"I love the one with the short hair." -Suzy Knickerbocker. Unfortunately, instances like these is what got Florence sacked from the Supremes. Unfortunately, Diana Ross couldn't stand out as a star by default standing next to Florence Ballard, who not only was downright stunning, but she had a body that naturally drew attention and she was glamorous like Lena Horne or Dorothy Dandridge. It's so crazy that people say this was Florence at her biggest during her Supremes run, but personally, I think she'd never looked better. Comedic timing, elegance, and that HUGE soprano voice. Florence just HAD it, Jack! Diana, Florence, and Mary had a magic that no other lineup of the Supremes would EVER have.
@SaintBeysus Berry Gordy fired Flo months before but had her come back to the group till he worked cutting Cindy Birdsong from Atlantic Records and Patti Labelle and the Bluebells. During this time Cindy was flaunted in Flo’s face and positioned in the audience studying Flo’s performances. Flo had issues yes but Berry Gordy wanted her out the way so he can move Diana further in the group. Flo realized what was happening and felt betrayed and defeated she did the unthinkable that fateful night in Vegas. If any of us was in her shoes I’m sure this would’ve affected us horribly as well having to see your replacement flaunted in your face and wondering will we get fired and when. Unfortunately Flo gave Berry what he wanted. By this time Cindy was released from her group and record company so she was ready to step in Flo’s shoes. Now suppose Flo acted accordingly and didn’t give flack to the groups name change this would’ve angered Berry Gordy more because he was ready to seal her fate. The ugly side of show business.
Eric - Florence was heavier than she was in 1964 (she was quite thin at the beginning) but she wasn't fat in 1967. She was fired due to her drinking problem not due to her weight; her replacement Cindy Birdsong really wasn't much thinner than Florence.
Cindy's waist was a tad smaller and her hips a tad wider than Flo's. She was just as busty and wore the same dress/shoe size so she was an easy replacement to slide right into Flo's gowns. Florence Ballard looked grand here. She was so dang beautiful. She fought the system (Motown) and lost! Drinking and outbursts of anger and arguments didn't help her either. Something had to be done and she purposely allowed them to give her, her walking papers. She had enough of the crap she had to encounter daily especially with the boss and his lady Diana Ross.
Oh you're being too gullible, this was the mid 1960s in a racially divided America, review your US History. You're making a judgement based on some TV show where your best is expected. Do some research, you'd be surprised at what some legendary white people of showbusiness have said and felt about people of color back during that period in time. John Wayne, could have been on that panel as well, putting his best foot forward.
Diana Ross is just 22 years old here. At this point she already had nine (9) number one records, including (in March, 1967) the then current #1 hit record in the U.S., "Love Is Here and Now You're Gone"
@@divinewilliams3055, oh come on now. They (oh, excuse me "THEY") had nothing to do with it. Holland-Dozier-Holland, Barry Gordy and Diana Ross made the hits. Diana Ross is a superstar, without a doubt one of the greatest popular music performers of the 20th century.
@@henry-bo3np IDK Henry, while indeed HDH were the machinery and the force behind the group, songwriters seldom get the praise and proper acknowledgment due them, and BG was the vision and the true promoter, but he never truly got that the world fell in love with the GROUP. Florence, statuesque and (endearingly) slightly awkward, Mary, at ease and sexy, just having fun with it all, and Diane, lead singer and rightly so, and as you point out, handling all that fame and success astonishingly well for someone so young - but really it was a special GROUP, and all three were an integral part of that success.
@@njplr, maybe to start with. But the group (oh, excuse me, the "GROUP") didn't sell any records, including when Flo sang lead. But when Barry Gordy made the business decision to make Diana Ross the lead singer, the Supremes went right to the top. The HDH-BG-Diana Ross collaboration is the crown jewel of Motown.
I loved them so much when they first hit the charts in 1964 and loved them throughout their career!!!!!!! They really added a lot of beauty and talent to the hit parade and helped direct the music to another direction!!!!!!
Thanks Bunches for Sharing 👏 This is a Real Treat for Me 👍 FLO was Stunning absolutely STUNNING Missing Ya Florence Blondie Ballard and Mary WILSON 🌹❤️⭐❤️⭐🌹🎶
...ya gotta give it to that older lady with the sparkly dress; she was of a 'particular' generation, and even SHE knew The Supremes, at that time! (2:45)...GONE, Ol' Lady! ..HA-HAA!!
She was just mocking what the host was doing the first time they appeared on the show. She didn’t do that before. She was just a natural leader. Florence was the mother and Mary was peacemaker.
