Florence Ballard "podcast"

Young girls in their late teens/early 20s sorting out a career that made them legends. It got emotional. They went from ‘No Hit Supremes’ to an (still) unparalleled record among girl groups. If Ross didn’t take the lead, I wonder if the outcome would have been the same. Smokey, Martha, Gladys, Levi Stubbs et al made their Motown groups memorable too. All 3 Supremes ultimately went out on their own (quit the group, choice to go solo, group disbanded), and had different levels of success.

I thought she was one of the mother-in-laws?

Show business is ruthless, and Florence fell through the cracks of it, like so many others. She was pretty and talented, but she wasn't able to manipulate and fuck her way to the top, like Diana did.

Had a drinking buddy who was ugly as sin. When he was a kid living in Atlantic City, his uncle took him to meet Florence Ballard. She was at some hotel about to perform. He was friendly with someone in the band or something like that.

My friend’s uncle introduced him to Florence, who seemed uninterested , more concerned about the upcoming show that night. My buddy’s uncle excused himself to use the restroom in the room. Florence and some of the other musicians started staring at him. He claimed that Florence looked at him, then leaned over and whispered loudly to one of the women, “That little f@**ot is ugly as sin!”. They all agreed. He told his uncle what they said. His uncle shrugged it off. “They is just drinking and smoking weed!”, his uncle said. He hated her with a passion after that. He told us that when she died, he she’d no tears. He was a “keeper” of Miss Ross and would drag anyone who criticized her. But if anyone interjected with a “poor Florence” story, he’d lay into them like it was their last day on earth. He was known to embellish, but why would he tell this story. It cracked me up at the time. But dude turned out to be a serious narcissistic whack job. So, team Florence.

At what point does she imitate Diana. I am not listening to this whole rant.

R5, go to 4:35.

Supremes as well as solo Diana longtime fan here. And so past and tired of the victim drama queens bullshit. Music is a business like everything else. Like in any career or relationship, if the person isn't well-adjusted and grounded, the problems start with them. Nobody can ultimately take care of and be responsible for you, but you. All the Supreme ladies including Diana with the group and as a solo made their mistakes, besides also having their good sides and all being very talented. But when we spend decades listening to their music and looping their old performance videos over and over, we're listening to and viewing these people as fans of their entertainment. To them, this was and is also their Jobs. I share a lot of childhood and earlier career memories and photos with others that were positive for them, but hell for me. People recollecting them from a distance who weren't involved might find them endearing, but they weren't us in the moment going through those experiences. These crazy past and current fans need to separate the fantasy from the reality. Flo, the other Supremes and Diana haven't spent the past 60 years walking around 24/7 on and offstage in sequined gowns, high heels and makeup. Our entertainment has been their very hard and emotionally draining work. And the Diana and manager Berry thing -- what kid from their background would've said "No!" and not jumped at the record company manager's offers to make them a star?! And does anybody really think that in the end, anybody else but Berry Gordy wasn't the one in the driver's seat of his relationship with not only Ross, but with all the other players at Motown?! Of course not. He had the final say and pulled the strings on who sang what, what their groups' names eventually evolved into, and whose careers money and time were sunken into. If not ultimately, he' would have them cut from the label -- even Diana, except the story never went that way for us to be able to recollect or imagine it.

She is nasal and awful. I much prefer Diana.

Thanks for the 4:35 mark. Imitating Diana Ross for one line on one of their simpler songs does not really sufficient to prove a point that anyone could have done it. If anything, she does not sound as good as she thinks she does and just shows that Diana did more with that simple line than other people would have.

I don't think Diana necessarily has the best voice or the stronger voice, but it was distinctive and she knew how to use it to its best advantage. She was not without talent and had some good musical instincts. She might not have been the nicest person, but that is a different issue.

Diana Ross, as a fan of hers recently told me, acted with her voice. I have no idea what they meant.

This bitch is a little cray but she's RIGHT!