October 22: On This Day in World History … briefly
The Supremes were twice nominated for a Grammy Award — for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording (‘Baby Love’ in 1965) and Best Contemporary Rock & Roll Group Vocal Performance (‘Stop! In the Name of Love’ in 1966), but never won an award in competition.
1966: The Supremes become the first all-female music group to attain a No. 1 selling album
The Supremes were an American female singing group and the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown’s acts and are, to date, America’s most successful vocal group with 12 number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100. Most of these hits were written and produced by Motown’s main songwriting and production team, Holland–Dozier–Holland. At their peak in the mid-1960s, The Supremes rivalled the Beatles in worldwide popularity, and it is said that their success made it possible for future African American R&B and soul musicians to find mainstream success.
Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, Diana Ross, and Betty McGlown, the original group, are all from the Brewster-Douglass public housing project in Detroit. They formed the Primettes as the sister act to the Primes (with Paul Williams and Eddie Kendricks, who went on to form the Temptations). Barbara Martin replaced McGlown in 1960, and the group signed with Motown the following year as The Supremes. Martin left the act in early 1962, and Ross, Ballard, and Wilson carried on as a trio.
During the mid-1960s, The Supremes achieved mainstream success with Ross as lead singer and Holland-Dozier-Holland as its songwriting and production team. In 1967, Motown president Berry Gordy renamed the group Diana Ross & The Supremes, and replaced Ballard with Cindy Birdsong. Ross left to pursue a solo career in 1970 and was replaced by Jean Terrell, so the group’s name reverted to The Supremes.
By 1965, The Supremes were international stars. They toured the world, becoming almost as popular abroad as they were in the US. Almost immediately after their initial number-one hits, they recorded songs for motion picture soundtracks, appeared in the 1965 film ‘Beach Ball’, and endorsed dozens of products, at one point having their own brand of bread. By the end of 1966, their number-one hits included ‘I Hear a Symphony’, ‘You Can’t Hurry Love’ and ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On’.
That year the group also released The Supremes A’ Go-Go, which on October 22 became the first album by an all-female group to reach number one on the US Billboard 200, knocking the Beatles’ Revolver out of the top spot. Because The Supremes were popular with white audiences as well as with black ones, Gordy had the group cater to its middle-American audience with performances at renowned supper clubs such as the Copacabana in New York. Broadway and pop standards were incorporated into their repertoire alongside their own hit songs.
As a result, The Supremes became one of the first black musical acts to achieve complete and sustained crossover success. Black rock and roll musicians of the 1950s had seen many of their original hit tunes covered by white musicians, with these covers usually achieving more fame and sales success than the originals. The Supremes’ success, however, counteracted this trend. Featuring three group members who were marketed for their individual personalities (a move unprecedented at the time) and Diana Ross’s pop-friendly voice, The Supremes broke down racial barriers with rock and roll songs underpinned by R&B stylings.
The group became extremely popular both domestically and abroad, becoming one of the first black musical acts to appear regularly on television programs such as Hullabaloo, The Hollywood Palace, The Della Reese Show, and, most notably, The Ed Sullivan Show, on which they made 17 appearances. The Supremes’ cross-cultural success effectively paved the way for the mainstream success of contemporaneous label mates such as the Temptations, the Four Tops and the Jackson 5. During the mid-70s, the lineup changed with Lynda Laurence, Scherrie Payne and Susaye Greene joining the group until, after 18 years, The Supremes disbanded in 1977.
Most notable historic snippets or facts extracted from the book ‘On This Day’ first published in 1992 by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd, London, as well as additional supplementary information extracted from Wikipedia.
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