Florence Ballard looks checked out and not really present. She was just smiling on queue whenever seeing other people smile. This was close to her end with The Supremes 😞 She always looked so fabulous!
Poor Florence...I bet she just wanted to grab that little snot right by her neck and ring it! Mary is a sweetheart in life and death. God Bless both of them and I bet they both are beckoning Diane to join them in the hear-after. And if I were her I would pack a pair of sneakers running shoes because Florence will be giving her a good chase when she gets there.
@@LoveTheKay No I'm not a new fan by far. The Superstar is billed as Diana Ross! Just like Steveland Hardaway Morris is billed as Stevie Wonder. Fun fact though on Diana's birth certificate her legal name is Diana. Only family and close friends call her Diane. Not you or I.
@@ceeceetracey9839 I never liked the wig or the dress Diana wore even when I saw this as a kid in 1967. She looked older than Mary and Flo who were looking gorgeous.
Florence and Mary are still being treated like deaf mutes while the wicked witch gets to answer the questions. I especially wanted to hear Florence speak. Sad
What's shady is people like you -- loving to post and make -up conflict Joseph "Wendy Williams" Reaves * THEY ONLY HAD ONE SEAT FOR ALL GUESTS ON THIS SHOW -- The WORLD FAMOUS McGuire Sisters stood up too supose to hear you people tell it that was Diana Ross' fault too -- Give it a break loser !
Yes and she’s the one that said she liked the short hair just before Diana introduced them. It wasn’t deliberately but the gent was saying something to her and she hurriedly moved on bypassing the lady.
Florence had put on a few pounds here, but come on, it wasn't anything really and she still looked great; sadly, this was close to the end of her Motown career, when she got fired, and made the tragic mistakes of signing away her future royalties and allowing her money hungry new husband to manage her solo career, which never took off; within a couple of years, she was running out of money, and she never really recovered from this trauma.
@Malcolm Marshall. There also was the fact that she had been sexually assaulted (or raped) a few years earlier. That didn't help any. Read Mary's book, she goes into detail about it.
Rating the best in music is subjective. But here is my opinion. In the golden Era, no one was better than The Mills Brothers and The Andrew Sisters for 3 part harmony. The 50's and early 60's brought a lot of doo wop groups but they were more than 3 part harmony. The 4 Seasons have to be put very high on the list as do The Belmonts. Peter, Paul and Mary and The McGuire Sisters had great 3 part harmony. Now I'm mainly talking harmonies, I mean The Temptations were fantastic but they were 5 voices not 3. The 4 Tops, 4 voices. The Mamas and Papas harmonies were incredible but again 4 singers not 3. Crosby, Stills and Nash have to be rated very high for 3 part harmony. The Beach Boys harmonies were unrivaled but again more than 3 singers. The BEST vocal group for more than 3 singers hands down were The Eagles. I mean no group comes close. But they had 5 singers. The Beatles had great 3 part harmony and have to be ranked very high. But the greatest vocal group of just 3 singers only and who wrote their own songs as well have to be The BEE GEES. I mean they were Brothers and singing since they were born. With Barry on the bottom, Robin in the middle and Maurice on top you are talking perfection. The Supremes were a great act and sold a lot of records. But they were not really a 3 part harmony group. They sang songs written for them and the group was basically Diana Ross, with Flo and Mary singing background stuff and looking good. But it was Diana Ross's show. The others were background singers.
Spot on analysis. You surprised me, knowing about the Andrews Sisters and the Mills Brothers. I am the youngest of 4, and my mother was born in 1923 (she just died in August, 2 weeks after her 100th birthday) so growing up I would play all my siblings' and parents' records, so I was on intimate terms with everyone you mentioned. There is something about the harmony of siblings that is just vocal perfection.
Diana took all that time and effort to write on the chalkboard because she had the best penmanship. She deserved a seat. Especially from carrying the beautiful and talented Flo and Mary on her back
Why did that lady not want to reach out to shake Florence hand? Was she dating the guy next to her? Because it looked like he pulled Florence in a little bit- to indicate she can spend his money sometime 😝
![Swingin' Time - Supremes Tribute Show [1966] [Part 1]](/img/n.gif)
Florence's image is simply stunning and her image is so statuesque.
Mary is looks outstanding. She is dressed to the height of fashion!!!!
Three gorgeous and talented ladies. The world had something special in The Supremes.
