How The Supremes Changed Music
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- čas přidán 25. 02. 2021
- A not-so-brief documentary about the highest selling female group of all time- the Supremes. Produced and written by Matt Beat. Check out @thesupremes music: open.spotify.com/artist/57bUP...
My other channel: @iammrbeat
My band: open.spotify.com/artist/62BsM...
Sources/further reading:
www.history-of-rock.com/supre...
detroithistorical.org/learn/e...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sup...
www.allmusic.com/artist/the-s...
www.britannica.com/topic/the-...
www.allmusic.com/artist/rober...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sup...
Detroit, Michigan, USA 1958
15-year old Florence Ballard and 15-year old Mary Wilson become friends at a talent show. Both love to sing. Some time later, Ballard meets Paul Williams and Eddie Kendricks, two members of a local doo wop singing group known as the Primes, which eventually became a group more familiar to you perhaps as The Temptations. Williams had a girlfriend, Betty McGlown, who also sang.
Well Milton Jenkins, who was the Primes manager, had an idea. He wanted to create a “sister group” to the Primes and call it the Primettes and have them open for the Primes for live performances. He asked Ballard to join with McGlown, and Ballard recruited Wilson to join, who then recruited her classmate Diana Ross to join, although apparently Williams also recruited Ross to join. So it was official. The Primettes were Ballard, Wilson, Ross, and McGlown, and Jenkins quickly set them up with gigs at social clubs, talent shows, and sock hops, which were basically informal sponsored dances for teenagers where they had to take their shoes off to not scuff up the floors. They performed hit songs by artists like Ray Charles and The Drifters, and gained a local following. They sang live, unlike many other of the Detroit doo wop acts that often lip-synched. To help with performances, Jenkins got guitarist Marvin Tarplin to join the Primettes.
In early 1960, after winning a local talent competition, Diana Ross was determined to get the group to make a record, and she knew that her friend and former neighbor and songwriter William “Smokey” Robinson had connections to Motown Records, which at the time was still a relatively new record label. So, she asked him if he could hook them up with an audition. Robinson said “sure,” as long as you let your wonderful guitarist, Marvin Tarplin, join my band The Miracles when we go on tour. Tarplin, by the way, went on to become a guitarist for the Miracles for the next 30 years. Anyway, Ross agreed and Robinson got the Primettes an audition with the dude who started Motown Records, Berry Gordy. They performed a cappella, and Gordy was impressed. However, he thought they were a bit too young and inexperienced to be recording artists, and told them to contact him after they graduated from high school.
The Primettes were disappointed, but decided to record a single anyway, for another label called Lu Pine Records, which a dude named Robert West started kind of just for them. They recorded the song “Tears of Sorrow.” The single never found much of an audience, though. Soon after, McGlown left the group, and they quickly recruited Barbara Martin to take her place. However, Martin’s parents often didn’t let her rehearse and perform much since they wanted her to focus on improving her grades at school. Because Ballard’s parents felt the same, often it was just Wilson and Ross rehearsing and performing as a duo throughout 1960, often just hanging out at Motown Records. Apparently one time they sang some backup vocals for Mabel John, and even did some handclaps on some of Marvin Gaye’s early records. Smokey Robinson, who was by that time Vice President of Motown, did let the girls record some of his songs in Motown’s studio as well.
In January 1961, Berry Gordy finally agreed to sign the Primettes to Motown Records. However, he made them change the name. He gave them a list of possible new names, and Ballard chose the name Supremes, but Wilson and Ross didn’t like the name. However, Gordy really did, and since he was funding their music, that would be it. On January 15, 1961, the day they signed with Motown, they were now officially The Supremes.
#supremes #motown #musichistory
*This video is dedicated to Mary Wilson and her family.*
What is your favorite Supremes song?
Which musical group should I cover next for this series?
Do next other Motown acts such as The Temptations, The Miracles, The Four Tops, Martha & The Vandellas, The Marvelettes, Stevie Wonder, and Marvin Gaye.
@@vincentridon1526 Of all those, I think the Temptations would be my favorite to make, although Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye obviously have/had crazy stories.
Led Zeppelin
The Jackson 5 (aka The Jacksons) or Michael himself.
Can you please make about The Rolling Stones they were my grandfathers favourite band. It wold mean a lot to me.
RIP Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson! Forever supreme in our hearts! 💛
Forever Supreme
AMEN 🕊️💕🕊️. 🌹🌹
I hope you do more "A Brief History" of oldies groups, they're underappreciated in today's culture for the most part.
