The Supremes: 1970-1977

SUPREME: Highest in Rank or Authority, Highest in Degree & Quality, Ultimate, Final


The truth? It's assumed The Supremes, Motown's leading act, the eternal female vocal group blueprint, ceased to exist when its defacto lead vocalist Diana Ross departed in 1969.The real truth? The Supremes relaunched in 1970 and recorded and released 10 albums. Seven as a group, and three as duet projects with fellow Motowners, The Four Tops.

Scuzzy revisionists usually tend to diminish the kaleidoscopic heights these incarnations of The Supremes scaled. To be fair, The Supremes weren't up against just historical rewriting, the times had changed in the 1970's. Competition from other up and coming black female groups, evolving tastes, and their own revolving line-up switches provided challenges.

The latter tip, it should be stated, really was only a problem for the casual observer. Five women would inherit the mantle of being a Supreme from 1970-1977, with Mary Wilson being the sole original member to navigate each line-up from 1959-1977 overall.

Each woman who came into The Supremes brought a distinct color all their own to their sonic story. In the last decade, their works have finally gotten the spotlight they so richly deserves.

A series of lavish reissues, starting with The '70's Anthology (2002) led to This Is the Story: The '70s Albums, Vol. 1–1970–1973: The Jean Terrell Years (2006), Magnificent: The Complete Studio Duets (2009), and Let Yourself Go: The '70s Albums, Vol. 2–1974–1977: The Final Sessions (2011). All revived by the reissue imprint Hip-O-Select, The '70's Supremes have been allowed to tell their story, and what a tale it is. For those, and there are still many sadly, unfamiliar with The '70's Supremes, this overview will remedy that.


Right On
Released: April 1970
Produced By: Frank Wilson
Chart Placements: U.S. Pop #25, U.S. R&B #4, U.K. # (Did Not Chart)

Singles: "Up the Ladder to the Roof," "Everybody's Got the Right to Love"

Line-Up: Jean Terrell, Mary Wilson, Cindy Birdsong

After three years of running on empty, excusing the loveliness of "Reflections," "Love Child," and "In & Out of Love," Right On was a glorious and golden return to form and equal parts rebirth. The Supremes were a unit again, and producer Frank Wilson made that a reality on record. Right On was seminal, as it was the first record without Diana Ross, heralding the arrival of Jean Terrell.

Also important was that it would be the first studio recording to restore Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong to the fold after being supplanted by session singers The Andantes on the bulk of the D.R.A.T.S. (Diana Ross & The Supremes) album output.

A pool of graceful soul and pop, Right On was luxurious. The ephemeral highs of the lead single "Up the Ladder to the Roof" immediately won over the wary. Deeper cuts such as "But I Love You More" and "The Loving Country" fulfilled further investment from the listeners. Back in business, three-part harmonies and all, Right On was a top to bottom victory for The Supremes.

"Up the Ladder to the Roof" & "Everybody's Got the Right to Love" Circa 1970






New Ways, But Love Stays
Released: October 1970
Produced By: Frank Wilson
Chart Placements: U.S. Pop #68, U.S. R&B #12, U.K. #(Did Not Chart)

Singles: "Stoned Love"

Line-Up: Jean Terrell, Mary Wilson, Cindy Birdsong

Frustratingly bold and limp, New Ways, But Love Stays was the rushed follow-up to Right On.

Frank Wilson, again, steered the good ship Supremes.

On this outing, he decided to splice in psychedelia strains into the soul-pop mix.

The three-part, segued opener of "Together We Can Make Such Sweet Music," "Stoned Love," and "It's Time to Break Down" was a wall of auditory sensations. New Ways placed more shine to the distinct sounds of Terrell, Wilson, and Birdsong. They rolled on "Together," took to the gospel cosmos on "Stoned," and occupied majesty with "It's Time to Break Down."

"Stoned Love," the biggest hit single of this decade's Supremes, was controversial in that many misread its call for "solid" or "stoned" love as a barely veiled drug reference. Performances on "Is There a Place (In His Heart For Me)," and the beaming "Shine On Me" were fantastic, partially due to these songs being written for The Supremes. Majority of New Ways was constructed out of cover material, distributing an uneven quality. For every assured turn on Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" their were anemic takes on The Beatles "Come Together," or The Four Tops "I Wish I Were Your Mirror."

A transitional piece, but with vocal prowess to spare, New Ways, But Love Stays was a rare misfire in the '70's Supremes discography.