"I love the one with the short hair." -Suzy Knickerbocker. Unfortunately, instances like these is what got Florence sacked from the Supremes. Unfortunately, Diana Ross couldn't stand out as a star by default standing next to Florence Ballard, who not only was downright stunning, but she had a body that naturally drew attention and she was glamorous like Lena Horne or Dorothy Dandridge. It's so crazy that people say this was Florence at her biggest during her Supremes run, but personally, I think she'd never looked better. Comedic timing, elegance, and that HUGE soprano voice. Florence just HAD it, Jack! Diana, Florence, and Mary had a magic that no other lineup of the Supremes would EVER have.
Amen!!
I concur
She was gorgeous. Perfect figure ❤️
Diana Ross is a superstar. She is without a doubt one of the greatest popular music performers of the 20th Century
@SaintBeysus Berry Gordy fired Flo months before but had her come back to the group till he worked cutting Cindy Birdsong from Atlantic Records and Patti Labelle and the Bluebells. During this time Cindy was flaunted in Flo’s face and positioned in the audience studying Flo’s performances. Flo had issues yes but Berry Gordy wanted her out the way so he can move Diana further in the group. Flo realized what was happening and felt betrayed and defeated she did the unthinkable that fateful night in Vegas. If any of us was in her shoes I’m sure this would’ve affected us horribly as well having to see your replacement flaunted in your face and wondering will we get fired and when. Unfortunately Flo gave Berry what he wanted. By this time Cindy was released from her group and record company so she was ready to step in Flo’s shoes. Now suppose Flo acted accordingly and didn’t give flack to the groups name change this would’ve angered Berry Gordy more because he was ready to seal her fate. The ugly side of show business.
They ALL look "stunning!" Florence's "do" is a timeless classic "short-bob" which could be worn today in 2019.
3:06 “I love the one with the short hair”. You go Flo
I thought she was talking about Mary. Her hair was short too.
@@skip031890 but Florence has the shortest .
Oh yeah! They really worked out for her greatly didn’t it?
Finally a nice clean and clear copy. They look stunning.
I don't see the weight that Florence supposedly carried that made everyone so upset. She was beautiful!
By 1967 Gordy was banging Ross. Beginning in 1968, the Supremes were in trouble as far as having hits was concerned; Love Child being the exception.
Eric - Florence was heavier than she was in 1964 (she was quite thin at the beginning) but she wasn't fat in 1967. She was fired due to her drinking problem not due to her weight; her replacement Cindy Birdsong really wasn't much thinner than Florence.
i think cindy was actually fatter
Cindy was smaller than Flo
Cindy's waist was a tad smaller and her hips a tad wider than Flo's. She was just as busty and wore the same dress/shoe size so she was an easy replacement to slide right into Flo's gowns. Florence Ballard looked grand here. She was so dang beautiful. She fought the system (Motown) and lost! Drinking and outbursts of anger and arguments didn't help her either. Something had to be done and she purposely allowed them to give her, her walking papers. She had enough of the crap she had to encounter daily especially with the boss and his lady Diana Ross.
By far Flo was stunning
You could see how everyone enjoyed Florence in this one including Mary and Diana, (I'm being positive!) great clip!
Etta James referred to Mary Wilson as being the "Glamour Girl"
I love how respectful they are to each other. Racism shouldn't exist rich and famous or broke and poor ppl are simply ppl..
@princeryell............ Keep telling yourself that........are you 5 years old?
@@Consrignrant what? Lol u must be one of them 🤣🤣
Oh you're being too gullible, this was the mid 1960s in a racially divided America, review your US History. You're making a judgement based on some TV show where your best is expected. Do some research, you'd be surprised at what some legendary white people of showbusiness have said and felt about people of color back during that period in time. John Wayne, could have been on that panel as well, putting his best foot forward.
Mel Ferrer kissed all their hands. A very gentleman quality.
Love it. Classy. And sort of a big deal at the time since he was white.
@@DCGuy1997 It didn't seem like a big deal in this clip. Were you alive during that time?
THE CLASSIC THREE: Flo, Mary & Diane. THE ORIGINAL SUPREMES!!! BAR NONE!!!
Thanks Bruce for posting 👍 I AGREE 💯
THEY WERE ALL LOVELY,.
How Lovely!!! I smiled the whole way through ... then I sighed LOL
BryanOQuinnTV yesss
Me too lol
Florence and Mary are so gorgeous.
I love Motown stuff, Temps, Four Tops, Jr. Walker etc... But these girls were the cream of the crop man.