I don't know, to me, an eastern european, I had barely heard of them. I know some of their songs but to be honest I don't see any artistic merit besides their singing voices. I'm not old, but I've always appreciated 60-80s music and performance, uniqueness and passion are probably my go to even if is not wise of me.
That’s exactly what this is
@@yamataichulThe Supremes hold lots of value…..
It's ridiculous how many records they got out of them in such a short span of time
Mary Wilson put on a great show. I had the privilege of seeing her perform at Michael's Pub in New York in the 1980's. She autographed a copy of her book for me and we chatted briefly. More recently I have watched her performances on CZcams. She was an energetic, fun performer. I'm glad she was able to finally get the recognition she deserved late in her career.
I saw Mary at Blues Alley in Washington, DC back in 2017, and she was great! A wonderful memory 🙂
The Supremes Lasted 17 years on Motown Records. Ms Mary Wilson was the sole Original member starting in 1961 til 1977.. Over 45 Singles Top 100 Hits, a total of 24 gold million selling single Hits, starting with Where Did Our Love Go in 1964 to Floy Joy in 1972.. Ms Wilson ended the Supremes in the summer of 1977. Ms. Wilson gave The BEST concerts. All The Supremes LPs in the 1970s were GREAT, especially Floy Joy,, New Ways But Love Stays,, The Supremes 75,, High Energy & Mary Sherrie & Susaye.. Thank you for this nice tribute of the MOST Successful & Famous Girl Band in Pop Music History.. RIP Lady SUPREME Mary Wilson & Original Florence Ballard..
@SWDetboy 1961-1977....
Berry Gordy seemed to have lost interest in The Supremes after Diana left the group. Motown focused its attention on promoting Diana's career, and many of the Supremes albums of the 1970s didn't receive the level of promotion they deserved. In her book "Supreme Faith," Mary Wilson recalls an incident in the early 70s when she called up a local radio station and requested that they play a song from their recent album ("Produced by Jimmy Webb"), only to be told by the DJ that the station didn't have a copy of their new album. Because Motown hadn't bothered to send them a copy for airplay...
Berry Gordy lost interest in the group when he and Diana Ross begin dating. He made "bedroom" decisions rather than "boardroom" decisions. He pushed the Supremes in front of the other girl groups, like the Marvelettes and the Van Dellas. Then he pushed Diana to the front of the group, naming it Diana Ross and the Supremes. When Diana went solo, she didn't have instant success. Actually, the Supremes were still making hits while Diana struggled to get a hit. Had Motown continued to push the Supremes they definitely would have had even more success. To this day, Diana Ross doesn't have any friends among the remaining Motown's artists, because she turned into a mega Bitch
Almost all of their albums post-Diana were pure trash and did not deserve to be promoted. That also applies to most of their songs post-Florence Ballard.
It seems like Barry Gordy never had much interest in the Supremes. He only had interest in Diana Ross.
@@garysmith394I wouldn't say that their albums were trash. I would say that after Jean Terrell left, the quality diminished. Ijmo
I didn't realize that Mr. Beat had another channel until I saw his Tweet about this video today. So, I just subscribed! 😉
Haha yep. This is more of a passion project
@@mattbeatgoeson I wonder how many others in the History Slack Group have extra channels I'm unaware of... (I only have the one...for now.)
i didn't even know Mr. Beat existed until a month ago lol. i thought it was just this!
@@pablograssdestroyerofass6965 What if Mr. Beat really doesn't exist? He's just a group hallucination?
Yea I’ve been subscribed to Mr. Best for almost a year and I just found out after watching the Boston and Philly compared video from like three years ago where he mentioned the channel during the end credits
The most successful American music group in history! 12 #1 hits! Holy shit! I love The Supremes. :)
This is one of the best videos ever to describe the career of an artist, in this case one the best musical performers of the US and also of the world. Great job!
Thank you so much!
Back in the early 1980's, I had the great pleasure of meeting Mary Wilson during the filming of an NBC TV Special of the "Top 40 Video Countdown". I wish I could remember the specific year.
