Diana Ross and the Supremes

St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture by Jason King

Although their time in the spotlight only lasted six years, Diana Ross and the Supremes quickly became the most successful female group in the history of American popular music. During their years of greatest success from 1964 to 1970, the black female trio brought Berry Gordy's fledgling Motown Records to international visibility through a string of successive number one pop hits. With their flashy gowns, coiffed hairdos, stylized choreography, and polished harmonies, the Supremes helped define the Motown sound. Their crossover music reached diverse audiences, acting as a kind of soundtrack for the civil rights movement. Offstage, however, internal conflict often rocked the musical group. In 1970, lead singer Diana Ross left the Supremes to embark on a solo career that would bring her to unprecedented levels of fame in the 1970s, 1980s and into the 1990s.

While the details of their history are somewhat contentious, the development of the Supremes dates back to Detroit in 1958. Originally named the Primettes, the group was created as a female counterpart to the Primes, a male vocal quartet that would eventually rocket to success as the Temptations. The Primettes consisted of sixteen-year-old Ross, then named Diane; Florence Ballard, who was fifteen at the time; sixteen-year-old Mary Wilson, and eighteen-year-old Betty McGlown. Ballard and Ross alternated lead vocals, while Wilson and McGlown mostly sang backup. In the first year of their existence, the Primettes toured around local venues and sock-hops as the opening act for the Primes. In March 1959, the teenage girls had already recorded their first single, which consisted of two songs, "Tears of Sorrow" and "Pretty Baby." Released on a small-time record label called Lu-Pine, the record found little success or circulation outside the Primettes' hometown of Detroit.

Eventually, however, the Primettes' professional demeanor and skill won them a first-place trophy in the 1960 Detroit/Windsor Freedom Festival talent contest. There, the Primettes were spotted by a talent scout from Tamla Records (a division of the Motown Corporation), and the group managed to secure an audition with the founder of Motown, Berry Gordy. Although the audition failed to catch Gordy's interest, the Primettes soon became regulars at the Motown Studios, spending hours after school learning about the music business and singing backup vocals for known acts. When Betty McGlown left the group to get married, she was quickly replaced by Barbara Martin. The Primettes' diligence paid off in January of 1961 when they were contractually signed to Motown. After some debate, the Primettes were renamed the Supremes.

The Supremes' early beginnings were filled with obstacles. Soon after their first two singles in release failed to catch the public attention, Martin left the group to attend to family life. The Supremes decided to continue on as a trio, eventually touring around the country as the opening act for the Motown Revue. Still without a major hit, the Supremes performed strenuous hours for low pay despite their underage status. Touring the American South at the height of the Civil Rights movement, the young trio witnessed first-hand incidents of racial prejudice.

The turning point for the Supremes arrived in early 1963 when Gordy decided to match the female trio with songwriting team Eddie and Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier, better known as Holland-Dozier-Holland or H-D-H. Gordy also made the contentious decision to have Ross become the group's lead vocalist. Years later, Gordy's decision proved to be a continuing thorn in the side of Ross's co-Supremes, Wilson and Ballard.

The string of hits that followed the pairing of the Supremes and H-D-H proved to be unprecedented and helped introduce the burgeoning Motown Records to wide and diverse audiences across racial lines. The Supremes' first hit, "Where Did Our Love Go?," exemplified the infectious rhythm that was quickly becoming known as the Motown Sound. Sung by Ross in a sultry tone, "Where Did Our Love Go?" reached number one on the pop and R&B charts in July 1964. The Supremes' next two singles, "Baby Love" and "Come See about Me," also reached number one on the pop charts.

The Supremes' first album, Where Did Our Love Go? sold over one million copies and remained on the pop charts for more than a year. After record-breaking U.S. and European tours, the Supremes became the first Motown act to appear on the Ed Sullivan Show, the most popular variety television show of the era. Only surpassed in success only by the Beatles, the Supremes had garnered status as surefire hit-makers. Their new status now meant that black popular music was able to reach audiences across color lines. The group's success also propelled other Motown artists to visibility, boosting the record company's revenue to levels never imagined. While black music had once previously been regarded as "race music" by the entertainment industry, the Supremes' success demanded that styles of black music become integrated into the larger consciousness of American popular music.

As the trio continued to rack up number one hits with songs like "Stop in the Name of Love," internal changes within the group began to threaten their cohesiveness. In January 1966, Ross officially changed her name from Diane to Diana. To enhance their success, the group was subjected to refinement and finishing through Motown's Artist Development Unit. The new clean-cut image of the Supremes would eventually allow them to play sophisticated venues and nightclubs, like New York's Copacabana. As music critic Nelson George claims, these turn of events would "change The Supremes from a diligent, rather juvenile trio into the epitome of upwardly mobile, adult bourgeois charm."