"Stoned Love" Circa 1970







Touch
Released: June 1971
Produced By: Frank Wilson
Chart Placements: U.S. Pop #85, U.S. R&B #8, U.K. #40

Singles: "Nathan Jones," "Touch"

Line-Up: Jean Terrell, Mary Wilson, Cindy Birdsong

The first Supremes album to be reviewed, and favorably at that, by a then up and coming music magazine called Rolling Stone, was Touch. The last of the Frank Wilson trilogy, and the best, was a monochromatic wonder, sonically speaking. It could be said that it was the first Supremes record to have a detectable atmosphere upon listening.

The brisk "Nathan Jones," its verses and chorus sung in unison, sat next to the ringing "Love It Came To Me This Time." "Love..." revealed Terrell's unaffected, pure craft in her ability to read the feelings of the track in an astsoundingly astute fashion.

Leads from Birdsong and Wilson were also becoming more prominent, in fact the titular cut, and second single, had Wilson going toe-to-toe with Terrell. Her first commercial single release as a co-lead was spellbinding. Touch benefited from what New Ways, But Love Stays lacked: an abundance of original songs written for The Supremes. One lone cover, The 5th Dimension's "Time & Love" vibrantly tackled by The Supremes, soared.Interestingly enough, Diana Ross also recorded a version for her eponymous solo debut, which had remained vaulted until 2001.

Dark and lovely, Touch was, and is, top shelf Supremes, age of its creation notwithstanding.


"Touch" (Audio & Still Photography Only)
*Performance clips from this period are rare, none were available at this time*





Floy Joy
Released: May 1972
Produced By: Smokey Robinson
Chart Placements: U.S. Pop #54, U.S. R&B #12, U.K. # (Did Not Chart)

Singles: "Floy Joy," "Automatically Sunshine," "Your Wonderful, Sweet Sweet Love"

Line-Up: Jean Terrell, Mary Wilson, Cindy Birdsong, Lynda Laurence

Motown alumni Smokey Robinson (of The Miracles fame), took duties for The Supremes on their fourth album of the '70's. Robinson's prior production past included a bulk of material The Supremes first released to mild fanfare. This took place before their hit streaking pairing with Holland-Dozier-Holland in '63.

Robinson decided to guide The Supremes into joyful, but no less evocative, waters on Floy Joy. Girlish and playful, Floy Joy ended up as the aural equivalent of fresh cream.

By now, Terrell, Wilson, and Birdsong had adhered to one another; their interplay tighter. Snappy on the title track (the larger hit on LP), or the more low and groovy "Now the Bitter, Now the Sweet" cemented that The Supremes had established their own brand of sound separate from their previous decade.

Pictured on the album cover, and present for all promotional performances, appearances, etc. was Lynda Laurence. Birdsong's voice is unmistakably heard on Floy Joy, but her impending pregnancy meant she departed The Supremes after the Floy Joy recordings wrapped. Laurence, a Wonderlove vocalist, the legendary backing troupe for Stevie Wonder, left with Wonder's blessing to become a Supreme. Floy Joy became the last diminutively successful album The Supremes knew, as Motown's support for them began its inexorable decline.

"Your Wonderful, Sweet Sweet Love" Circa 1972








The Supremes Produced and Arranged By Jimmy Webb
Released: November 1972
Produced By: Jimmy Webb, Deke Richards (on "I Guess I'll Miss the Man")
Chart Placements: U.S. Pop #129, U.S. R&B #27, U.K. # (Did Not Chart)

Singles: "I Guess I'll Miss the Man"

Line-Up: Jean Terrell, Mary Wilson, Lynda Laurence

Jimmy Webb touched The Supremes with his silk and lavender tones, giving Produced & Arranged an adult contemporary, if staid feel. Terrell was provided with fantastic songs like "5:30 Plane," "When Can Brown Begin," "Tossin' and Turnin'," and "Beyond Myself"; dramatic designs that Terrell translated to listeners in grand, but somehow still intimate ways. It was obvious this type of soul-pop medium influenced Terrell's A&M solo debut, I Had to Fall In Love, which arrived in 1978.

Wilson shared the forlorn "I Keep It Hid," a solo number. Ballads were fast becoming Wilson's calling card, and she would almost exclusively handle them in the last three years of The Supremes lifespan.

Oddly, the solitary single, pulled from the play "Pippin," "I Guess I'll Miss the Man" made minimal impact. It was also the only song on the record not produced by Webb, but rather Deke Richards. Richards was a popular Motown stable producer. Produced & Arranged's notiriety increased by the fact that it was the first, and last, Supremes album to host Supreme Lynda Laurence.

