Jean Terrell lps and backgrounds

[topdiva1]

Jean Terrells voice still outshines them all. Jean never really got the stardom she deserved - she may have been better off if she had not become a Supreme - I believe her solo career was cursed because of it - no one took her singing serious - for by then the Supremes were lost and already part of another time - and became an oldies group.

[rod_rick]

Cindy did mention that Clydie King joined she and Mary in the back ground during a seesion. I have to find it. It may be in the note of This Is The Story" or the last article she did for Goldmine. I have the article from Soul magazine where Clydie states that the vocals for Nathan Jones are hers. Any Supreme fan can clearly hear JMC. In fact there is only 1 spot on that song[[Nathan Jones) where I hear a additional voice that's in the background is where they sing in harmony " You Never wrote, you never called".

[captainjames]

Cindy did mention that Clydie King joined she and Mary in the back ground during a seesion. I have to find it. It may be in the note of This Is The Story" or the last article she did for Goldmine. I have the article from Soul magazine where Clydie states that the vocals for Nathan Jones are hers. Any Supreme fan can clearly hear JMC. In fact there is only 1 spot on that song[[Nathan Jones) where I hear a additional voice that's in the background is where they sing in harmony " You Never wrote, you never called".

well that would be the proof needed because I am certain Clydie is on this record.

[useyourchucklemuscle]

Cindy did mention that Clydie King joined she and Mary in the back ground during a seesion. I have to find it. It may be in the note of This Is The Story" or the last article she did for Goldmine. I have the article from Soul magazine where Clydie states that the vocals for Nathan Jones are hers. Any Supreme fan can clearly hear JMC. In fact there is only 1 spot on that song[[Nathan Jones) where I hear a additional voice that's in the background is where they sing in harmony " You Never wrote, you never called".

It's not on TITS! However, on that and the Sups/Tops complete there are a few songs which state they were originally assigned to other singers and backparts recorded, then Jean's lead was recorded about a year later. Mayhap on these they never bothered to replace the original backparts with Mare and Cynth!

[topdiva1]

Jean Terrell remains a great singer no matter who is on background - therefore this is a moot point.

[sup_fan]

ditto that topdiva - so much of her motown work is so excellent [[minus the Jimmy webb stuff lol - imo). I love listening to all of the versions of Ladder that i've come across. there are the mono and stereo released one but then also her Sullivan performance, Andy Williams, smokey special, Mike Douglass. she works that song.

Then listen to her on Here Comes The Sunshine. just as powerful but so subtle and delicate.

Then she praises God on Thank Him For Today

and hold onto your hat when she goes to town on the extended ending of You Gotta Have Love In Your Heart on the recent cd set. good lord they should have released that earlier. or remixed to cut some of the boring verses and let that girl bring it on home

As for Nathan, i still don't hear another voice lol. sure it might be possible that there was a demo or something that the girls sang along with or recorded over. to my ears, i hear MJC in the backgrounds, Jean on lead and Mar on a few adlibs.

[topdiva1]

ditto that topdiva - so much of her motown work is so excellent [[minus the Jimmy webb stuff lol - imo). I love listening to all of the versions of Ladder that i've come across. there are the mono and stereo released one but then also her Sullivan performance, Andy Williams, smokey special, Mike Douglass. she works that song.

Then listen to her on Here Comes The Sunshine. just as powerful but so subtle and delicate.

Then she praises God on Thank Him For Today

and hold onto your hat when she goes to town on the extended ending of You Gotta Have Love In Your Heart on the recent cd set. good lord they should have released that earlier. or remixed to cut some of the boring verses and let that girl bring it on home

As for Nathan, i still don't hear another voice lol. sure it might be possible that there was a demo or something that the girls sang along with or recorded over. to my ears, i hear MJC in the backgrounds, Jean on lead and Mar on a few adlibs.

I agree and Jeans solo album was great - my fav is THE RISING COST OF LOVE!!!

