The Supremes

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

The Supremes were Motown's most successful group. They began in 1959 in Detroit as The Primettes: four girls from the Brewster-Douglass housing projects, among them Diana Ross, Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard. In 1961 the group signed with Motown, on condition that they chose a different name. Ballard picked The Supremes from a list that Berry Gordy gave her.

Music and breakthrough

The first singles sold poorly. The breakthrough came with the songwriting team Holland-Dozier-Holland. Where Did Our Love Go was released in June 1964 and in August spent two weeks at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Four more number ones in a row followed. The sound was clear and danceable, with an emphatic beat and Ross as a restrained lead singer. In all, The Supremes had twelve number 1s on the Hot 100. In 1967 Ballard was replaced by Cindy Birdsong, and the group was from then on called Diana Ross & the Supremes. Someday We'll Be Together (1969) was the last number 1.

Influence

In 1970 Ross left for a solo career, and Jean Terrell took her place. When Mary Wilson also went solo, the group stopped in 1977. The Supremes were the clearest proof that Motown's approach worked: Black music, carefully packaged, that was also bought by a white teenage audience. Their story lives on in the Broadway musical Dreamgirls (1981), which is loosely based on the group. In 1988 Ross, Wilson and Ballard were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Listening

• 
  Where Did Our Love Go · The Supremes, 1964
  Apple Music ↗

Discography

Studio albums

• 1962Meet the Supremes
• 1964A Bit of Liverpool
• 1964Where Did Our Love Go
• 1965Merry Christmas
• 1965Sing Country Western & Pop
• 1965We Remember Sam Cooke
• 1966I Hear a Symphony
• 1966The Supremes A’ Go‐Go
• 1967Sing Rodgers & Hart
• 1967The Supremes Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland
• 1968Diana Ross & The Supremes Join The Temptations
• 1968Diana Ross & The Supremes Sing and Perform “Funny Girl”
• 1968Love Child
• 1968Reflections
• 1968The Original Sound Track From TCB (soundtrack)
• 1969Cream of the Crop
• 1969Let the Sunshine In
• 1969On Broadway (soundtrack)
• 1969Together
• 1970New Ways but Love Stays
• 1970Right On
• 1970The Magnificent 7
• 1971Dynamite
• 1971The Return of the Magnificent Seven
• 1971Touch
• 1972Floy Joy
• 1972Produced & Arranged by Jimmy Webb
• 1975Meet the Supremes
• 1976High Energy
• 1976Mary, Scherrie & Susaye
• 2004There’s a Place for Us
• ?Meet the Supremes

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

• Mixtape 6: Fear of a Black Planet^NL Reader
• Mixtape 12: The Hit Factory^NL Reader

Mentioned in other articles

• Motown GenreThe Supremes scored twelve number 1 hits; in 1972 Motown moved to Los Angeles.

See also

• A Bit of Liverpool
• We Remember Sam Cooke
• I Hear a Symphony
• The Supremes Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland
• New Ways but Love Stays

Sources

1. Wikipedia (en): The Supremes
2. Wikipedia (en): Where Did Our Love Go