The commercial failure, or abortion, due to Motown's non-support on Produced & Arranged soured Terrell and Laurence on Motown. Laurence, in optimism, persuaded her mentor, Stevie Wonder, to produce a single-only release for The Supremes entitled "Bad Weather." Popular with fans and the R&B disc jockey's in the know, the single was issued not long after Produced & Arranged had cooled. When the single stalled, it was the final curtain for Terrell and Laurence. Both asked to be released from Motown. Mary Wilson, now alone, had to reconfigure the group who would'nt have another record released for two years.

"I Guess I'll Miss the Man" Circa 1972










The Supremes
Released: May 1975
Produced By: Hal Davis, Mark Davis, Brian Holland, Clayton Ivey, Michael Lloyd, Terry Woodford, Greg Wright
Chart Placements: U.S. Pop #152, U.S. R&B #25, U.K. # (Did Not Chart)

Singles: "He's My Man," "Where Do I Go From Here?," "Early Morning Love"

Line-Up: Mary Wilson, Cindy Birdsong, Scherrie Payne

Two years of contractual struggles with Motown Records occurred before Produced & Arranged had a proper follow-up. New changes in music, R&B and pop, transpired. Vocal groups were even more en vogue, some of whom were rocking a little sound known as disco. How would The Supremes factor into all of this?

Mary Wilson returned, with Supreme favorite Cindy Birdsong back for more, and the newest, saucy member: Ms. Scherrie Payne. Without missing a beat, the eponymous sixth '70's Supremes LP glistened with a rebranding of The Supremes. Tied with Produced & Arranged for their poppiest affair, unlike the more formal restraint of that record, The Supremes courted a tactful, but youthful exuberance. Sporting a plethora of production talent (see credits above), no doubt The Supremes were going to find a niche to get in, and fit in.

A chunk 'o' funk, "He's My Man" was their first dance hit with dual leads from the dynamo Payne, and Wilson. The post-coital ode in "Early Morning Love" evenly matched the diamante of "It's All Been Said Before," which showcased amazing harmony acrobatics from all three Supremes. Many fans over the years have commented that the Birdsong, Payne, Wilson line-up came closest to the sharpness of the classic Ballard, Wilson, Ross salad days.

"Color My World Blue," another Payne knockout, seized her element of vitality superbly. Though, that "vitality" could get the best of her, and her fellow Supremes, as heard on the churchy "This Is Why I Believe in You," a fun, but erroneous cut that marred this otherwise stainless eponymous record.

The sales slump would continue from a mainstream market perspective, but The Supremes made the group relevant and visible in 1975. One market in particular showed affection to The Supremes after this recording dropped: dance music.

"Early Morning Love" Circa 1975









High Energy
Released: April 1976
Produced By: Brian and Edward Holland, Jr.
Chart Placements: U.S. Pop #42, U.S. R&B #25, U.K. # (Did Not Chart)

Singles: "I'm Gonna Let My Heart Do the Walking," "You're What's Missing in My Life"

Line-Up: Mary Wilson, Scherrie Payne, Susaye Green

"Out of adversity..." or so the saying goes. The sessions for High Energy had already begun when Birdsong said her final goodbyes to The Supremes amidst a growing turbulence within the group. Motown's lack of support, blatant by this point, was coupled with Wilson's troubled marriage to Pedro Ferrer. Ferrer would assume a managerial role of The Supremes, with catastrophic results.

Despite all of this, High Energy became a definitive recording for The Supremes. In addition, High Energy played an integral role in the return of the prodigal son (s), brothers Brian and Edward Holland, of Holland-Dozier-Holland fame.

These two men had helped make The Supremes the icons they were a decade previously. Parting with Motown over royalty disputes in 1967, then founding their own label Invictus, The Holland's returned to Motown with the bad blood washed away. The Holland's mission with High Energy conceived to update The Supremes with the posh, orchestral brush strokes of disco and modern rhythm and blues.

Joining Wilson and Payne, was Susaye Green, the final Supreme to come aboard. Ms. Green, another Wonderlove vocalist, doubled as a songwriter. Upon stepping into The Supremes, she had just scored a massive hit penning Deniece Williams' (a Wonderlove too) "Free." Later, Green co-wrote Michael Jackson's "I Can't Help It" from Off the Wall (1979). It was Green's garguantuan octave range that charged the title track with a late-night sensuality. It went on to become a club classic without a commercial single release.