The special was videotaped at the ED DEBEVIC Restaurant on La Cienega Blvd. in Beverly Hills, CA. Ms. Wilson was the Host of the program and she was videotaped in various parts of the restaurant introducing the various music videos. I was an "Extra" seated in one of the booths of the restaurant. Although you don't get to see my face (only the back of my head was ever shown), THIS was the BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE to be sitting-in because Mary would begin her video introductions standing right next to me. That meant that during the various breaks between different "takes", I had plenty of time to chat and joke around with her. I told her that I was a DeeJay, and she quickly realized that I was a TRUE Supremes fan... So when I told her that my all-time favorite Supremes song was "NATHAN JONES" (because it sounded so different, cool and psychedelic), Mary coo-ed with delight and began SINGING THE SONG FOR ME!!! It was the only time she broke out into song during the TV taping, and I'll NEVER forget this fun and wonderful moment when my favorite Supreme sang "Nathan Jones" just for me.
You did the group justice, everything was fair all-around nice job!!!!
I watched the queen video and immediately subscribed and I’m glad I did
🙂
It should be pointed out that the highest charting version of “River deep Mountain high” was actually by the second version of the Supremes with Jean Terrel, it was a top 20 hit in 1970. Tina turner’s famous version struggled to get into the charts in 1966
Dang you have a wealth of knowledge. Thanks for sharing!
@@mattbeatgoeson do more female bands...they are underdogs compared to male bands
In 1966, because she was black (talking about Tina Turner, who later was loved by everyone) white audiences weren't really accepting of her doing a white (written) song.
@@michellekirkendall818 Ummm ... the Supremes' version came out just four years later. Not a lot changed between 1966 and 1970. Two different record companies with different promotional abilities made all the difference in those days.
@@lecuyerdooley1084The Tina Turner version was produced by Phil Spector whose "Wall of Sound" approach was dated by 1966, as great as the song is. It's still regarded a classic today. The Sup's & Tops attempt, as much as I love them, was clearly inferior imo. Instead they should have released their superb take on "A Taste Of Honey" with its stomping proto-disco sound that became popular in the mid-70's with singers like Linda Clifford and Gloria Gaynor.
Great job with all this! Very easy to understand and 99% accurate. Thanks for including that last picture of Mary with the necktie I made. I wore it to a 1994 concert she had in Baltimore.
Well you have to hand it to The Supremes and all of the Motown folks, they had a hell of a work ethic. Especially in the 60s!
I’ve watched the Beatles and nirvana videos probably 30 times each. Glad to see you back here
Forever the greatest female group in any genre for me
Top Five Supremes songs for me (in no particular order):
1) Reflections
2) Love is Like An Itching in My Heart
3) Back in My Arms Again
4) Come See About Me
5) Up the Ladder to the Roof
Oh, I didn't expect to recognize so many names from this video
You know it
Fantastic little documentary thanks very much, you should do one's for the Ronettes or the Crystals or psycho Phil Spector's stuff around those times.
Anyway thanks again keep up the good work
Oh boy a video about Phil Spector would definitely be interesting
@@mattbeatgoeson Yeah definitely, I mean the man himself was a trash human being, but he worked with some of the best in the industry applying "the wall of sound" and helping to create some of the greatest music of the era.
Some other recommendations would be
Led Zeppelin
Ted Nugent
Lou Reed
Beach Boys
The Eagles
Joan Jett
Dolly Parton
Or anything you're interested in there's always room for well made informative documentaries about Music, its makers and the creative process.
Anyway sorry for rambling on lol, keep up the great work love these docs they're great
RIP Ronnie 😥
Really enjoyed this brief history of the Supremes. Learned a lot. Thank you.
If everyone wants the full T on The Supremes, read Mary Wilson’s books 👀👀
And, Diana Ross' "Secrets of A Sparrow" is revealing as well.
@@michellekirkendall818 it is? I ne we read that. What’s the T???
This was AMAZING. I love The Supremes and I'm a big fan of Diana Ross (solo). Their my favorite musical group of the 1960's and those songs will last forever. You Can't Hurry Love and Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart are my 2 faves. You did so great here, would love to see a video on Destiny's Child.
"Itching" is such a great record! I love hearing it in the morning to get me moving for the day. 🙂
I hope you do more of these video essays on music. You are really good at them.
I appreciate the words of encouragement!
I'm gonna give this group a shot
You won't regret it!
Pretty cool
Great as always Mr Beat! I love it when you branch out!
Thank you!
Mr Beat! How did I not know about your other channel! 🤦🏽♀️ I LOVE your content! Keep up the awesome work! Much luv from a fellow historian turned travel nurse!
Loved it, thank you for taking us through the journey of the Supremes.
PURE AWESOMENESS! 🎵❤️🎤 Thank you, for this post!
