What if Cindy had refused?

[nomis]

"Cindy was part of the group..but really not part of the group..she was never made an official Supreme even thou she was...we were all waiting for Blondie,Florence to come back.." [[Diana on Oprah 1993)

[blackguy69]

I always thought that answer was full of it.

"Cindy was part of the group..but really not part of the group..she was never made an official Supreme even thou she was...we were all waiting for Blondie,Florence to come back.." [[Diana on Oprah 1993)

[gman]

Cindy was a perfect replacement....they weren't looking for a lead singer, or someone with lead singer capabilities or aspirations...they were looking for someone who would be a background singer for Diana Ross, and be able to blend well vocally with Mary, and be easy on the eyes...Cindy had it all. I became a fan around the time of TCB/ Love Child, so Cindy is my go to Supreme as a partner with Mary...in every lead singers era. Was glad to see her return, and very sorry to see her once again depart...she just belonged there to me....she added a endearing, content, softness that wasn't there without her.

[jim aka jtigre99]

I always thought that answer was full of it.

I would have to agree with you on that. Publicly, Diana Ross had studied how to speak to the press from Gordy and Motown but she comes off very insincere in comments like that. She knew very well after the meetings they had and how Florence's dismissal went that there was no way she was ever going to be coming back to the Supremes. In her book, which was not very telling in its own way, she said that she was thought to be coming in as a filler for a while and then she would return to her former group. None of them had expected her to stay , that when she first joined she seemed very intimidated and sang very quietly. That she did stay for 3 years until Ross left and that she remembered her as a sweet, pleasant girl anxious to please. So, do you really think after Flo was dismissed that Diana, Berry and Motown felt Cindy was just temporary and that Florence would be coming back after everything that went down? I find that hard to believe realistically but then again Mary said in her book she even entertained the thought of Florence rejoining in the 1970's but dismissed that because Motown would never have gone for it. Do you think even after all of the internal problems that both Diana and Mary really did wish they could still be working with Florence as they had started the group together? Plus, Cindy was very loyal to Mary as she came back in 1973 when she needed her and once again after the group disbanded when Mary toured South America after the Farewell show. It seems that in the three years together that Diana and Cindy were friendly enough but certainly not extremely close as you would expect after working together for those years.

[RanRan79]

Do you think even after all of the internal problems that both Diana and Mary really did wish they could still be working with Florence as they had started the group together?

It seems that in the three years together that Diana and Cindy were friendly enough but certainly not extremely close as you would expect after working together for those years.

I do think both Diana and Mary would've preferred singing with Flo over anyone else because collectively they had something unique. They had a lot of years [[especially considering their young ages) of getting to know each other's voices and perfecting a blend, a feeling. Plus at a certain point they all became like family. But that last year of Flo in the group was mentally draining. No, Flo was not the only one to blame in that mix, but she was the ingredient that was the loudest and the most unpredictable. So Cindy, with her laidback attitude, was undoubtedly a welcomed addition. Plus after DRATS had been underway for some time, I'm sure Diana got very used to being the official singled out star of the group with her name in front and everything really all about her. Adding Flo back into that probably wouldn't have been so welcomed. But at first, I can imagine there was still some desire to have the original crew intact.

As for Diana and Cindy, I think they had a fondness for one another, considering that when Cindy fell on some hard times, she went to Diana who then helped her out. But I would've never expected their relationship to be like Diana and Florence's. Diana and Flo had known each other since they were 13/14. They did each other's hair, slept at each other's homes, ate at each other's homes, Diana sang at Flo's father's funeral. There was a lot of history between them that created a forever bond, even when they weren't always on speaking terms. When Cindy came into the group, Diana was basically a soloist in need of backing vocalists to stand along side her and make it look like it's still the Supremes. Diana was no longer a teenage girl doing girly stuff. She had her mind on a goal and when not concentrating on that, she was embroiled in a love affair with Gordy that wasn't always satisfying or healthy. There was no time to do with Cindy the kind of bonding Diana did with Flo. They were on the same stage but didn't have the same history or relationship.

[nomis]

I do think both Diana and Mary would've preferred singing with Flo over anyone else because collectively they had something unique. They had a lot of years [[especially considering their young ages) of getting to know each other's voices and perfecting a blend, a feeling. Plus at a certain point they all became like family. But that last year of Flo in the group was mentally draining. No, Flo was not the only one to blame in that mix, but she was the ingredient that was the loudest and the most unpredictable. So Cindy, with her laidback attitude, was undoubtedly a welcomed addition. Plus after DRATS had been underway for some time, I'm sure Diana got very used to being the official singled out star of the group with her name in front and everything really all about her. Adding Flo back into that probably wouldn't have been so welcomed. But at first, I can imagine there was still some desire to have the original crew intact.

As for Diana and Cindy, I think they had a fondness for one another, considering that when Cindy fell on some hard times, she went to Diana who then helped her out. But I would've never expected their relationship to be like Diana and Florence's. Diana and Flo had known each other since they were 13/14. They did each other's hair, slept at each other's homes, ate at each other's homes, Diana sang at Flo's father's funeral. There was a lot of history between them that created a forever bond, even when they weren't always on speaking terms. When Cindy came into the group, Diana was basically a soloist in need of backing vocalists to stand along side her and make it look like it's still the Supremes. Diana was no longer a teenage girl doing girly stuff. She had her mind on a goal and when not concentrating on that, she was embroiled in a love affair with Gordy that wasn't always satisfying or healthy. There was no time to do with Cindy the kind of bonding Diana did with Flo. They were on the same stage but didn't have the same history or relationship.

love this wonderful post - sums up the situation beautifully

[RanRan79]

I always thought that answer was full of it.

I don't think there's any question that when Flo was fired in Vegas there was no chance she would ever be a performing Supreme again. However, one could argue that Diana's statement is accurate regarding Flo's firing that April. The more I think about it, the more convinced I become that the first firing was to teach Florence a lesson. Even the set up: Gordy calls all of them to his home for a meeting where he talks about all these upcoming plans and then tells Florence she, however, won't be a part of any of it because she's out. It just doesn't seem very characteristic of him where Flo is concerned. Seems like to me if she messed up so bad in New Orleans that she had to be sent home and Diana and Mary did the show as a duo, he would've told Flo then to go kick rocks, not invite her to a meeting at his house where there could be a potential crime scene.

Where the Supremes were concerned, Gordy planned their every move down to the minute. The story is that Flo was brought back because Cindy needed to be bought out of her contract. But Gordy would've done that before bringing Cindy on board as a full time Supreme. He was no dummy. He knew Cindy was under contract to Atlantic. No way would he have jeopardized the replacement situation by bringing on a permanent replacement for Flo that he wouldn't be sure he could legally contract Cindy long term.

While I never seem to miss an opportunity to call out Gordy's horrible mistreatment of Florence, I have also gone on record several times as saying I don't believe he really wanted her gone. He knew what she brought to the group and he knew she was beloved by the public. Any potential rocking of the Supreme ship could bring it down and Gordy usually didn't want to risk that. Replacing Flo was a risk, but if he didn't have to do it, he wouldn't do it. So I think the New Orleans situation scared him so that he hoped firing Flo would frighten her to get it together. In the mean time, securing Cindy as a backup plan became a priority...just in case, but he, and Diana, and Mary, probably hoped they wouldn't need it. But as we know the contingency plan eventually became necessary and the rest is history.