[sup_fan]

while i'll admit i haven't explored Jean's solo material, i wasn't impressed with the title track. she doesn't sound nearly as inspired as on most of her motown work. but perhaps i'm judging the whole collection by 1 song which i know isn't always a fair representation

[blueskies]

I agree and Jeans solo album was great - my fav is THE RISING COST OF LOVE!!!

I have to agree with The Rising Cost of Love. That one's a keeper. I have mixed feelings about the whole album, though. Maybe it was the material? Don't get me wrong, Jean was my favorite lead singer of all the groupings of Supremes.....even Diana. I thought Jean sounded great in the FLOS, too. Wish she'd record again.

[marv2]

"The Rising Cost of Love" is a bona fide classic in my opinion! True, it was a mistake to lead off with "I Had to Fall In Love" as the single. It was TOO country flavored for the SUMMER of '78 when we were at the height of the "Disco Era".

"You've Been So Good for Me" had that Supremes sound to it and "No Limit" has been sampled countless times by today's Hip Hop Artists.

[topdiva1]

Wow summer of 1978 - and it still reads well - THE RISING COST OF LOVE - you better sing and preach Ms. Jean Terrell.

[marv2]

That album was way too sophisticated for radio in those days.

[bradsupremes]

Regarding "Up The Ladder To The Roof," can anyone confirm whether Syreeta recorded her lead on the song using the same instrumental track along with Mary and Cindy's vocals. I remember several years ago someone saying that it exists in the vaults.

[phyl]

"The Rising Cost of Love" is a bona fide classic in my opinion! True, it was a mistake to lead off with "I Had to Fall In Love" as the single. It was TOO country flavored for the SUMMER of '78 when we were at the height of the "Disco Era".

"You've Been So Good for Me" had that Supremes sound to it and "No Limit" has been sampled countless times by today's Hip Hop Artists.

i had t agood time in the 70s dancindg to sidsco music those were godo times i knwo marv if we knewe wacha bother back hten we would have a agood time dancing in the discoos and paryting. jeann tererrle is agreat isignger and she can singn her ass off i lvoe jean terrrrell.

[captainjames]

Jean Terrell remains a great singer no matter who is on background - therefore this is a moot point.

Well, I kind of said the same about other lead singers and was told No it matters who is in the background. So, does it matter who sung in the background on all those other songs ?.....hmm probably not I guess.

[MissLish]

while i'll admit i haven't explored Jean's solo material, i wasn't impressed with the title track. she doesn't sound nearly as inspired as on most of her motown work. but perhaps i'm judging the whole collection by 1 song which i know isn't always a fair representation

It is not that great of a CD sup_fan.

[MissLish]

I have to agree with The Rising Cost of Love. That one's a keeper. I have mixed feelings about the whole album, though. Maybe it was the material? Don't get me wrong, Jean was my favorite lead singer of all the groupings of Supremes.....even Diana. I thought Jean sounded great in the FLOS, too. Wish she'd record again.

I am a huge Diana Ross fan, and there was a moment when I pondered if Jean was a better singer than Miss Ross, that is, until I listened to the Time and Love version of both that was posted on YouTube a while ago. While, arguably, Jean might be a better technical singer, her vocals lack the whatever it is that Miss Ross possesses that draws the listener in and makes them a part of the performance. Miss Ross continues to be under-rated, but this is another aspect of the genius that she is as a performer.

[sup_fan]

I think they're both excellent in different ways. Frankly i think Time and Love is just and idiot song and i hate all versions lol. Diana excels at the idea of becoming a "character." and that's pretty broadly defined. in You Can't Hurry Love, she's the character of a love forlorn youngster heeding her mama's advice. In The Boss, she's the character of a headstrong sophisticated woman who thinks she has it all and has all the answers but love shows her who's the boss. In Music Makes Me Dance, she's the funny girl character