Florence is Beautiful
I Agree 💯 FLO looked
STUNNING absolutely STUNNING 👏🌹⭐🌹
Diana Ross is just 22 years old here. At this point she already had nine (9) number one records, including (in March, 1967) the then current #1 hit record in the U.S., "Love Is Here and Now You're Gone"
she didnt. THEY did. mary and florence were as much part of that success as her
@@divinewilliams3055, oh come on now. They (oh, excuse me "THEY") had nothing to do with it. Holland-Dozier-Holland, Barry Gordy and Diana Ross made the hits. Diana Ross is a superstar, without a doubt one of the greatest popular music performers of the 20th century.
keep telling yourself that
@@henry-bo3np
@@henry-bo3np IDK Henry, while indeed HDH were the machinery and the force behind the group, songwriters seldom get the praise and proper acknowledgment due them, and BG was the vision and the true promoter, but he never truly got that the world fell in love with the GROUP. Florence, statuesque and (endearingly) slightly awkward, Mary, at ease and sexy, just having fun with it all, and Diane, lead singer and rightly so, and as you point out, handling all that fame and success astonishingly well for someone so young - but really it was a special GROUP, and all three were an integral part of that success.
@@njplr, maybe to start with. But the group (oh, excuse me, the "GROUP") didn't sell any records, including when Flo sang lead. But when Barry Gordy made the business decision to make Diana Ross the lead singer, the Supremes went right to the top. The HDH-BG-Diana Ross collaboration is the crown jewel of Motown.
Aww, Florence was gone too soon.
Yes, Flo was gone within weeks of this WML appearance.
WAY to Soon
Missing Ya Florence Blondie Ballard
🕊️❤️🕊️🌹⭐🌹
I love how Miss Francis guessed “The Supremes.” By that point, they had become so ubiquitously iconic and successful the female vocal group. 💿❤🎵
I loved them so much when they first hit the charts in 1964 and loved them throughout their career!!!!!!! They really added a lot of beauty and talent to the hit parade and helped direct the music to another direction!!!!!!
Thanks Bunches for Sharing 👏 This is a Real Treat for Me 👍
FLO was Stunning absolutely STUNNING
Missing Ya Florence Blondie Ballard and
Mary WILSON
🌹❤️⭐❤️⭐🌹🎶
...ya gotta give it to that older lady with the sparkly dress; she was of a 'particular' generation, and even SHE knew The Supremes, at that time! (2:45)...GONE, Ol' Lady! ..HA-HAA!!
Mary and Flo were the voice of the Supremes
YESSSS I AGREE 💯👍
Your eyes go right to Flo...
It’s all about Diana for me !!!
Wow Ross get to make an entrance and determines who gets to talk even…..
She was just mocking what the host was doing the first time they appeared on the show. She didn’t do that before.
She was just a natural leader. Florence was the mother and Mary was peacemaker.
Florence Ballard looks checked out and not really present. She was just smiling on queue whenever seeing other people smile. This was close to her end with The Supremes 😞 She always looked so fabulous!
I Agree 💯 with ya Jocelyn
FLORENCE always looked
STUNNING 👍 FLO was My Favorite 🌹 Missing Ya
FLO and Mary SIP
🌹⭐❤️❤️⭐🌹
cue
clear! you are great
I loved that the men stood up to greet them.
Diana was a good friend and she wasn't trying to hog the spot light never. I see Diana
Such royalty and class!!!
Sad to think that, of the eight people in this clip, only one (Diana Ross) is still living.
I love this.....
Very sad to see what happened to this group
Queen Diana and her ladies in waiting!
That hand kissing is so cute and the way the men stand up
The men would stand for all the guests on this show.
Poor Florence...I bet she just wanted to grab that little snot right by her neck and ring it! Mary is a sweetheart in life and death. God Bless both of them and I bet they both are beckoning Diane to join them in the hear-after. And if I were her I would pack a pair of sneakers running shoes because Florence will be giving her a good chase when she gets there.
Who is Diane?
@@ernestbrown795 the one in black. Sitting down
@@LoveTheKay Oh! You mean Diana!
@@ernestbrown795 her real name is Diane lol. Are you a new fan?
@@LoveTheKay No I'm not a new fan by far. The Superstar is billed as Diana Ross! Just like Steveland Hardaway Morris is billed as Stevie Wonder. Fun fact though on Diana's birth certificate her legal name is Diana. Only family and close friends call her Diane. Not you or I.
Clearly Ross was now the star. She wore black. Got to make an entrance and sit down....Gordy did this sh*t
Looking like the black Morticia Adams in that streaked wig
@@ceeceetracey9839 I never liked the wig or the dress Diana wore even when I saw this as a kid in 1967. She looked older than Mary and Flo who were looking gorgeous.