There's a recording of Mary Wilson singing Joni Mitchell 's Both Sides Now that is beyond beautiful
The Shangri-Las were a really cool group. A brief history of that group would be interesting. They were so different from most other girl groups and had a fair number of big hits as well.
This great Mr. Beat keep up the great content, love this stuff!
Thank you so much!
Hearing all of these names that you’ve heard millions of times before and realizing they were all so close to each other makes me feel so weird. Like what are the chances all of these talented artists who would each go on to be famous on their own?
I really liked your video because it was not like the other brief history videos I've seen from others who that keep cutting and pasting the same old clips. I think I liked your video because it was fresh and it give me information that I didn't know. Thanks for posting.
As a lady, I feel so much admiration for the Supremes as they were doing their thing when most ladies were being relegated to the background as wives... Kudos to these ladies...
I love Mr. Beat and I love the Tempts and Supremes even more!
Holy shit, I've been watching you for months now and I never knew you were Mr. Beat! That explains the high quality of the videos then
Your vids are great, hope you can also include brief history of the famous bands in the 20th century
Well done. Thank you.
This was a great video! Thanks for doing The Supremes :)
Electric Light Orchestra could be an interesting video topic.
Thank you! ELO would be a fun video to make.
There were a few errors starting with the photo of Cindy Birdsong that you said was Jean Terrell. Also, Karen Jackson was never a Supreme and was not signed to Motown. There were a few other mistakes too. But as a whole, it was a GREAT video. Thanks for doing this.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I read that Karen Jackson was just there for a handful of performances. She never recorded with the group. Thanks for the kind words, and I don't mind you calling me out on my mistakes. We need to get it right, and I appreciate your help!
There were a few things that were not quite right. If you would like to email me, I'd be hap[y to point out them out and why I know what I know. thanks So much. This video is FANTASTIC.
@@mattbeatgoeson brian_amoore@hotmail.com
Thank You, I thought I was the only to catch the errors...
Thanks Brian Moore, my comment was for you and whoever know The Supremes True History...
I saw Dianna Floeence and Mary teraing it up at memorial coliseum in 1965 at the Portland Oregon auto show that was really cool
Ms Ross is of course still the BOSS, and continues to amaze, on top of currently touring the world as a living legend mega star, shes also been officially named the worlds number 1 GILF...
I love these videos. You should definitely do a brief history of Sublime!
Great suggestion and thank you!
Great video!
Thank you!
Can you please do The Beach Boys
Great suggestion and I plan on it!
They suck
@@shankz1472 no they don't
I have some suggestions
Black Sabbath
Jimmy Hendrix
Led Zeppelin
The Ramones
Misfits
The strokes
The Beach Boys
Daft punk
Rage against the machine
Holy crap what a list
@@mattbeatgoeson just some suggestions lol
@@mattbeatgoeson The Duprees
@@mattbeatgoeson the beach boys id like to see
R.I.P.
Founding member
Florence Ballard
(June 30th,1943-
February 22nd,1976)
(Group years:
1959-1967)
Founding member
Betty McGlown
(June 30th,1941-
January 12th,2008)
(Group years:
1959-1960)
Barbara Martin
(June 16th,1943-
March 4th,2020)
(Group years:
1960-1962)
(Replaced
founding member
Betty McGlown)
Founding member
Mary Wilson
(March 6th,1944-
February 8th,2021)
(Group years:
1959-1977)
Thank you for posting the date of birth/death and years in the group of each simger
Thanks for posting!!! I'm still trying to come to grips with losing Mary
Yeah it was indeed a shock to me. Too many greats in music lost recently. :(
Flo 💛
Hey, Mr. Beat. You should definitely do a video on the brief history of KC and the Sunshine Band!
dude your channel rocks. just bought a bunch of old supremes albums on discogs for about $4 each. RIP mary wilson...
Thank you, and enjoy the music! 🙂
Thanks for the post. The info. I Love the pictures RIP Florence blondie and Mary SIP 🕊️💕🕊️🌹
Glad you enjoyed it
My Supremettes, my name for them. RIP in Heavens Gate Florence Ballard & Mary Wilson, you're forever missed.
@TheBeatgoesOn: THIS THE CLOSEST TRUE STORY OF MOTOWN CONCERNING THE SUPREMES INCLUDING VOCAL INCLUSIONS OF THE MEMBERS…Great Job!
Relections, the happening, someday well be together, my world is empty are my
FAVORITES.
I cant believe my world is empty did not reach #1.
