The Supremes were an American female singing group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, they are, to date, America’s most successful vocal group 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. At their peak in the mid-1960s, the Supremees rivaled the Beatles in worldwide popularity, and it is said that their success made it possible for future African American R&B and soul musicians to find mainstream success.
About The Supremes in brief
The Supremes were an American female singing group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, they are, to date, America’s most successful vocal group 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. At their peak in the mid-1960s, the Supremees rivaled the Beatles in worldwide popularity, and it is said that their success made it possible for future African American R&B and soul musicians to find mainstream success. After 18 years, the group disbanded in 1977. The group’s lineup changed with Lynda Laurence, Scherrie Payne and Susaye Greene joining until, after 18 years,. the group died in 1977. They were the most commercially successful act of Motown’s acts and are to date, America’s most successful vocal group with 12 number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100. They are the only group to have had more than one No. 1 single on the Billboards Hot 100 list. They have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. The Supremes were the first African-American group to win the Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance in a Duo or Group with a Male Vocal Group. They also won the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Collaboration with Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye in 1961.
The Supremers were the first group to be inducted to the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, where they were honored with a lifetime achievement award for their contributions to the music industry. The award was given to the group’s guitarist Marvin Tarplin, who later became the guitarist for the Miracles. In the late 1960s, Diana Ross left the group to pursue a solo career and was replaced by Jean Terrell. In 1967, Motown president Berry Gordy renamed the group Diana Ross & the SupRemes, and replaced Ballard with Cindy Birdsong. In January 1961, The Primes had by this time combined with the Distants & Otis Williams & Distants to sign to Motown. The label would sign the group under the condition that they change the name of their group to the Primettes. They would then record songs of other Motown artists including Marvin Gayes, Mary Wells, and Mary Wells. In 1961, they recorded a single for Lu Pine Records, a label created just for them, titled ‘Tears of Sorrow’, which was backed with ‘Baby’ The group would go on to record several more hits for Motown before disbanding in 1970. The Primette’s last single was released in January 1972. The band’s last album, ‘The Primettes’ was released on February 23, 1972.
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This page is based on the article The Supremes published in Wikipedia (as of Feb. 09, 2021) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