Florence and Mary are still being treated like deaf mutes while the wicked witch gets to answer the questions. I especially wanted to hear Florence speak. Sad
Wow!
Why couldn't they have chairs for them all?
Do you really think there would be room for 5 people at the desk?
When more than one person was on the show (which was unusual), they never had more than one chair.
I met Dianna Ross at the Silver Slipper in Las Vegas.
He only ever knew Diana's name, he didn't know Mary & Flo names on their previous appearance either.
This is so shady that Mary and Flo have to stand up
The McGuire sisters [famous singers] also stood up, but they are white so you wouldn't complain about it.
What's shady is people like you -- loving to post and make -up conflict Joseph "Wendy Williams" Reaves * THEY ONLY HAD ONE SEAT FOR ALL GUESTS ON THIS SHOW -- The WORLD FAMOUS McGuire Sisters stood up too supose to hear you people tell it that was Diana Ross' fault too -- Give it a break loser !
if the camera was in the back diana would have demanded to stand
Check out Mary on the New Hollywood Squares with mr T 1988
Did anyone notice Flo ignored the one female contestant hand??
lol
Yes and she’s the one that said she liked the short hair just before Diana introduced them. It wasn’t deliberately but the gent was saying something to her and she hurriedly moved on bypassing the lady.
The lady is the one that didn’t put her hand out to shake Flos. But Flo peeped and kept it moving gracefully
The flamingo show end up being flo last show 😩
Florence had put on a few pounds here, but come on, it wasn't anything really and she still looked great; sadly, this was close to the end of her Motown career, when she got fired, and made the tragic mistakes of signing away her future royalties and allowing her money hungry new husband to manage her solo career, which never took off; within a couple of years, she was running out of money, and she never really recovered from this trauma.
@Malcolm Marshall. There also was the fact that she had been sexually assaulted (or raped) a few years earlier. That didn't help any. Read Mary's book, she goes into detail about it.
Was that gorgeous perfume Jungle Gardenia do you think?
I was thinking the same thing
Diana Ross just had IT over the other two
Flo 💛
Rating the best in music is subjective. But here is my opinion. In the golden Era, no one was better than The Mills Brothers and The Andrew Sisters for 3 part harmony.
The 50's and early 60's brought a lot of doo wop groups but they were more than 3 part harmony. The 4 Seasons have to be put very high on the list as do The Belmonts. Peter, Paul and Mary and The McGuire Sisters had great 3 part harmony. Now I'm mainly talking harmonies, I mean The Temptations were fantastic but they were 5 voices not 3. The 4 Tops, 4 voices. The Mamas and Papas harmonies were incredible but again 4 singers not 3. Crosby, Stills and Nash have to be rated very high for 3 part harmony. The Beach Boys harmonies were unrivaled but again more than 3 singers. The BEST vocal group for more than 3 singers hands down were The Eagles. I mean no group comes close. But they had 5 singers. The Beatles had great 3 part harmony and have to be ranked very high. But the greatest vocal group of just 3 singers only and who wrote their own songs as well have to be The BEE GEES. I mean they were Brothers and singing since they were born. With Barry on the bottom, Robin in the middle and Maurice on top you are talking perfection. The Supremes were a great act and sold a lot of records. But they were not really a 3 part harmony group. They sang songs written for them and the group was basically Diana Ross, with Flo and Mary singing background stuff and looking good. But it was Diana Ross's show. The others were background singers.
Spot on analysis. You surprised me, knowing about the Andrews Sisters and the Mills Brothers. I am the youngest of 4, and my mother was born in 1923 (she just died in August, 2 weeks after her 100th birthday) so growing up I would play all my siblings' and parents' records, so I was on intimate terms with everyone you mentioned. There is something about the harmony of siblings that is just vocal perfection.
I disagree with almost all of your assessments.
do you think Rhianna could handle The Supreme FLO movie?
She isn’t as soulful as flo
They can give Keke Wyatt some acting lessons .
No
Is there a Florence Ballard movie that supposed to come out?
florence should be the one sitting down,not ross.
Diana took all that time and effort to write on the chalkboard because she had the best penmanship. She deserved a seat. Especially from carrying the beautiful and talented Flo and Mary on her back
Women were so classy and feminine back then
Why did that lady not want to reach out to shake Florence hand? Was she dating the guy next to her? Because it looked like he pulled Florence in a little bit- to indicate she can spend his money sometime 😝