Jean on the other hand is one character - herself. her talents are more technical but oh what talents they are. I always felt she sang as "Jean" and could interpret that in a variety of ways. She could be r&b with a bit of pop peppered in with Up the Ladder, she could be cerebral with all of those wonderful Frank Wilson lyric's about god, human love and peace and nature - Love It Came To Me This Time, Here Comes the Sunrise. she could be gospel, holy-roller with Thank Him For Today, You Gotta Have Love In Your Heart. she could be soft and reflective - I Guess I'll Miss the man

hope this wasn't too in depth but that's my take on it

[topdiva1]

I think they're both excellent in different ways. Frankly i think Time and Love is just and idiot song and i hate all versions lol. Diana excels at the idea of becoming a "character." and that's pretty broadly defined. in You Can't Hurry Love, she's the character of a love forlorn youngster heeding her mama's advice. In The Boss, she's the character of a headstrong sophisticated woman who thinks she has it all and has all the answers but love shows her who's the boss. In Music Makes Me Dance, she's the funny girl character

Jean on the other hand is one character - herself. her talents are more technical but oh what talents they are. I always felt she sang as "Jean" and could interpret that in a variety of ways. She could be r&b with a bit of pop peppered in with Up the Ladder, she could be cerebral with all of those wonderful Frank Wilson lyric's about god, human love and peace and nature - Love It Came To Me This Time, Here Comes the Sunrise. she could be gospel, holy-roller with Thank Him For Today, You Gotta Have Love In Your Heart. she could be soft and reflective - I Guess I'll Miss the man

hope this wasn't too in depth but that's my take on it

I agree with you - Jean is an interesting personality all on her own - and what a singer

[marv2]

Jean Terrell was a beast when it came to singing! LOL! She was arguably the greatest female vocalist to ever record for Motown Records! She's tops on my list........

[smark21]

I am a huge Diana Ross fan, and there was a moment when I pondered if Jean was a better singer than Miss Ross, that is, until I listened to the Time and Love version of both that was posted on YouTube a while ago. While, arguably, Jean might be a better technical singer, her vocals lack the whatever it is that Miss Ross possesses that draws the listener in and makes them a part of the performance. Miss Ross continues to be under-rated, but this is another aspect of the genius that she is as a performer.

Techically Jean is a better singer than Ross and I think she conveys more intelligence in her vocal performances than Ross. But many times a song requires emotion, not intelligence and Ross nails it, especially on her more melancholy songs. And Ross has a gift for phrasing which is a secret to her versatility.

[midnightman]

Well, I kind of said the same about other lead singers and was told No it matters who is in the background. So, does it matter who sung in the background on all those other songs ?.....hmm probably not I guess.

Oh snap.

[midnightman]

Techically Jean is a better singer than Ross and I think she conveys more intelligence in her vocal performances than Ross. But many times a song requires emotion, not intelligence and Ross nails it, especially on her more melancholy songs. And Ross has a gift for phrasing which is a secret to her versatility.

I loved that. Diana, Jean, Scherrie - they each brought something different to the table and we can find enjoyment in what they did. That's what makes the Supremes unique to me. They had so much talent, it just seemed to rub off on all of them.

[ivyfield]

Perhaps she did, buttt, often the lead vocals were recorded separately to backparts so any number of ladies could've been added later. I do know that Clydie King, Venetta Fields and Sherlie Matthews [[the fabulous Blackberries) all claim to have sang backpart for the 70s Supremes songs, so it makes me wonder if the songs Jean recorded as a possible solo artist and then used as Supremes recordings were those with Clydie, Venetta and Sherlie. After all, they were the backparters for her solo album on A&M too. It seems that by the early 70s, the Andantes had been usurped by the Blackberries as filler material for Miss Ross among others!

The times I've spent with Jean [[and thankfully there were quite a few when she was in the FLOS) I frequently had to stop myself bombarding her with questions. Jean, Scherrie, Lynda and myself went for a great Indian meal one night in Kensington when they were over in London doing the show at the Albert Hall for the Princess Diana trust. I vividly remember asking her about solo recordings she did at Motown. She told me 'I don't know where that [[story) came from - I was never signed as a solo artist to Motown, I just went right into The Supremes'. So there you have it - from the lady herself! And I don't tell lies!