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The Supremes

Group

The Supremes

60s/70s Motown singing group

From
Detroit, United States
Active
1961–1977
Rating
★ 4.35 (3 votes)
Releases
229
  • soul
  • disco
  • motown
  • pop
  • pop soul
  • psychedelic soul
  • r&b

About

The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. The premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful American vocal group, with twelve number 1 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. The breakthrough by the Supremes is considered to have 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.

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Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, Diana Ross, and Betty McGlown, the original members, were all from the Brewster-Douglass public housing project in Detroit. Forming as the Primettes, they were the sister act to the Primes (with Paul Williams and Eddie Kendricks, who went on to form the Temptations). Barbara Martin replaced McGlown in 1960, and the group signed with Motown the following year as the Supremes. Martin left the group 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's name was reverted to the Supremes. During the mid-1970s, group continued to change with Lynda Laurence, Scherrie Payne and Susaye Greene joining until, 18 years after its formation, it disbanded in 1977.
Ross is the sole surviving original member, with the deaths of Ballard in 1976, McGlown in 2008, and Wilson in 2021.

From The Supremes on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Members

Discography

Albums 32
EPs 3
Singles 57
Live 34
Compilations 99

Showing 60 of 99. See them all on MusicBrainz

Other 4

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Reference

Also known as

Diana Ross & Supremes · Diana Ross & The Supremes · Diana Ross + The Supremes · Diana Ross and The Supremes · Diana Ross-Supremes · Dianna Ross & The Supremes · Dianna Ross and The Supremes · Supremes · The Surpremes

Tags

  • aln-sh
  • girl group

Identifiers

ISNI
0000000119427854

Data from MusicBrainz, saved 12 Nov 2026. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, covers from the Cover Art Archive and Apple Music.