The Supremes

The Supremes were a very successful Motown all-female singing group active from 1959 until 1977, performing at various times doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway showtunes, psychedelia, and disco.

Epilogue

Works inspired by The Supremes

On December 20, 1981, the Tony Award-winning musical Dreamgirls opened at the Imperial Theater on Broadway and ran for 1522 performances. The musical was loosely based on the history of the Supremes, following the story of The Dreams, an all-girl singing trio from Chicago who become music superstars. Mary Wilson loved the musical, but Diana Ross was reportedly angered by it and refused to see it. A motion picture adaptation of Dreamgirls, to be written and directed by Bill Condon, is scheduled to start filming in summer 2005. Beyoncé Knowles has been signed to play the Diana Ross-like character of Deena Jones, with Jamie Foxx signed to play the Berry Gordy doppelganger Curtis Taylor, Jr., and Usher Raymond in negotiations to play The Dreams' songwriter C.C. White http://www.playbill.com/news/article/92903.html.

Related Topics:
December 20 - 1981 - Tony Award - Dreamgirls - Imperial Theater - Broadway - Chicago - Motion picture - Bill Condon - 2005 - Beyoncé Knowles - Jamie Foxx - Berry Gordy - Usher Raymond

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Two of the Supremes have written autobiographies. Mary Wilson's autobiography ' was published in 1986, and in 1990, she published the follow-up Supreme Faith: Someday We'll Be Together. In January 2000, the two books were released together as Dreamgirl & Supreme Faith: My Life as a Supreme, and included an afterword; Dreamgirl remains one of the best-selling rock-and-roll books of all time. Diana Ross had her own autobiography, Secrets of a Sparrow: Memoirs, published in 1993. Unlike Wilson's books, her book received poor reviews and disappointing sales.

Related Topics:
1986 - 1990 - 2000 - 1993

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Awards and followers

Although the Supremes were twice nominated for a Grammy Award – for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording ("Baby Love", 1965) and Best Contemporary Rock & Roll Group Vocal Performance ("Stop! In the Name of Love", 1966) – they never won an award in competition. Three of their songs – "Where Did Our Love Go" and "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (both 1999) and "Stop! In the Name of Love" (2001) – have been named to the Grammy Hall of Fame. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994, and entered into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998. In addition, the Supremes songs "Stop! In the Name of Love" and "You Can't Hurry Love" are among The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. The black girl groups that have succeeded them in popular music, including The Three Degrees, The Emotions, The Pointer Sisters, En Vogue, TLC, and Destiny's Child, have shown the influence that the Supremes and Motown had during the 1960s.

Related Topics:
Grammy Award - Best Rhythm & Blues Recording - 1965 - Best Contemporary Rock & Roll Group Vocal Performance - 1966 - 1999 - 2001 - Grammy Hall of Fame - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - 1988 - Hollywood Walk of Fame - 1994 - Vocal Group Hall of Fame - 1998 - The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll - The Three Degrees - The Emotions - The Pointer Sisters - En Vogue - TLC - Destiny's Child

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Reunions

Fan interest made the idea of a Supremes reunion tour a very profitable one during the 1980s. Diana Ross briefly reunited with Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong to perform "Someday We'll Be Together" on the ' television special, broadcast on NBC on May 16, 1983. Their performance unfortunately ended badly when Ross pushed Wilson onstage during the performance, and later pulled the microphone from her face while Wilson was inviting Berry Gordy, sitting in the theatre balcony, to come down and join everyone onstage. Although these altercations were filmed but deleted from the broadcast edit of the special, they were widely reported and reinforced Ross' image as an egotistical, manipulative diva.

Related Topics:
1980s - Television - NBC - May 16 - 1983 - Diva

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During the mid-1980s, Jean Terrell, Scherrie Payne, and Lynda Laurence began touring the US and the UK as FLOS: Former Ladies of the Supremes; Terrell, Laurence, and Susaye Greene even recorded a cover of "Stoned Love" for British producer Ian Levine in 1989. Payne and Laurence continue to tour under the FLOS name with third member Freddie Poole.

Related Topics:
Ian Levine - 1989

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In 2000, plans were made for Ross to join Wilson and Birdsong for the Return to Love tour. However, Wilson and Birdsong both passed on the idea because while the promoters offered Ross $15 million to perform, Wilson was offered only $3 million and Birdsong less than $1 million http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/702634.stm. Eventually, the Return to Love tour went on as scheduled, but with Scherrie Payne and Lynda Laurence joining Ross, although neither of them were in the group at the same time as Ross. Fans were disappointed by both this and the shows' high ticket prices, and, after playing only half of the dates on the itinerary, the tour was cancelled.

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