Timeline
This page is a chronology of the Motown singing group the Supremes. It lists the members of the group during all phases of the group's history, and also includes a timeline.
The Supremes were an American girl group and a 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 the most successful American vocal band, 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. It is said that their breakthrough made it possible for future African-American R&B and soul musicians to find mainstream success. Billboard ranked the Supremes as the 16th greatest Hot 100 artist of all time.
Florence Glenda Chapman was an American singer and a founding member of the Motown vocal female group the Supremes. She sang on 16 top 40 singles with the group, including ten number-one hits. After being removed from the Supremes in 1967, Ballard tried an unsuccessful solo career with ABC Records before she was dropped from the label at the end of the decade.
Mary Wilson was an American singer. She gained worldwide recognition as a founding member of the Supremes, the most successful Motown act of the 1960s and the best-charting female group in U.S. chart history, as well as one of the best-selling girl groups of all-time. The trio reached number one on Billboard's Hot 100 with 12 of their singles, ten of which feature Wilson on backing vocals.
Scherrie Ann Payne is an American singer. Payne is best known as a member and co-lead singer of the R&B/Soul vocal group the Supremes from 1973 until 1977. Because of her powerful voice and petite stature (5'2"), Payne is sometimes referred to as "the little lady with the big voice". Payne is the younger sister of singer Freda Payne. Payne continues to perform, both as a solo act and as a part of the "Former Ladies of the Supremes" (FLOS).
Cynthia Ann Birdsong is an American singer who became famous as a member of The Supremes in 1967, when she replaced co-founding member Florence Ballard. Birdsong had previously been a member of Patti LaBelle & The Bluebells.
Velma Jean Terrell is an American R&B and jazz singer. She replaced Diana Ross as the lead singer of The Supremes in 1970.
Lynda Laurence is an American singer.
Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme is a 1986 autobiography that features the memoirs of Mary Wilson, one of the founding members of Motown singing trio The Supremes. It was a New York Times Best Seller for months, and remains one of the best-selling rock-and-roll autobiographies of all time. The title of the book is a reference to Dreamgirls, a 1981 Broadway musical loosely based on the lives and careers of the Supremes. Dreamgirl covers the Diana Ross-led years of the group. In 1990 Wilson penned a follow-up entitled Supreme Faith: Someday We'll Be Together that covers Wilson's life since 1970. Both books and a new afterword were included in a combined volume titled Dreamgirl & Supreme Faith: My Life as a Supreme in 2000.
The Supremes is a 2000 box set compilation of the material by Motown's most popular act of the 1960s, The Supremes. The set covers The Supremes' entire recording history, from its first recordings as The Primettes in 1960 to its final recordings in 1976.
The '70s Anthology is a 2002 two compact disc set of many of the songs recorded by the 1970s groupings of The Supremes. The set features 42 tracks, of which 10 had never been released, and 6 were appearing in extended or unedited forms.
Cream of the Crop is the eighteenth studio album released by Diana Ross & the Supremes for the Motown label. It was the final regular Supremes studio album to feature lead singer Diana Ross. The album was released in November 1969, after the release and rising success of the hit single "Someday We'll Be Together."
Former Ladies of the Supremes, or FLOS, is a female vocal group that was originally formed in 1986 by former Supremes members Jean Terrell, Cindy Birdsong and Scherrie Payne. It has also included former members Lynda Laurence and Susaye Greene. Though they were not Supremes members, singers Sundray Tucker, Freddi Poole and Joyce Vincent have also sung with the group following the departure of Terrell.
The Supremes is the twenty-seventh studio album by The Supremes, released in 1975 on Motown Records.
Greatest Hits: Live in Amsterdam is a DVD by The Supremes released in 2006.
"I'm Gonna Let My Heart Do the Walking" is a disco-styled soul single composed by the Holland brothers Eddie and Brian, members of the former Holland–Dozier–Holland team and was released as a single by Motown vocal group The Supremes in 1976 on the Motown label. It was the first single since "Your Heart Belongs to Me" in 1962 to feature four Supremes. It is also notable for being the last top forty single the group would score before they disbanded in 1977.
The Never-Before-Released Masters is 1987 compilation album containing unreleased recordings recorded by Motown girl-group The Supremes from 1961 to 1969. It was the second CD release of unreleased recordings by The Supremes, the first being disc two of the 2 disc "25th Anniversary" compilation. Several other unreleased tracks appeared on earlier various artists compilations.
Let the Music Play: Supreme Rarities 1960-1969 is a 2-CD set of The Supremes music released by Hip-O Records on March 25, 2008.
The Return to Love Tour was a 2000 concert tour by American singing group Diana Ross and the Supremes.
"He's My Sunny Boy" is a song performed by Diana Ross & the Supremes, written and produced by Smokey Robinson. Originally, the composition was released on the group's 1968 album, Love Child and later as a b-side on the Supremes' final single to feature Diana Ross, "Someday We'll Be Together." The song is notable for being one of few releases during the late 1960s to feature the entire ensemble group as opposed to session singers The Andantes, who sometimes, but not always, filled in for Wilson and Birdsong on recordings after the departure of Florence Ballard.
Mary Wilson: The Motown Anthology is a two disc collection of music, spanning the career of singer Mary Wilson of the American musical group the Supremes. The compilation compiles some of Mary’s leads for the Supremes and their original group The Primettes, and includes the CD debut of her Motown solo album, with a total of seven unreleased tracks and 13 unreleased mixes or alternate takes.
