The Supremes: A Saga of Motown Dreams, Success, and Betrayal
by Mark Ribowsky
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Book Summary Information
Author: Mark RibowskyEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2009-06-29
ISBN: 0306815869
Number of pages: 480
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780306815867
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
- Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices
Book Reviews of The Supremes: A Saga of Motown Dreams, Success, and Betrayal
Book Review: Baby, baby, Where Did This Author Go?
Summary: 3 Stars
The Supremes: A Saga of Motown Dreams, Success, and Betrayal," began with excitement. Soon, however, to almost a cliche level, Mark Ribowsky's decision to support the "Dreamgirls" take on "history" took over and his sympathies increasingly favored the plight of one of The Supremes backup singers, Florence Ballard. I was a young boy when Motown and The Supremes began, and it was not long before their infectious music with the danceable beat seemed everywhere! It was still not played enough! It was Diana, however, not Florence, that made the group popular, and the story a compelling one!
Say what one may about any of the Supremes, but Diana Ross had a voice like no other. She was not of the gospel, church-stomping, stereotype where a physically large frame pushes huge sphincter-clinching forces through a larynx. Diana Ross was svelte, stylish, and chic, with a unique, agile, voice that fronted a powerful, driving, bass-beat foundation. She moved her voice around, punctuating and enunciating perfectly. It was amazing musical sense and interpretation! The music was such that no one seemed to be able to get enough. Hit after hit.
When people got good looks at Diana Ross in person, beyond the album covers, she was amazing to look at! Often sheathed in glittery, tight-fitting fashions at a time when "fashion" had gone against glamour, her movements matched vocals seductively, within bounds of style and taste. Diana's phrasing was surprising. And, she transcended race! White teenage boys (and girls) found her irresistably attractive for all sorts of reasons. Blacks liked her, too. Latinos, too! Everyone! I was one of the white boys from middle-class Orange County, California! Diana was even better looking in person than on album covers or posters!
And she moved beautifully, like in a sexy glide, classy and proper, hip and cool! She was the 'whole package,' as they say. Her white teeth and big eyes were made for the stage. People could see her from the back row! And, she sounded exactly like her recordings, something that other acts often seemed hard-pressed to do.
Mr. Ribowsky insists, for some reason, that the success of The Supremes might have been much the same if Florence Ballard, who formed the Supremes, had been rightfully chosen by Berry Gordy as lead singer! What are the chances of that? Diana had so many things going for her. Even Tommy Hilfiger called her "America's first supermodel!" All of these fascinations helped create audiences.
In this book, I appreciated, however, descriptions of the social and musical environment from which the remarkable Motown talents such as Smokey Robinson, The Temptations, and the Four Tops, and especially Diana Ross and the Supremes, were formed. Detroit, a musical crucible? Amazing! It is a remarkable story, no doubt! At the top was Diana Ross. Everyone knew it. In my opinion, Detroit should construct a fifty-foot high statue of Diana Ross and put it in the middle of a traffic circle with lights! One of those famous poses with her hands held above the other Supremes!
The assumption that a woman with less personal discipline, less determination, emotionally unstable, and a history of bad choices, would be biographically worthy without, in this case, someone as opposite as Diana Ross, is unlikely. Would a more traditional black female vocalist, such as Flo, have created the interest, or need for a book such as this? Does that mean Miss Ross should be dissed? Is that what creates a more interesating story? Without the success of The Supremes would make that logically be possible? Now that history is set, it isn't easy to surmise! Revisionist history is always interesting, but not always as interesting as the truth. It was Diana Ross that created enourmous, excitement, not Florence Ballard! I was a part of that. Her buzz was everywhere! At least Mr. Ribowsky included some of the important critical evaluations of Diana's work that were made by the media. Such remarks and enormous popularity contributed to the continuing elevation of Miss Ross into the entertainment cosmos. Where would Florence Ballard be without Dreamgirls and books such as this? Likely a footnote. Is that really a surprise? Where would she have been without Diana Ross?
