I wish there were recordings of those early Primette days...Perhaps if you heard Flo's lead on "The Night Time is the Right Time" and others she front as the Supremes/Primettes lead
I wish there were recordings of those early Primette days...Perhaps if you heard Flo's lead on "The Night Time is the Right Time" and others she front as the Supremes/Primettes lead
After Diana, Flo definitely had a distinct voice; you're always able to pick her voice out in the background. While Flo was a good background singer I'm not so sure about her being a lead singer. I do like her on "It Makes No Difference Now" [[both versions), "O Holy Night' and...yes "People". I'm a big Florence fan but I will say this when I heard those ABC recordings all I kept thinking to myself was "Really?".
Rob I would to disagree with you when said "Otis would hardly be someone to talk about lead singers and distinctive voices" because Otis knew he wasn't a lead singer and you have to admit that he always have great singers that sing lead while he stayed in the background. Some can recognize the potential and I would say that Florence had potential to be a great leadd vocalist.
You guys this is going no where! I think Florence was a great singer, a great lead singer and a great talent and beauty but that is my opinon. You are NEVER going to convence those who dont want to see the good. The fact is this is just like the Dems Vs. the Repubs. Those who are for President Obama can find the good that he's done and those who oppose him only can see the bad! It's not going away and it's really a waste of time. The best advise I can give [[I know nobody asked!) is to enjoy the music and the old clips etc. and just ignore the crazies! In the big scheme of things this ranks as very small.
Rod: I blew it with Otis. He must know lead singers and every other kind of singer nearly perfectly because he's employed them all to keep his group going endlessly for 50 years plus! Slipped on that one.
Of course Otis being there at the time and only singing background he is known for being delusional so never listen to what he has to say. lol My goodness people will say anything to further their agenda.
In my opinion, Gordy missed the boat all the way by under-utilizing Mary and Florence. Granted, it was Diane's crossover voice and style, and HDH's material and production, which catapulted The Supremes to the big-time. Keeping that formula for the singles was, of course, the right idea, but had Mary and Flo been given some more leads on album cuts and in concert, and had there been more no-lead/three-part-harmony numbers included [[in addition to "People," listen to "Sleepwalk" and "Lazybones.") there's no question in my mind that the act would have beome even bigger. But that wasn't Gordy's plan — especially once he and Diane became romantically involved. I'm just thankful that there's adequate recorded documentation that Mary & Flo were also consummate vocal stylists — arguably even more than Diane.
Last edited by BigAl; 06-30-2012 at 02:18 PM.
I agree that Mary and Flo could have been featured more on album cuts as leads. But we can’t turn back time.
"Florence was a great singer." Diana Ross from that Sparrow book.
Flo was a great,powerful singer, she just wasn't a lead singer,she didn't have the patience,temperment,style or chops to pull off ever being a lead..but nonetheless, she resented Diana getting all the attention,,,that is understandable, ask George Harrison or Ringo Starr,or Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones...but still, as a member of the biggest American recording act of the 1960's, it was crazy for her to shoot herself in both feet when the group was riding high,and to attack her employer, and threaten her employer,Berry Gordy, treating him as an equal..try doing that where you work and see what happens...
even Ross did what she was told, even when she didn't want to..sorry, the 'poor,poor Flo' thing does not fly with me..
Last edited by Jimi LaLumia; 06-30-2012 at 05:14 PM.
Agreed.
Diana knows that her group mates were talented. Mary knows that her group mates were talented. Florence knew that her group mates were talented. AKA, they all had great respect for each other. Let's leave the drama [[if there is any left) to the girls and not beat a dead horse.
I think we can all agree that they all had talent. Otherwise, they wouldn't be as 'Supreme' as they are.
"Return To Love" should have never been talked about in the press, etc until all the original parties had agreed or not agreed to do it, and legally signed on..
leaking it out there before it actually existed[[originally as the 'reunion', which was then denied, but it was originally called 'reunion') was the fatal error... a real shame, actually... no one could keep their mouths shut, starting with Miss Ross[[yes, I'm a fan, but as I've said many times, I don't drink the 'kool aid" or wear the rose colored glasses..I call em as I see em..she should have kept her mouth shut until a deal was,or wasn't, legally done..)
Jimi, just this past week I was finally able to locate my tape with about a dozen local New York City news outlets reporting on the story of RTL beginning with that press conference at Grand Central Station and even with Mary at her apartment on the UWS. They talked to people on the street, radio station personalities, gossip people and even the news anchors "showed" their opinions about that tour. In a word.....it was a MESS! All the other people that jumped on the bandwagon from Jay Leno, to Howard Stern to even Donny & Marie! LOL! It was a complete mess and promoters are just as much to blame as Diana Ross and the others.
The New York Daily News and WBLS had much to say too. Front page in the former "The Subpremes"!
George it is really invaluable to have this confirmed. In a sense, I am even thankful of any and all the footage that does exist. I had heard from someone that when Motown was relocating to Los Angeles, tons of memorabilia was tossed out and destroyed. The Motown of 1968-69 was quite different than the Motown of 1972. As we all know some artists' career came to a near halt [[Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, The Marvelettes, Jr. Walker, etc.), while others graduated from the stigma of being a singles label, to producing some of the most iconic pop/soul albums of all time like "What's Going On", "Lady Sings the Blues", "Talking Book"/"Innervisions", "Smokey", etc.).
i just hope that someday soon we may see some of the footage that was salvaged. I was so hoping when Motown 40 happened, that Suzanne DePasse would have delivered on her promise for that deep documentary. The Motown Story needs to be told effectively on film as it was so well captured on the first "Motown Story" boxset, the one with 5 vinyl discs. Even the proposed Broadway show will only be able to capture the highlights in a 2-3 hour production. Legend has it that Berry is sitting on a treasure trove of rare film footage. He still looks great, but, Berry is really getting up there in age. I hope he does leave provisions behind on how to handle those assets. "When You Dream.....".
Thousands of photos and negatives were left behind or trashed when Motown moved. Many were "rescued" by people in the area. They were auctioned, sold or just given away... And that's why you see so many rare photos on the internet and ebay.
As for the Motown of the late 60's and early 70's, I always thought "New Ways But Love Stays" by the Supremes should have put them in the "album artist" category. I realize I'm starting a whole new topic and I know this isn't a favorite album to everyone... We've discussed the cover and title of the album but the sound and material seemed very relevant to what was happening in 1970.
Now, how to I bring this topic back to "People"? OK... In 70 and 71, Mary and Cindy used to leave the stage and Jean would do a fantastic solo of "People" in their stage show.
Jean's "People" was a real showstopper and it was the only moment in the show where one lady was left alone on stage. I saw it three times. I'm sure other fans have seen this show as well. It's been said that the show was recorded for a live album in 1971 at the Frontier in Vegas and the Copa in New York. So far, we haven't found the recordings. So far... New things are turning up all the time!
George, I have always thought that "New Ways But Love Stays" was the best album recorded by the Supremes since "Rodgers & Hart." It really puzzles me why Motown didn't push this album more than it did [[my guess would be that Berry had "washed his hands").
I had no idea about Jean singing people! I can imagine that she would have knocked that number out of the park.
for the same reason that they took "Never Can Say Goodbye" away from Jean, even though she brought the song to Motown; If they had dropped The Supremes into that same original arrangement instead of the J5, it would have been an across the board #1 for the girls, but Motown 70's obviously didn't want that, Jean shadowing[[[[or, as in the first year, OVER shadowing) Diana Ross..THAT was NOT the game plan....lol..
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