Oh no, I wouldn't dare suggest that solo is preferable to a group- I love groups too much. However, when dealing with groups, that's a tough challenge. Everything regarding your career hinges on the people in the group, as we saw with the events leading up to Flo's firing. And you have to split the money. A lot of singers in groups who feel their talented enough to sing on stage alone eventually opt for that and I don't personally believe that either Flo or Mary would've been satisfied remaining Supremes for the rest of their lives, especially once Diana went solo and was able to garner attention all for herself. Don't forget there is a lot of ego involved in being in the entertainment industry, and for all the flack that Diana gets for her ego, truth is Flo had one also.
So my hypothesis is that the Supremes had to end eventually. Why not do it when Diana left? Personally I feel Flo's talent was good enough to sing a song alone. Did she have some misses? Yup. There aint a singer alive who hasn't. And while I'm not always "wowed" by Mary's singing, I think with the right songs she could have found a place. Not to mention both Flo and Mary had star quality. Both were gorgeous. Like I said, let Gordy focus on readying Diana, let someone else take on Flo and another take on Mary. Post 1970 Diana is having a couple hits and on her way to a hit movie; Flo has a couple hits and probably a movie role; Mary has a couple hits and maybe a lot of product endorsements. All of this is money in Motown's pocket. The Supremes were among the biggest stars in the world. By 1970, they each should've been able to exit the Supremes and fart out a hit single. If Ringo Starr can have hits after the Beatles, no one will convince me that Flo and Mary weren't capable.
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