a hard time about billing.
    You're right Luke. I will never understand the behind the scenes politics that go on at that company. I'm not talking about the kind gentlemen who work so hard to get these releases out to us [[ie. HW, Andy, George). I'm talking about these behind the scenes people with greedy greasy hands. These unnamed mysterious individuals who knock down the very people who work to support their company and the legacy of the music that they own. Not only Mary Wilson, but me as well. I'm referring to when I received a nasty letter from their legal department a few years ago, threatening me over my Supremes website. Do they really have nothing better to do than pick on a fan who has supported their company with so much time, effort and money? Do they have nothing better to do than pick on Mary Wilson, who founded The Supremes and who helped to generate millions of dollars for their company? These fat cats should be ashamed of themselves. With the consistent decline in the music industry in recent years, it's obvious that they have contributed to their own downfall. Shame on them.

    Okay, done my rant!

  21. #21
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    These people who work at places like Universal often have no idea who the artists of yesterday are. They are just doing a job and the company has not in the past realized they are chopping off the hands that feed them. They priced everything far too high. They did not understand what would happen with file sharing. They fought it and they should have embraced it.

    They contributed to the demise of their companies. They've deprived many artists of any continuing income of any sort. They are lost souls. They've caused artists like Mary, who came from a famed group, to end up living with relatives in a modest house with a mortgage, which should never have happened.

    They really were a bunch of stupid fools and their industry is essentially gone; it is only a shadow of what it was and it will never again be what it was.

  22. #22
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    Mary Wilson does not live in a modest house by any means. She built a very large house [[think mini-mansion) overlooking a golf course near Vegas. She is not living in a relatives home, she is the Queen of that castle. She is just continuing a nice family tradition, her mother Johnnie Mae lived with her and her children years ago. I don't why you persist in trying to make out like Mary Wilson, "the Mary Wilson" is living hand to mouth and down on her luck. I cannot get into it here, nor is it important for me to do so ,but I will say that she is doing VERY well and has been for many years now.

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    Aha Marv, so... THIS [[mini-mansion) USED TO BE THE HOME OF JOHNNIE MAE, as you put it. Kinda reminds me of a song!

  24. #24
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    Ahhhh, hey Starguard! Good one! I can tell you know your Motown Music. But unfortunately Mary's mother, Johnnie Mae Wilson never lived at her current home. Mrs. Wilson passed away in 1997.

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    Carlo you said it all!! Why is someone so concerned with Mary's house? Martha lives in a condo maybe its a huge luxury one or not--is that a reflection of her talent or personhood? Give me a break. PS I just read Scherrie downsized from a house to townhouse and gave Frieda her piano to keep but got it back.

  26. #26
    jonc Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by marv2 View Post
    They have 5 shows listed for Diane even one right up the street here on Long Island at the Tilles Center.
    You must be watching that box office like a hawk.

  27. #27
    jonc Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by luke View Post
    Carlo you said it all!! Why is someone so concerned with Mary's house? Martha lives in a condo maybe its a huge luxury one or not--is that a reflection of her talent or personhood? Give me a break. PS I just read Scherrie downsized from a house to townhouse and gave Frieda her piano to keep but got it back.
    What business is this of yours, mine or anyone else here for that matter. What's next, giving out their addresses? Jeez,,,,,,,,,the size of anyone's house [[celebrity or not) is nobody's business but the person who resides there.

  28. #28
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    I wish Lynda was a member of SDF. I'd love for her to school us on how important the size of a house is. My thought is that she'd tell us is MATTERS ZERO. What's most important is family, friends, health and happiness.

  29. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by jonc View Post
    What business is this of yours, mine or anyone else here for that matter. What's next, giving out their addresses? Jeez,,,,,,,,,the size of anyone's house [[celebrity or not) is nobody's business but the person who resides there.
    That's my thought jonc. Mansion, Mini-mansion, cardboard box, tentament slum.....does it really matter? Besides, outside of Jean and Cindy, are any of the other Supremes home enough to need a bazillion square foot castle? Who wants to clean all that? That's not to say if Susaye was hiring a housekeeper, that I wouldn't apply for the position. Don't worry Susaye; your gowns are safe. I couldn't fit my big bitt into your size negative zero anyway. But I might snatch a sequin or two!

    *wink*

  30. #30
    jonc Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by marybrewster View Post
    That's my thought jonc. Mansion, Mini-mansion, cardboard box, tentament slum.....does it really matter? Besides, outside of Jean and Cindy, are any of the other Supremes home enough to need a bazillion square foot castle? Who wants to clean all that? That's not to say if Susaye was hiring a housekeeper, that I wouldn't apply for the position. Don't worry Susaye; your gowns are safe. I couldn't fit my big bitt into your size negative zero anyway. But I might snatch a sequin or two!

    *wink*
    I still wouldn't trust you around Supremes frocks Mary Brewster. LOL

  31. #31
    topdiva1 Guest
    Please note - that Karen Ragland, Karen Jackson, Robin Alexander and many other singers that worked for and where employed by MARY WILSON - WHERE NOT SUPREMES - they where Mary Wilson's background singers only.

    Karen Ragland is a delusional liar whenever she states that she "...was a SUPREME".

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