Quote Originally Posted by marybrewster View Post
Flo Ballard was a singer, but not lead singer material. She could have never, ever been successful as a replacement for Diana in the Supremes.

The fact is also that Flo was clumsy: look at any clip and she's rarely as tight as Diana or Mary. Some have it, some don't. That's just a reality: Flo was not a dancer. Even Mary has said Flo had a difficult time with choreography.

Flo would have also looked ridiculous in the costumes 1967-1970. Cindy brought a glamour to the group that wasn't there when Flo was a member.

What Flo should have done when she left the group was strike while the iron was hot: become a teacher, perhaps a vocal coach. A manager to young talent. Written an autobiography. Became a game show panalist. Retried and focused on being a Mom. Anything but that dreaded ABC release.
I disagree. Florence Ballard was a lead singer and everyone that was at Motown at that time would agree with me. She was not groomed to be the lead singer of The Supremes once they hit, but she was definitely a lead singer and a good one. She did far more dancing as a background singer than Diane did as the lead. She also had a more powerful, melodic voice! Add to that, she had the physical attributes of a Hollywood starlet. She drew attention even in the background.