My most FAVORITE Supremes song was actually recorded AFTER Diana Ross left the group. "Up The Ladder To The Roof' was a 1970 hit for The Supremes with Jean Terrell signing lead vocals. I just love this song. Bette Midler also covered it in the early 1980's on one of her live albums.
My other favorite Supremes story is when Diana Ross tried to stage a reunion tour in 2000 called the "Return To Love Tour". Diana and the promoters tried to get Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong to reunite. While Diana stood to make $15 to 20 million dollars for the tour, Mary Wilson was offered only $4 Million, and poor Cindy Birdsong was offered $650,000. Both women told Diana Ross where she could stick it!
AND, in the grand fashion of Miss Ross, what did she do? The show must go on! So she contacted two woman who had performed with The Supremes in the 1970's, Sherrie Payne and Lynda Laurence. SO, the "Return to Love" tour went on as scheduled, but with Payne and Laurence joining Ross, although none of the three had ever been in the group at the same time and neither Payne nor Laurence had sung on any of the original hit recordings. ALRIGHT FOR YOU, MISS ROSS !! What an EGO !! Too bad the "Return to Love" Tour was CANCELLED after only half of the dates were played. THE REASON: Poor Ticket Sales!! Of course, Mary Wilson running to the media to tell the world what a b**ch Diana Ross was didn't help the public relations of the tour.
|