50 Fun Facts About The Supremes

Under what name did the Supremes form in Detroit in 1959?

They were the sister act to the Primes, whose Paul Williams and Eddie Kendricks went on to form the Temptations.

How many Billboard Hot 100 number one singles did the Supremes have?

That made them the most successful American vocal group of the era and Motown's premier act.

Which Detroit public housing project did all four original members come from?

In January 1965 each Supreme used part of a $100,000 cheque to buy her family a house on the same street and leave the projects.

Which member of the group chose the name 'the Supremes' from Berry Gordy's list?

Rejected alternatives on the list included the Darleens, the Sweet Ps, the Melodees and the Jewelettes.

Which Motown star did Diana Ross ask to arrange the group's audition for Berry Gordy in 1960?

He liked the girls but liked their guitarist Marvin Tarplin even more, and hired him for the Miracles.

Why did Berry Gordy initially turn the girls away at their first Motown audition?

He told them to come back once they had graduated from high school.

Which original member left in 1960 after becoming engaged, to be replaced by Barbara Martin?

Martin herself left in 1962 to start a family, and the group carried on as a trio.

What nickname did the group earn at Hitsville when their first six singles missed the Top 40?

They compensated by taking any studio work going, including hand claps and backing vocals for Marvin Gaye.

On which Motown subsidiary label were the Supremes' first two singles released?

The songs were I Want a Guy and Buttered Popcorn.

Which songwriting and production team wrote most of the Supremes' number one hits?

Lamont Dozier and the brothers Brian and Eddie Holland left Motown in early 1968 after a royalties dispute.

What was the Supremes' first number one, in August 1964?

They were touring on Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars when it hit the top, much to their surprise.

Which Motown girl group, per Mary Wilson, turned down the song that became the Supremes' first number one?

Brian Holland disputed the story, though Eddie Holland and Lamont Dozier both said the song was offered to them first.

How many consecutive US number ones did the Supremes score starting with their first in 1964?

Four more chart-toppers followed the first, ending with Back in My Arms Again.

Which Supremes single was the first to top the UK chart as well as the US chart?

Berry Gordy insisted it be produced to sound as much like its predecessor as possible, right down to the foot stomps.

Come See About Me opens with which then-novel studio technique?

It topped the chart twice, non-consecutively, swapping places with the Beatles' I Feel Fine.

In the Supremes' Stop! In the Name of Love choreography, one hand is on the hip; what does the other do?

The 1965 recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001.

Which 1965 flop prompted Berry Gordy's memo that the Supremes would 'only release number-one records'?

It missed the Top Ten by one place, and the writers responded with the more complex I Hear a Symphony.

The Supremes' 1966 hit about a mother's advice on patience drew on a church song by which singer?

Phil Collins took his 1982 cover to number one in the UK.

Which British singer took You Keep Me Hangin' On back to number one in the US in 1987?

That made it one of only six songs in the Hot 100's first 32 years to hit number one for two different acts.

The signature guitar riff of You Keep Me Hangin' On was inspired by what?

Lamont Dozier heard the sound effect and took the idea to the Holland brothers.

The Supremes A' Go-Go knocked which Beatles album off the top of the Billboard 200 in October 1966?

It was the first album by an all-female group to reach number one in the US.

Whose 1962 country covers album was the model for The Supremes Sing Country, Western and Pop?

Motown issued the Supremes' version in February 1965 as their fourth studio album.

Which New York supper club did Berry Gordy book the Supremes into to broaden their audience?

Broadway standards joined the hits in their set as they became one of the first black acts with sustained crossover success.

How many times did the Supremes appear on The Ed Sullivan Show?

Their last appearance with Ross, singing Someday We'll Be Together, came on 21 December 1969.

Which unusual product did the Supremes endorse with their own brand in the mid-1960s?

They also recorded soundtrack songs and appeared in the 1965 beach movie Beach Ball.

Who ran Motown's finishing school that readied the Supremes for 'kings and queens'?

Cholly Atkins created their graceful choreography.

Months after the Supremes' billing changed in 1967, which other Motown group put its lead singer's name up front?

The Miracles had taken their frontman's name two years earlier; David Ruffin lobbied in vain for the same treatment.

Cindy Birdsong was recruited from which group in 1967?

That group's lawyers filed an injunction after her Hollywood Bowl debut, so Gordy had to buy out her contract.

At which Las Vegas hotel was the group's founding member dismissed on 1 July 1967?

She had performed inebriated after discovering an extra set of gowns brought along for her replacement.

How much did Ballard sue Motown for in 1971, claiming Gordy and Ross had conspired to force her out?

The judge ruled for Motown; she died of a coronary thrombosis in 1976 at just 32.

Which 1968 number one about illegitimacy ended the Beatles' nine-week run with Hey Jude?

It sold 500,000 copies in its first week and two million by the end of the year.

Which Bobbie Gentry hit kept Reflections stuck at number two for two weeks in 1967?

Ross covered the song on the Reflections album.

The electronic sounds on Reflections, often mistaken for a Moog, were actually made with what?

Motown did buy a Moog III synthesizer in December 1967.

The Happening, the group's tenth number one, was the theme to a 1967 film from which studio?

The movie flopped; it was the last single credited simply to The Supremes before the billing changed.

Which session group often stood in for Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong on late-1960s Supremes recordings?

Neither Wilson nor Birdsong sang on the group's final number one either.

Someday We'll Be Together, the Supremes' final number one, was originally recorded as what?

Gordy wanted one last Supremes chart-topper, so it went out under the group name; it was the last number one of the 1960s.

Where did Diana Ross & the Supremes give their farewell performance on 14 January 1970?

The show was released as the double LP Farewell, and Ross's replacement was introduced from the stage.

The singer who replaced Diana Ross in 1970 is the sister of which heavyweight boxer?

Gordy signed her after seeing her sing with her brother's group in Florida.

Which was the only Supremes hit on which Mary Wilson shared lead vocals?

It was produced for the 1970s line-up in 1972.

Which singer's sister Scherrie joined the Supremes in 1973?

Her sister recorded for Invictus, the label the Supremes' hitmakers founded after leaving Motown.

Where did the Supremes play their farewell concert on 12 June 1977?

Motown decided that with no original members left, the group would be disbanded.

Which 1981 Broadway musical was loosely based on the Supremes, with Effie White standing in for the dismissed founder?

Mary Wilson loved it; Diana Ross reportedly refused to see it.

Who played Effie White in the 2006 film of the musical inspired by the Supremes?

Beyoncé played Deena, the Ross analogue.

In which year were Ross, Wilson and Ballard inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

They received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 1994 and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023.

Why did Mary Wilson refuse to join the 2000 'Return to Love' reunion tour?

Ross was offered $15 million, Wilson $4 million; the tour went ahead with Payne and Laurence and was cancelled halfway.

What did each Supreme receive in January 1965 as her share of the previous year's earnings?

They bought homes for their families on the same street.

What did Diana Ross's mother actually intend to name her?

The birth certificate was filled out wrongly; family and Detroit friends still call her by the intended name.

In which state was Mary Wilson born before her family joined the Great Migration north?

Jean Terrell was also born in Mississippi, in Belzoni, before her family moved to Chicago.

Which character in the Supremes-inspired musical was based on Mary Wilson?

Wilson published four books, including the 2019 fashion history Supreme Glamour.

Which doo-wop group's collegiate look inspired the young group's style?

They performed hits by the Drifters at sock hops and talent shows.