The Supremes: Motown’s Premier Act

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Oldies Music Timeline

The Supremes in 1966 — Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, and Diana Ross
The Supremes in 1966 — archival photo. Left to right: Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, and Diana Ross, performing “My World Is Empty Without You” on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1966.
Photo: CBS Television, via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain.

Motown’s premier act.

The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. The premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, they were the most commercially successful of Motown’s acts and the most successful American vocal group, with twelve number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100.

At a Glance

  • Formed: 1959, Detroit, Michigan, USA, as the Primettes
  • Members (classic trio): Diana Ross (lead vocals) — born Diane Ross, 26 March 1944, Detroit; Florence Ballard (vocals) — born 30 June 1943, Detroit; died 1976; Mary Wilson (vocals) — born 6 March 1944, Greenville, Mississippi; died 2021
  • Founding members also included Betty McGlown (replaced by Barbara Martin in 1960)
  • Genre: R&B, soul, pop, doo-wop, disco
  • Active: 1959–1977
  • Breakthrough: “Where Did Our Love Go”, No. 1 in the US, August 1964
  • Studio albums: 18 in the main sequence, from Meet The Supremes (1962) to Mary, Scherrie & Susaye (1976)

The Biography

The Primettes

In Detroit in 1958, Florence Ballard, a junior high school student living in the Brewster-Douglass Housing Projects, met Paul Williams and Eddie Kendricks, two members of a Detroit singing group known as the Primes. The Primes’ manager, Milton Jenkins, decided to create a sister group to be called the Primettes. Ballard recruited her best friend Mary Wilson, who in turn recruited classmate Diane Ross; Jenkins added Paul Williams’ girlfriend Betty McGlown to complete the line-up. The four were all from the Brewster-Douglass public housing project in Detroit. The Primettes began by performing hit songs by artists such as Ray Charles and the Drifters at sock hops, social clubs and talent shows around the Detroit area.

Signing to Motown

In 1960, the Primettes recorded a single for Lu Pine Records, “Tears of Sorrow”, backed with “Pretty Baby”. The single failed to find an audience. McGlown became engaged and left the group; Barbara Martin was her prompt replacement. In January 1961, Berry Gordy finally agreed to sign them to Motown — but under the condition that they change the group’s name. Ballard chose “the Supremes” from a list Gordy gave her. In the spring of 1962, Martin left the group to start a family, and the newly named Supremes continued as a trio.

The “no-hit Supremes”

Between 1961 and 1963, the Supremes released six singles, starting with “I Want a Guy” and “Buttered Popcorn” on Motown’s Tamla label — but none charted in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. Jokingly referred to as the “no-hit Supremes” around Motown’s Hitsville U.S.A. offices, the group took on any work available at the studio, including hand claps and background vocals for Marvin Gaye, Mary Wells and the Temptations. In December 1963, “When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes” peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 — the first of many Supremes songs written by Holland–Dozier–Holland. In late 1963, Berry Gordy chose Ross as the official lead singer.

Five consecutive No. 1s

In the spring of 1964, the Supremes recorded “Where Did Our Love Go”. The song had been intended by Holland–Dozier–Holland for the Marvelettes, who rejected it, and the Supremes disliked it — but the producers insisted. In August 1964, it reached No. 1 on the US pop charts. It was followed by four consecutive US No. 1 hits: “Baby Love” (also a No. 1 hit in the UK), “Come See About Me”, “Stop! In the Name of Love” and “Back in My Arms Again”. “Baby Love” was nominated for the 1965 Grammy Award for Best R&B Song. By the end of 1966, their No. 1 hits also included “I Hear a Symphony”, “You Can’t Hurry Love” and “You Keep Me Hangin’ On”. That year the group released The Supremes A’ Go-Go, which on 22 October became the first album by an all-female group to reach No. 1 on the US Billboard 200, knocking the Beatles’ Revolver out of the top spot.

Changes and the end

In early 1967, the name of the act was officially changed briefly to “the Supremes with Diana Ross” before changing again to “Diana Ross & the Supremes” by mid-summer. In the fall of 1967, Ballard was replaced by Cindy Birdsong. In 1970, Ross left to pursue a solo career and was replaced by Jean Terrell, and the group’s name reverted to the Supremes. The group continued through the mid-1970s, with Lynda Laurence, Scherrie Payne and Susaye Greene joining, until, 18 years after its formation, it disbanded in 1977. Ballard died in 1976, aged 32, of a heart attack. Wilson died in 2021; Ross is the sole surviving original member.

Oldies Music Timeline

  • 1959 — The Primettes formed in Detroit by Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, Diana Ross and Betty McGlown.
  • 1960 — Barbara Martin replaces McGlown; the Primettes record “Tears of Sorrow” / “Pretty Baby” for Lu Pine.
  • January 1961 — Signed to Motown; Ballard chooses the name the Supremes.
  • Spring 1962 — Martin leaves; the Supremes continue as a trio.
  • December 1962 — Debut album Meet The Supremes released.
  • December 1963 — “When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes” peaks at No. 23 — their first chart hit.
  • August 1964 — “Where Did Our Love Go” reaches No. 1 in the US.
  • 1964–1965 — Five consecutive US No. 1 hits: “Where Did Our Love Go”, “Baby Love”, “Come See About Me”, “Stop! In the Name of Love”, “Back in My Arms Again”.
  • 22 October 1966 — The Supremes A’ Go-Go becomes the first album by an all-female group to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
  • 1967 — Group renamed Diana Ross & the Supremes; Florence Ballard replaced by Cindy Birdsong.
  • 1970 — Diana Ross leaves for a solo career; Jean Terrell joins; name reverts to the Supremes.
  • 1970 — “Stoned Love”, sung by Jean Terrell, becomes a hit.
  • 1976 — Florence Ballard dies, aged 32.
  • 1977 — The Supremes disband, 18 years after forming.
  • 20 January 1988 — The Ross–Wilson–Ballard line-up inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Studio Albums

Meet The Supremes (1962) · Where Did Our Love Go (1964) · More Hits by The Supremes (1965) · I Hear a Symphony (1966) · The Supremes A’ Go-Go (1966) · The Supremes Sing Holland–Dozier–Holland (1967) · Reflections (1968) · Love Child (1968) · Let the Sunshine In (1969) · Cream of the Crop (1969) · Right On (1970) · New Ways but Love Stays (1970) · Touch (1971) · Floy Joy (1972) · The Supremes Produced and Arranged by Jimmy Webb (1972) · The Supremes (1975) · High Energy (1976) · Mary, Scherrie & Susaye (1976)

Note: this is the main studio sequence. The group also released cover and tribute albums in the 1960s, including A Bit of Liverpool (1964), The Supremes Sing Country, Western and Pop (1965), We Remember Sam Cooke (1965), Merry Christmas (1965) and The Supremes Sing Rodgers & Hart (1967).

Why They Matter

  • Twelve No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 — the most of any American vocal group, and the most commercially successful of Motown’s acts. Billboard ranked the Supremes as the 16th greatest Hot 100 artist of all time.
  • Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: the Ross–Wilson–Ballard line-up was inducted in 1988; they received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994 and entered the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998.
  • Grammy recognition: the Supremes were twice nominated for a Grammy — for “Baby Love” (1965) and “Stop! In the Name of Love” (1966) — but never won in competition. Three of their songs were added to the Grammy Hall of Fame: “Where Did Our Love Go” and “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” (both 1999) and “Stop! In the Name of Love” (2001). The group received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023.
  • Firsts: the first US group ever to have five consecutive No. 1 singles, and the first all-female group to have a No. 1 album on the Billboard 200.

Sources

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