The Supremes was an American girl group and a premier act of Motown during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful American vocal band, with 12 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100.
Diana Ross & The Supremes sold, in only 5 years, around 60 millions records around the World Most of these hits were written and produced by Motown's main songwriting and production team, Holland–Dozier–Holland. It is said that their breakthrough made it possible for future African-American R&B and soul musicians to find mainstream success. Billboard ranked the Supremes as the 16th greatest Hot 100 artist of all time.Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, Diana Ross, and Betty McGlown, the original members, were all from the Brewster housing project in Detroit. They formed the Primettes as the sister act to the Primes. Barbara Martin replaced McGlown in 1960, and the group signed with Motown the following year as the Supremes. Martin left the act in early 1962, and Ross, Ballard, and Wilson continued as a trio.During the mid-1960s, the Supremes achieved mainstream success with Ross as lead singer and Holland–Dozier–Holland as its songwriting and production team. In 1967, Motown president Berry Gordy renamed the group Diana Ross & the Supremes, and replaced Ballard with Cindy Birdsong. In 1970, Ross left to pursue a solo career and was replaced by Jean Terrell, and the group reverted the name to the Supremes again. In the mid-1970s, the lineup changed with L. Laurence, S. Payne and S. Greene, joining until the group, after 18 years from its foundation, disbanded in 1977.
Between 1961 and 1963, the Supremes released six singles, starting with "I Want a Guy" and "Buttered Popcorn" on Motown subsidiary label Tamla. However, none of those first six singles charted in the Top 40 positions of the Billboard Hot 100. Jokingly referred to as the "no-hit Supremes" around Motown's Hitsville U.S.A. offices, the group attempted to compensate for their lack of hits by taking on any work available at the studio, including providing hand claps and singing backup for Motown artists such as Marvin Gaye and the Temptations. During these years, all three members took turns singing lead: Wilson favored soft ballads, Ballard favored soulful, hard-driving songs, and Ross favored mainstream pop songs. Most of their early material was written and produced by Berry Gordy or Smokey Robinson. In December 1963, the single "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes" peaked at N 23 on the Billboard Hot 100."Lovelight" was the first of many Supremes songs written by the Motown songwriting and production team known as Holland–Dozier–Holland.In late 1963, Berry Gordy chose Diane Ross, who began going by "Diana" in 1965, as the official lead singer of the group. Ballard and Wilson were periodically given solos on Supremes albums, and Ballard continued to sing her solo number, "People", in concert for the next two years. In the spring of 1964, the Supremes recorded the single "Where Did Our Love Go".The song was originally intended by Holland-Dozier-Holland for the Marvelettes, who rejected it.Although the Supremes disliked the song, the producers coerced them into recording it. In August 1964, while the Supremes toured as part of Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars, "Where Did Our Love Go" reached number one on the US pop charts, much to the surprise and delight of the group. It was also their first song to appear on the UK singles chart, where it reached number three.
"Where Did Our Love Go" was followed by four consecutive US N° 1 hits:"Baby Love" (which was also a number-one hit in the UK), "Come See About Me", "Stop! In the Name of Love" and "Back in My Arms Again"."Baby Love" was nominated for the 1965 Grammy Award for Best R&B Song.Problems within the group and within Motown Records' stable of performers led to tension among the members of the Supremes. Berry Gordy was lavishing too much attention upon the group and upon Ross, in particular. In early 1967, the name of the act was officially changed briefly to "the Supremes with Diana Ross" before changing again to "Diana Ross & the Supremes" by mid-summer. "Someday We'll Be Together" was recorded with the intent of releasing it as the first solo single for Diana Ross. Desiring a final Supremes number-one record, Gordy instead had the song released as a Diana Ross & the Supremes single, despite the fact that neither Wilson nor Birdsong sang on the record. "Someday We'll Be Together" hit number one on the USA pop charts, becoming not only the Supremes' 12th and final number-one hit, but also the final N° 1 hit of the 1960s. This single was the Supremes' final television appearance together with Ross, performing on The Ed Sullivan Show on DeC. 21,1969