Brazen and feminist, the kicker "I'm Gonna Let My Heart Do the Walking" graced the Top 40 Pop charts, the last conventional hit they would land, but what a landing. Somewhere, between the coquette and the lascivious, "Only You (Can Love Me Like You Love Me)" lived it up on record with abandon.

The remainder of High Energy fell into after hours bliss. Mary Wilson carried majority of the songs here, her angles bittersweet and husky on "Till the Boat Sails Away" and "Don't Let My Teardrops Bother You." Channeling her recent emotional upsets into "Teardrops," Wilson's poignancy enthralled.

Start to finish, High Energy's case as another stunning entry into the 70's Supremes discography is hard to argue against.

"I'm Gonna Let My Heart Do the Walking" Circa 1976








Mary, Scherrie, & Susaye
Released: October 1976
Produced By: Brian and Edward Holland, Jr.
Chart Placements: U.S. Pop # (Did Not Chart), U.S. R&B # (Did Not Chart), U.K. # (Did Not Chart)

Singles: "You're My Driving Wheel," "Let Yourself Go," "Love, I Never Knew You Could Feel So Good," "Come Into My Life"

Line-Up: Mary Wilson, Scherrie Payne, Susaye Green

At the time of its release, The Supremes had become full-on dance music stars. The indifference from the pop, and now the R&B charts, hadn't dampened their spirits to create, what was to be, another foray toward the mirrorball realm. Unfortunately, Mary, Scherrie, & Susaye, the final Supremes long player was more steam than fire. The ballads, while pretty, had become perfunctory: "You Are the Heart of Me" and "We Should Be Closer Together." Great vehicles for Wilson's shadowy, blossomed presence, they still were missing something. The uptempo's had ceased to bend trends, and saw The Supremes following them instead. "Love, I Never Knew You Could Feel So Good?" Too furious for its own good. "You're My Driving Wheel?" It orbited parody.

Thankfully, for every uneven number, there were a few clear cut classics in the batch. "Sweet Dream Machine," with its score-like arrangement looked back to the High Energy peaks, albeit it was darker than High Energy's material. The sci-fi, Donna Summer glow of "Come Into My Life," was Green's best Supremes cut. A veritable production and vocal wonder to behold. " I Don't Want to be Tied Down," a sassy tell-off, was unapologetic and abrasive, suggesting an even bolder direction for The Supremes. It was not to be.

The Supremes would finish without the "hit record" they'd been pining for. The final curtain fell on their last farewell show, June 12th, 1977, in London, England at the Drury Lane Theatre to a sold out house. Mary, Scherrie, & Susaye remains perennial query of where The Supremes could have gone, given better circumstances.

"Come Into My Life" Circa 1977


The drama and tragedy of The Supremes overshadows their musical legacy more often than not. The unique epoch of these chapters in The Supremes history appeals because of the sheer excellence and quality of the recorded product. Even with the heartache, Motown machinations, the quandary of cultural relevance, The Supremes delivered. The Supremes grew as women, and the songs reflected those changes. Whether they were straddling soulful maturity during Jean Terrell's tenure, or getting loose once Scherrie Payne touched down.

Mentioning Terrell and Payne, Mary Wilson, Cindy Birdsong, Lynda Laurence, and Susaye Green evidenced that The Supremes never wanted for talent, having the most diverse clutch of female vocalists under one nom de guerre in popular music.

The ravenous "purists," the '60's Supremes aficienados, may see the '70's Supremes as only shades to their earlier successes. Again, the truth? The '70's Supremes existed on a completely different plane, looking to birth not just hit singles, but whole albums that told stories. Dedicated to the music, they never relinquished the glamor and sophistication that were hallmarks for The Supremes, regardless of the decade. The '70's Supremes were just the next step in the evolution of an iconic institution. That's their story, and I'm sticking to it.-QH

[Editor's Note: At the time of this writing, The '70's Anthology (2002) and This Is the Story: The '70s Albums, Vol. 1–1970–1973: The Jean Terrell Years (2006) are physically out of print. The latter was a limited run edition. However, Magnificent: The Complete Studio Duets (2009), and Let Yourself Go: The '70s Albums, Vol. 2–1974–1977: The Final Sessions (2011) are still in print. All of these packages are available digitally via iTunes and Amazon. For more information on these remaster sets, visit http://www.hip-oselect.com/default.asp-QH]