Diana Ross and The Supremes hosted their final performance today (January 14, 1971).
The group gave their farewell performance at The Frontier Hotel, which was located in Las Vegas.
During the performance, new group member Jean Terrell was introduced as the replacement for founding group member Diana Ross.
The “New Supremes” trio consisted of founding member Mary Wilson, Cindy Birdsong and Jean Terrell.
The new trio, simply billed as “The Supremes,” released their album Right On, shortly after Diana Ross left the group for a solo career.
The new group managed to score a number of hits without Diana Ross, including “Stoned Love,” “Nathan Jones,” and “Up The Ladder to the Roof.”
But, the group continue to suffer from lineup changes, in addition to Motown’s famous, or infamous move, from Detroit, to Los Angeles.
Waxfact: Stevie Wonder’s wife Syreeta Wright was allegedly Berry Gordy’s pick to replace Diana Ross as lead singer of The Supremes. It did not work when the other girl group members objected to this choice, leading Gordy to reportedly exclaim that he “washed his hands of the group.”
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