Originally Posted by
RanRan79
Flo and Mary were lucky in a sense. Prior to them becoming a global phenomenon, they had approximately five years with Diana, cultivating their image, their sound, their chemistry together. Mary's first book puts Diana's official designation [[ie Gordy's verbal mandate) of lead singer as approximately late 63-early 64. But there's no question that Diana was the unofficial lead singer of the group from 1961-1964, yet there's also no question that they were as much a group as any other group of the day.
So when the girls became the legendary Supremes, there was room for each girl's identity. Sure, one girl got most of the leads and by extension a good amount of attention. It also didn't hurt that she was a little bit "extra" in nearly every way. But they were separate identities that equaled this incredible entertainment entity and as such, Flo and Mary enjoyed their own individual fame.
DRATS was something else entirely. That really was a solo artist with prominent background performers. It's interesting to note just how many TV performances DRATS did where Mary and Cindy are right up under Ross most of the time, like the Fats Waller medley. At first glance one wants to say "Hey, they're still a group here", but if you really pay attention this is all Diana Ross with vocal and dance accompaniment, not the Supremes, a singing group. [[It is, for the record, probably my favorite DRATS performance. Perfect in every way.) My point being, there was no room for Mary and Cindy's individualism the way there was when Flo was in the group. This was a test run. Diana Ross left the Supremes on the same night Florence did.
What set Diana Ross apart from the other Supremes and, even most of the other Motown acts is that she was a total entertainer. She moved on the stage, gracefully. Her smile really could light up a room. She had this ability to pull the audience into her every move, every word, every look. She was a fashionista. She was gorgeous. And she could flat out sing. Back her up with a full orchestra and she'll kill it. Throw her in front of a Funk Brother's groove and she'll knock it out of the park. Throw her a mic and no music and she'll still captivate. She possessed a magic that sometimes may have been difficult to even define. But you knew she had it. [[I think only Michael Jackson was the other Motown star to have that thing. I also think that if David Ruffin had gotten out of his own way, and then had the kind of attention that Diana got from the big guy, the same might be said of him also.)
Diana had the ingredients from day one, it just took someone to help her hone it. Would her full talent have been realized at Stax or Atlantic or Columbia? One might argue no. On the flipside it's always interesting to ponder what might have become of Florence or even Mary had they gone to another label where someone was more interested in their particular skills. But Diana Ross was definitely a diamond in the rough that, to Gordy's credit, he saw the value in and we all reaped the rewards.
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