Diana Ross and The Supremes

Originally formed as The Primettes - sister group to the male vocal act The Primes - the Supremes were shaped by Motown boss Berry Gordy to become one of the label's most successful acts. As the trio's fame grew with major international hits Where Did Our Love Go, Baby Love and Stop In The Name Of Love, so Diana Ross became the centre of attention and a star in her own right. Berry Gordy's decision to focus attention on Ross by renaming the group Diana Ross & The Supremes - he said as a commercial enterprise in the same way as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas and Smokey Robinson And The Miracles - didn't sit well with the other two singers Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson and, by 1967, the disenchanted Ballard was replaced by Cindy Birdsong of Patti Labelle And The Bluebelles. They had far less success in this incarnation than previously, partly due to the departure of Motown's top songwriting team, Holland-Dozier-Holland, following a dispute over money. They only had one Number 1 with the new line-up - Love Child - and, while they had other hits like Reflections and The Happening, their frothy sound was superseded by the new militancy being embraced by black music and they were no longer the same commercial force they'd been with Florence Ballard. The group's fortunes were revived by collaborations with Motown stablemates the Temptations and they had one last Number 1 with Someday We'll Be Together before splitting in 1969 as Ross launched her solo career.