Fifty years ago the phenomenon of Motown brought three Detroit Ghetto girls together who would become the most successful American artists of the decade of the 60's.

(from left) Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, and Diana Ross 1964

Little did we know that after eight flops, and known around Motown as the No-Hit Supremes, their record Where Did Our Love Go? (which all three girls hated!) would catapult them to the number one position at the top of both the Billboard's Top 100 chart and the fledgling Motown label in the summer of 1964. What could I possibly tell the world anything new about The Supremes? Their names are known around the world. Florence Ballard (the founder & the person who picked the name at a rush decision), Mary Wilson (her dear friend) and, of course, Diana (or Diane as she was called then) Ross. Of course, like so many girl groups of the sixties, there were 4 Supremes (or Primettes as they were originally called to be the sister act to The Primes, who would change their name to The Temptations) which included Betty McGlown & Barbara Martin. Neither, for different reasons, would be in the group long. More on all of this later.

Keep in mind that Motown already had successful female & male artists that had already charted big time. The Marvelettes hit #1 with Please Mr. Postman on December 11, 1961, nearly 3 years before The Supremes would chart. Ironically, it took Please Mr. Postman 15 weeks to reach #1 BUT it was Motown's (Tamla division) first #1. The Marvelettes turned down Where Did Our Love Go? as did Martha Reeves & The Vandellas.  The Miracles (Smokey Robinson on lead) had a #2 hit with Shop Around (also on Tamla) & Little Stevie Wonder's Fingertips (Pt.ll) would hit #1 for 3 weeks on August 10, 1963 on Tamla.  Mary Wells hit #1 on May 16, 1964 on the Motown label for two weeks with My Guy. Martha & The Vandellas had charted with Heat Wave, Wild One, Come And  Get These Memories & more with a totally different sound then The Supremes had. Martha Reeves & The Vandellas would have many huge hits including their signature Dancing In The Street that hit #2 on October 16, 1964. They, however, never had a #1 record on Billboard! (FYI, Creedence Clearwater Revival had 5 records that went to #2 & none that hit #1!). Let me also insert that Motown consisted of three labels: Motown, Tamla, & Gordy. In England & most of Europe their hits were on the dual Tamla/Gordy label and not Motown.

And since I'm bringing up a little trivia, I feel it necessary to mention that The Supremes never won a Grammy! They had many 'firsts' in the music industry; i.e. The first American Group to have 5 consecutive #1 hits, the only group to challenge The Beatles during the entire 1964 - 1970 period, ending the decade of the Sixties with the very last #1 song of the year--& their unprecedented 12th #1 hit, Someday We'll Be Together! Only The Beatles & Elvis Presley topped them for more #1 hits. 

Unfortunately, The Supremes never really did 'get together' again. Dear Flo Ballard died at age 32 on February 22, 1976, living on welfare. Mary Wilson, who turned 69 on March 6th, 2013 & is still touring, lecturing on battled spouses, recording, & many other projects staying non-stop throughout the years. She's appeared on Broadway, TV shows, Talk Shows, & had two Best Selling Autobiographies. She still looks awesome. Diana Ross turned 69 20 days later on March 26, 2013. She & Mary haven't really spoken for decades. Three teenage ghetto friends that went from rags to riches meeting Presidents, Kings & Queens, & entertaining their million of loyal fans across the world all took different roads.

This Blog is new to me & this is the first posting but I hope it flows smoothly & those that may come across it enjoy what I post. Feel free to leave your comments. It's Christmas Eve & I'm listening to 'Merry Christmas The Supremes ' from 1965 and was inspired to start Supremes Reflections 4-Ever by my dear friend of 40 plus years, Tim. With 50 years of history under The Supremes belt there is a lot of information to cover & I hope I can supply some insight to their lives. I am blessed to be friends with Mary Wilson & Martha Reeves & have spent some wonderful evenings with them over the years. I'm just a fan that was lucky enough to become a friend. I feel blessed.

Gary