On January 20, 1988, the Supremes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. Mary Wilson was the only member of the Supremes present that night. Florence Ballard had died in 1976; she was represented at the ceremony by her daughter, Lisa Chapman. Diana Ross was unable to attend. The ceremony that night took place more than twenty years after the Supremes' greates…
In Detroit, Michigan, during the 1950s, soul music and rhythm and blues (R & B) were thriving.
The Primettes first appeared at a local union meeting. They rotated lead vocals so that each girl was featured on at least one song. The audience responded with a lot of applause for the girls' performance. Milton Jenkins was pleased and started booking the Primettes at other events. In the beginning, the girls sang covers of hit songs they knew from listening to the radio. Local DJs woul…
The months that followed the Primettes' first Motown audition were not easy ones. Though the girls agreed to meet each day at the Motown studio after school, it was hard to stay focused on what they wanted to do. Schoolwork and boyfriends were distracting all four girls Betty McGlown was the first to leave the Primettes. Betty had always looked at the group as a fun thing to do, but she h…
In December 1963, the Supremes' first album, called Meet the Supremes, was released. The album included “Buttered Popcorn,” “Let Me Go the Right Way,” and “I Want a Guy.” Through 1963, the Supremes continued to tour, and three more singles were released, including “A Breath Taking Guy.” Still, no Supremes song could be considered a hi…
The Supremes' appearance at the Copa in New York City was a smash.
In the fall of 1968, Diana Ross and the Supremes began working on the first of a series of television variety specials.
To the surprise of many people, the Supremes continued to be successful after Diana Ross left the group.