In the end, I was disappointed by this book, but slightly relieved in the waning pages when Mr. Ribowsky suddenly included kindnesses that Diana Ross took toward others, including some of those who had been critical towards her. Her generosities and support seemed to have fallen beneath some radar screens. Mr. Ribowsky attempted to make Diana appear less than she was! Take her away and what's left? Everyone should draw their own conclusions!
Mark Ribowsky's attempt to elbow into benefit by by attaching theories and impressions generated by a proven theatrical and film success such as Dreamgirls makes him questionable, if not disposable. This book reads like tabloid journalism. Does that make it so?
I saw The Supremes several times and met Diana Ross twice. I had friends who had worked with, and for, her. I remember the enthusiasm with which they all spoke of her, the intense desire to be be with her, involved with her, around her. One friend was involed in publicity, another in dance and choreography. For the one who worked for the agency that represented Miss Ross, she sent him a limousine, with champagne, and tickets for him to see her at The Forum in Iinglewood. He'd invited me knowing I'd enjoy seeing her.
I met Diana Ross at a party for Rudolph Nureyev given by Allen Carr. She was suprisingly less tall and smaller than I'd thought! She appeared stronger and taller in photos. As I passed by her, when she was seated, I stared, looking at her carefully, as I went by. I returned within minutes, and going by, suddenly leaned toward her and said, "I think I'd better say hello before I make a fool of myself! (for staring!). She took my hand gently and led me down beside her. I found her to be beautiful, observant, intelligent, humorous, and enjoyed the husky sound of her spoken voice. I think I tumbled somewhere between her eyes and recovered days later. I'd noticed Diana's car on the street when I arrived at the party, before vans tranported guests to the house. It was one formerly owned by screen star Ingrid Bergman.
Two weeks later, while working in a store on Rodeo Drive, I noticed cars stopping on the street to allow a black woman to cross from Vidal Sassoon's Hair Salon. It was Diana Ross! I had noticed a car like hers in the parking area behind the store where I worked. It was a medium-yellow Rolls-Royce convertible with black top, of which there were not many in those color choices. I believe she'd had a metallic-blue one at an earlier point in LA, when she lived on Maple Drive and Elevado in Beverly Hills.
I walked out behind the store and said, politely, "Excuse me, Miss Ross?" As I moved toward her I explained that we'd met two weeks earlier at a party. She turned to look and said, "Oh yes! I remember you! How are you?" We ended up by the front fender for twenty-minutes or so. I could not have been more pleased or impressed. Finally, people from the store had begun to congregate and gawk. The manager, too, had come outside, too, with customers. Instead of scolding me, and seeing with whom I was speaking, said something like, "Will we be seeing you again, soon?"
I recall another time being at the Brighton Cafe, again on Rodeo Drive, for lunch one day. It was popular restaurant, with many small tables and was as loud as a waterfall of clashing spoons. I was there alone. Suddenly, the noisiest of cafes went silent. It was as if it was suddenly frozen within a flash photograph. There, at the door, in a town very familiar with famous faces, was Diana Ross! She came in looking casual and terrific, big smile and all, and seeing the room full, turned and exited. There must have been a full moment of silence after the door closed, faces looking as if Marilyn Monroe had just walked in! Then the waterfall of spoons began again, this time with clashing forks, spoons, glasses and plates. It was louder than ever.
In Ribowsky's book, a more balanced treatment of Diana Ross might have done wonders. Did Mr. Ribowsky assume that the majority of the readers would not have been fans of Diana Ross? Is Flo's story more interesating than that of Diana Ross? Does telling Flo's story need to diss Diana? Berry Gordy asking Diana to sing Supremes lead was one of the greatest decisions in popular music history! Simply, Florence Ballard was not, likely could never have been, a "Diana Ross!" Diana simply had too many things going for her. Life is like that! Thanks to "Dreamgirls," and books such as this, the story stays alive, no matter how accurate.
And it is a great story, told amusingly, if not accurately, here.
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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