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.
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).
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.
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.
Former Ladies of the Supremes, or FLOS, is a female vocal group that was originally formed by former the Supremes members Jean Terrell, Cindy Birdsong and Scherrie Payne, in 1986, and has since 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 alongside pairings of Supremes members Laurence, Payne and Greene, following the departure of Jean Terrell.
High Energy is the twenty-eighth studio album by American girl group the Supremes, released in 1976 on the Motown label. The album is the first to feature Susaye Greene; former member of Stevie Wonder's Wonderlove; and is notable for featuring the last Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 pop hit for the group, "I'm Gonna Let My Heart Do the Walking". Of their 1970s releases, High Energy is the second-highest charting album on the US Billboard 200, the first being Right On (1970). In Canada, High Energy is the highest-charting Supremes album since TCB (1968).
The Supremes is the twenty-seventh studio album by The Supremes, released in 1975 on Motown Records.
Mary, Scherrie & Susaye is the twenty-ninth and final studio album by The Supremes, released in 1976 on the Motown label. It featured the final line-up for the Supremes, composed of original Supreme Mary Wilson and latter-day members Scherrie Payne and Susaye Greene. All three Supremes take leads on the album. The album was a mixture of disco dance tracks (Hi-NRG) and R&B ballads. Payne and Greene mostly took over the dance tracks while Wilson performed the ballads. The album was released in October 1976, nine months before the trio disbanded.
Floy Joy is the twenty-fifth studio album released by The Supremes on the Motown label. This was the only Supremes album solely produced and arranged by Smokey Robinson and included the U.S. top 20 hit, "Floy Joy" and the U.S. top 40 hit, "Automatically Sunshine", both of which were top 10 hits in the U.K.
"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.
Promises Kept is an unreleased album by The Supremes, recorded during the latter half of 1971 with multiple producers. Ultimately, the project was shelved by Motown in favor of a different set, Floy Joy, produced entirely by Smokey Robinson the following year. The idea for the title came from Supreme Mary Wilson who said that "I'd heard the phrase and loved it. I wanted to use it on the next album."
This Is The Story is a box set, released in 2006, comprising The Supremes' albums from the period 1970-1973, featuring new lead singer Jean Terrell, along with Mary Wilson, Cindy Birdsong and Lynda Laurence In addition to the five studio albums Right On, New Ways But Love Stays, Touch, Floy Joy, and The Supremes Produced and Arranged by Jimmy Webb, the set also includes thirteen tracks from the group's unreleased 1972 album, Promises Kept. Not included from the same time period are the three duet albums recorded with Four Tops; these were issued in full in 2009 on the 2-CD compilation Magnificent - The Complete Studio Duets, which included 13 previously unreleased recordings.
At Their Best is a 1978 album by The Supremes. It includes most of their singles from 1970 through 1976 and featured, at the time, two never-before released songs: "The Sha-La Bandit" and "Love Train". It was released first in the United Kingdom in February 1978, including 14 tracks. It was later released in the US in June 1978, with some of the tracks removed and the track order amended.
The Return to Love Tour was a 2000 concert tour by American singing group Diana Ross and the Supremes.
The Supremes ('70s): Greatest Hits and Rare Classics is a 1991 compilation album by The Supremes, released on the Motown label. The compilation features a majority of the group's 1970's hits, as well as one solo song by Jean Terrell "I Had To Fall In Love", which was released in 1978 on A&M Records, and two solo tracks by Scherrie Payne, "When I Looked At Your Face" and "Another Life From Now". Three tracks "Everybody's Got the Right to Love" "Floy Joy" and "Automatically Sunshine" also appear in alternate versions.
Let Yourself Go, the follow-up box set to This Is the Story: The '70s Albums, Vol. 1 – 1970–1973: The Jean Terrell Years, comprises The Supremes' albums from 1974 to 1977, featuring original member Mary Wilson, longtime member Cindy Birdsong, newest member Scherrie Payne, and final Supreme Susaye Greene. Included in this set are The Supremes' final three studio albums released in their entirety on CD for the first time. Also included are several unreleased and alternate takes.
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.
[1] 