Syreeta Wright: would she have been good for the Supremes?

[144man]

How would you classify/define a song or record that wasn’t a big hit when first released but over the years becomes well known and popular?

Wasn't that called "a turntable hit"?

[Jimi LaLumia]

no, a turntable hit got lots of radio airplay, but never really racked up the sales that all that airplay should have generated...lots of people heard turntable hits, but lots of people didn't actually BUY turntable hits...
many songs become hits years after they're released, thanks to inclusion in a movie soundtrack or a tv show or commercial, but there's not a real term for this type of 'hit'..a minor hit is a record that scrapes into the national Top 40 for a week or two...
a MAJOR hit is a #1 /Top Ten record[[sales AND airplay) or, at minimum, gets into the top 20 for a couple of weeks...
by the 1970's most major Top 40 stations had become Top 30 stations [[or in NY or L.A., thanks to 'tight playlists', the same 15 to 20 records in constant rotation, with the Top 5 played to DEATH!)...a #37 record didn't stand a chance...

[franjoy56]

well in the case of your descriptions here in the end a #37 record would have been a minor hit in your words therefore "Bad Weather" was a minor hit in England, and Jean left the Supremes with a minor hit in England and a flop over here [[due to reasons we already discussed) all tolled in America The Supremes under Ms. Terrell had 5 top 20 hits 2 top ten, and #1 r&b 8 albums [[3 with the Tops) and a sold out Hiposelect retrospect of their their 5 1970's albums in 2006 [[which includes the "Bad Weather" single) entitled This Is The Story:The Jean Terrell Years, and all of this with Berry Gordy washing his hands of the Supremes.

[Jimi LaLumia]

I love Jean Terrell and I think she was robbed ,if you know what I mean...
but the truth IS the truth when it comes to chart positions and the impact they have on a career...
I still listen to the Jean tracks quite frequently..

[RossHolloway]

Syreeta's Love Child Demo.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/uYk1uHZQTs4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>



Sorry I only know how to post the link...

[franjoy56]

i totally agree with you that Jean Terrell was robbed, she should have been given
superior material to sing, she even commented in one of the motown books that
the later material she was given to sing was "junk" perhaps as Mary said she did not like "Bad Weather" and The Jimmy Webb project with all those screaming blossoms singing when it should have been just mary and lynda, especially on the ballads.

[Roberta75]

i totally agree with you that Jean Terrell was robbed, she should have been given
superior material to sing, she even commented in one of the motown books that
the later material she was given to sing was "junk" perhaps as Mary said she did not like "Bad Weather" and The Jimmy Webb project with all those screaming blossoms singing when it should have been just mary and lynda, especially on the ballads.

Nobody was robbed more than poor Florence Ballard though Frances.

Fondly,

Roberta

[franjoy56]

that is true Flo was the most robbed singer Motown ever had. Syretta Wright sounds like a carbon copy of Diana Ross on Love Child, no wonder Mary said no.

[ivyfield]

Quite simple. Both women sing all their songs as loud as they possibly can, any vocal from them comes across as a vocal exercise, and not an emotional expression. There is only unadulterated volume, devoid of sensitivity, feeling, and nuance. The sad part is, Scherrie Payne is CAPABLE of much better, as you can hear on "Horse and Rider", which is total brilliance. But it was only that way because Eddie MADE her sing it like that, and back the hell off.

Jillfoster - I have to defend this because although I agree that Scherrie is a little 'belter' [[little lady with the big voice and all that) is absolutely NOT from the Ethel Merman school of singing. You do say that Scherrie is CAPABLE of much better - I just want you to hear this song we did on Supremely Yours that proves Scherrie understands the 'light and shade' technique and knows how to approach any type of song. Of all the tracks I've recorded with the ladies, this is still my favourite. I hope you can understand why I had to post this. Scherrie can belt, but she does smooth equally as good. Steve Weaver.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-qLId_zWVA

[RossHolloway]

Nobody was robbed more than poor Florence Ballard though Frances.

Fondly,

Roberta

I think to a certain extent Florence robber herself.

[Jimi LaLumia]

I agree...to an extent the "Flo as victim" thing is grossly overplayed[[and I participated in that for a while myself)...
she should have been thrilled to be in the biggest American group of the 1960's,and she saw that Motown groups as a rule had ONE lead singer to establish a uniform sound..except for The Marvelettes[[and look what happened to them) and The Tempts gave Eddie a few leads on singles releases[[Get Ready,The Way You do The Things You Do,etc) but those tracks never became as big as the David Ruffin sound hits were..

[RossHolloway]

The Temps actually had three lead singers, you can't forget Paul Williams amazing vocals. I also don't think all the tension was about just having one lead singer, I think their were other things at play within the group, just like all the other groups at the time, both male and female...

[Jimi LaLumia]

methinks it was mostly about the green eyed monster, JEALOUSY..isn't almost everything in life?

[RossHolloway]

methinks it was mostly about the green eyed monster, JEALOUSY..isn't almost everything in life?

I'd put greed for money, sex, religion and politics ahead of jealousy

[Constantin]

*Originally Posted by*smark21*
How would you classify/define a song or record that wasn’t a big hit when first released but over the years becomes well known and popular?

Wasn't that called "a turntable hit"?

A sleeper hit I think. Like Charlene's "I've never been to me".

[Constantin]

Quite simple. Both women sing all their songs as loud as they possibly can, any vocal from them comes across as a vocal exercise, and not an emotional expression. There is only unadulterated volume, devoid of sensitivity, feeling, and nuance. The sad part is, Scherrie Payne is CAPABLE of much better.*

Unfortunately, that is the simple truth.

[MIKEW-UK]

Um, anybody want to hear another version of Bad Weather?




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnEZAY3xqsw

[marv2]

Um, anybody want to hear another version of Bad Weather?




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnEZAY3xqsw

Not bad. She is sounding more like Phoebe Snow, than Jean & The Supremes.

[Jimi LaLumia]

this just confirms my feelings on this song;
if Stevie Wonder, a blind man associated with funk, had recorded this himself, the results might be different;
the same is true with "Force Behind The Power" by Miss Ross;
that, also, did NOT work for me AT ALL...
the story lines might work if Stevie does them, they don't work for The 70's Supremes,or Diana Ross...for me they don't,anyway...
Stevie was 'hot' and they wanted to say 'we're doing a song that Stevie Wonder gave us"...
welll, maybe he gave these songs away for A REASON!....lol

[franjoy56]

DID Melissa's version of this song chart in the UK, i like parts of this song, for the most part I prefer the Terrell version even though others are throwing stones at it, and yes perhaps it could have been improved but hey it is what it is.

[captainjames]

I am still not convinced that Ms. Wright would not have worked for the Supremes and why they needed to changed "style". The Supremes were "HOT" with "Someday We'll Be Together" and something else in the same vein would have worked for them just as well. The Supremes could have still sung other songs on their LP but remained Supreme. The went from end to the other side and never returned.

[franjoy56]

Make no mistake about it, when the Supremes debut on the Ed Sullivan show on Feb 14 1970, i sat nervously in front of my b&w tv with my boy friend and nervously watched the new Supremes, and Ed Sullivan said here is their first record together, [[wihout Ms. Ross) "uP THE lADDER TO THE ROOF" was a bag of chavier potato chips and all that I was sold. The next day I went to the record store on Fulton Street, and had to go to three stores before I found a copy the other two stores had sold out. With Syretta on that song people would have thought Diana was still with the Supremes, Jean was what the Supremes, Mary and Cindy needed and that folks is all.

[ivyfield]

WOW! Never heard this track before. She had such a BEAUTIFUL voice.