"My World is Empty Without You" is a great one. I agree that it should have made it to #1. I wish we could hear Mary and Florence more on it though.
@@Texaslawhorn That's probably why it didn't reach # 1. The background was almost inaudible on this record.
I’ve loved all my social studies teachers, and gosh I wish you could’ve been one of em’.
This was very informative and entertaining. Would you consider doing one on Donna Summer?
Good job 👍 well done
They were all beautiful and talented young black ladies that shut the critics down big time. They were once known by tgeir Motown peers as The Hit less supremes because they didn't have anything under their belt yet well they sure as hell showed them!!
RIP Mary.
Please can you do Daft Punk!
Great suggestion, especially since they broke up recently.
Love this group all the best song they did Beautiful and Fabulous 😊🌷🌷🌷💕💕💕
You left out that the 1st album with the Four Tops included their cover of River Deep Mountain High & it was a hit; peaked at # 14 on the Hot 100. Karen Jackson did not replace Mary Wilson(she was Mary's background singer)..It was Joyce Vincent from Tony Orlando & Dawn...but the group never recorded together. Motown decided to retire the group because there were no original members.
HOLY S*IT! i remember them virtuakky exploding on the scene.... I recall one tour they were on they took buses all around the the country, and returned on jets with new clothes hair and Fame, wow, imagine how magical that nust been for thise 3 littke girls!?! They were still in their teens!
Good video. Just FYi. Paul Williams, Eddie Kendrick and Florence Ballard's dad were all from my hometown, Birmingham, AL
They Never Gave Up Like Thee Other 2 They Hav All Of My Respect ✊🏾💯
Jean’s brother was boxer Ernie who Also sang with his sister. They were performing as the knockouts when Berry Gordy discovered her
all those albums MY GAWD! i don’t know how they didn’t get burned out so fast and that rate
Florence sang lead on 'Buttered Popcorn'.
She TORE IT UP!
22:33 Karen Jackson did not replace Mary Wilson in the Supremes; no one replaced Mary Wilson because Motown disbanded the group after she left. Karen Jackson is one of the ladies Mary hired to sing background for her once she put together her act, Mary Wilson of the Supremes.
I am a huge Supremes fan & we had this giant RCA TV set with a screen size of an iPad if it was square with round corners. The rest of that TV was a huge speaker & a gazillion TV tubes & wiring. Not one printed circuit board. Evidently it was like $500 in the late 40s brand new. A tube burned out about every week or 2, but most were cheap to replace. I remember watching the Beatles performing in Seattle in the coliseum & i was mesmerized watching a clip of that from Channel 4 news but u could barely hear the Beatles teenage girls were screaming then running up to a chain link fence that surrounded the entire basketball court which acted as a midway area for girls to jump the fence & dart to the stage, nobody made it cops caught every teenage girl & kicked her dumbass back outside. Anyways…the Supremes were my “Beatles” & were the 2nd rock musical group i had ever seem in my 5 years in age. I was hooked for life. But Dude, never ever did i ever hear them introduced as an African American band.
Not only is the term seriously outdated black people never chose that word because they ain’t any more African than you or i am European. Aint nobody calling us European-Americans
because DUH we are white. Well duh the Supremes are black so call them black because they is black as much as we are white. Nobody needs to remind us where their skin color came from, AFRICA, 430 years ago. That pretty much makes them more American than most Americans so please im asking you & everybody to stop using stupid phrases to identify people. Call them what they is but respectfully & aint nothing disrespectful about our colors.
Also this is even worse, PLEASE STOP SAYING American Indian or Native American. They are the INDIGENOUS PEOPLE. They became Natives after the invasion, they became Americans only 100 years ago exactly on June 2nd, 1924 Congress finally announced the Indigenous people within our borders are effective immediately full blooded citizens of the USA. However individual states refused to allow the indigenous people to vote, Main was the worst. America & especially Congress are not perfect
Love the Supremes and there Music
« The Happening » is one of my favourite Diana Ross and the Supremes songs
All the people behind Motown were absolute musical geniuses.
I want to thank you for these videos. They are so well done and informative
Any way to get one on Willie Nelson or Waylon ?
Thanks...
It's understating the obvious to remark that Motown overworked and misdirected its talent and that even when intimate with one of them Berry Gordy wasn't the sharpest knife in the box...but this documentary really brings it to the fore. Nobody's top ten of the Supremes will include songs from their middle-of-the-road crossover projects, but it will include things like Lovechild, Livin' In Shame, My World Is Empty, Reflections, Remove This Doubt...and maybe even Floy Joy and Nathan Jones (which are now the best known post-DIana songs, at least in the UK).
