The Supremes: A Saga of Motown Dreams, Success, and Betrayal

The Supremes: A Saga of Motown Dreams, Success, and Betrayal
by Mark Ribowsky

The Supremes: A Saga of Motown Dreams, Success, and Betrayal
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Book Summary Information

Author: Mark Ribowsky
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-06-30
ISBN: 0306815869
Number of pages: 480
Publisher: Da Capo Press

Book Reviews of The Supremes: A Saga of Motown Dreams, Success, and Betrayal

Book Review: A Supreme job - poorly promoted
Summary: 5 Stars

Mark Ribowsky's "The Supremes" is a great book. It surpasses the previous books on the topic because it provides a balance. It's unfortunate the publishers seemed to want to promote the "Dish Diana" aproach of the book, because Ribowsky is equally revealing of the faults and behaviors of Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson. Yes, it could have used an experienced editor as there are both misspellings and facts of error, but for the most part, Ribowsky got it right. What many fans of Florence Ballard seem to overlook is that although Flo had a good voice, within the Motown female artists, it was not any more unique than Kim Weston or Brenda Holloway. That Flo was easily assimilated into the Marvelettes is testament to that fact. I have a copy of the ABC recordings as released a few years ago, and it's just not very strong - although that has as much to do with the weakness of the production values and the songs themselves as it does Flo's voice. I can't condone some of Diana's less-than-honorable maneuverings, but I do know that if she were a man, the worst they would have called her was a maverick or a rebel. Her drive pushed her to the top. Where was Flo's drive? Mary's? All the arts are competitive and Diana proved a more-than-worthy competitor and received the rewards. Credit has to go to Ribowsky for rightly attributing a great deal of the Supremes' success to the Funk Brothers and Holland Dozier Holland. Many a Motown act did not survive after Motown and the ones who did - Gladys Knight and the Four Tops - were already seasoned performers before so that their post company success should have been expected. If the future holds a better Supremes book, I would be shocked.

Summary of The Supremes: A Saga of Motown Dreams, Success, and Betrayal

Drawing on intimate recollections from friends, family, and Motown contemporaries, Mark Ribowsky charts the Supremes? meteoric rise and bitter disintegration. He sheds light on Diana Ross?s relationship with Berry Gordy and her cutthroat rise to top billing in the group, as well as Florence Ballard?s corresponding decline. He also takes us inside the studio, examining how timeless classics were conceived and recorded on the Motown “assembly line,? and considers the place of Motown in an era of cultural upheaval, when not being “black enough? became a fierce denunciation within the black music industry.

Deftly combining personal testimony, history, and expert analysis, Ribowsky not only tells the full, heartbreaking story of the Supremes, but shows why Gordy?s revolutionary concept of “blacks singing white? was essential to the modern evolution of music.

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