She was know as Diane Ross then.
For the rest of her life, that's what Mary Wilson called her, not Diana.
Ms Wilson... She was an elegant, classy woman with a beautiful heart, great humor and gratitude.
R.I.P. sweet soul Mary.
(Thanks for the laughs. You made that my most special birthday!)
MEMORIES LANE.............. I grew up with all the 45s AND remember the songs on Transistor Radio and on the car radio RADIO play was big- both Transistor and Car-- before TV took over by 1966
I'm actually surprised I didn't think they put more albums out than the Beatles did that means the Supremes were more productive than the Beatles
The Supremes disbanded in 1977; the Beatles in 1970. I'd think time would be a major factor as to why
Shalamar and En Vogue at could be a good subjects. They both have interesting, and some not so friendly stories behind the changes in line up.
Wow, this guy seemed to sure know his stuff! His history of the Supremes! All the dirt, some I knew! And alot I didn't know! Wonder how he got all the info!
Mr beat I was literally just listening to “it’s time to break down” by the supremes.
That's an underrated song!
You didn't mention it, but Dreamgirls, the musical was inspired by the story of Berry Gordy and Diana Ross/The Supremes. Its quite the testament to their legacy.
I want a Supremes movie or miniseries so bad! The fans deserve a real film!
@@ryandejuan9934 I can't see that happening until Diana is gone. I'd love to watch a miniseries though!
I just watched the original Broadway production of "Dreamgirls" with Sheryl Lee Ralph, Jennifer Holliday and Loretta Divine here on CZcams. So good!
Not really, because the Effie character successfully returns to the Dreams. Florence Ballard does not return to the Supremes, and her life is marred by alcoholism and poverty. She struggled 8 years after leaving the group.
@@michellekirkendall818 key word on inspired, it wasn't a verbatim retelling of course.
Would love to see one about Bob Dylan!
29 album’s wow!
I had no idea these guys had that many albums, jeez
Me neither lol
Do you plan on someday doing one of the big post-punk bands Mr. Beat? The Cure, The Smiths, Joy Division etc.?
Favorite Supreme song-"Reflections"..
Your first Jean Terrell photo is actually Cindy. Lol. And right after you say there’s one original member left Mary Wilson, but the arrow points to Jean haha
That was cool can you do one on The Doors ?
Very good overview but I wish that you had touched upon the fact that most of their later hits in the 60’s were actually performed by Ross and backup singers that weren’t Mary or Cindy
That was great! When did the Funk Brothers first start with the Supremes?
14:09 The group was never billed "The Supremes with Diana Ross." As you later point out when referring to albums, they were billed "Diana Ross & the Supremes." Diana was put out front because Gordy wanted her name known to the public ahead of the Supremes (and later the Temptations when the two groups recorded albums together).
The group was indeed billed as “The Supremes with Diana Ross,” but only for one evening. The next day, it was changed to “Diana Ross & The Supremes.”
@@cristoferchanimak You mean one night someone mistakenly billed them onstage as "The Supremes with Diana Ross"? Nothing official -- an album, merchandise, etc. -- bears that name.
He didn't change the group's name because he wanted to make Diana's name known to the public. If you notice, he did that with most of his groups (Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Gladys Knight & The Pips, etc.)
He did it in order to build them in a bigger manner. Every time he negotiated their appearance on a TV show or in concert, he could demand more money if he took a lead singer and a group than if he could just a group.
@@rossnumberone2 Gladys Knight & the Pips were an established act long before Motown, so Gordy had nothing to do with their name. Martha's name was always out front of the Vandellas; for whatever reason, in 1967 her last name was added to the billing. At the same time, Smokey's name went out in front of the Miracles AND Diana's name went out in front of the Supremes. Coincidence? I think not. Most Motown groups had no one's name out front -- the Temptations, the Four Tops, the Marvelettes, the Velvelettes, the Spinners, the Isley Brothers, the Monitors, the Contours.
Please do one on the Rolling Stones!
The best Music ever
Barry Gordy didn’t give them a list of names technically… when « the girls » as they were affectionately called were asked to change their name, ppl in Motown offices all submitted potential names… Ballard ultimately choose the name Supremes, much to Mary Wilson’s and Diana Ross’ initial dismay…
Hey! I love these videos so much, they're inspirational! Any chance you would do pink floyd?