Was Diana Ross leaving the Supremes a terrible career move?

She was given a major push by Motown but never reached the heights of success the Supremes were able to achieve in the 60's. Diana only had 5 number one hits which were dwarfed by 12 the Supremes produced the decade before.
Although she wasn't able to attain the same type of success (singles wise), it was her solo career that was more impactful, influencing everyone from Beyonce to Mariah Carey. That has to count for something.

Was it the right move at the time? Did it pay off in the end? (In your opinion)
Do you prefer Diana Ross when she was solo or when she was leading the Supremes?

 

Definitely not terrible.

 

For her, I think it was a great move. She was able to expand her reach musically and work with whomever she wanted, she could do movies, etc. After awhile the Supremes were a box she needed to get out of.

 

Good move. I think a lot more people currently recognize the name Diana Ross than the name The Supremes, and most that know The Supremes think of them as the ladies that used to sing backup for Diana Ross.

 

I doubt The Supremes would have had more than 5 number ones after the 60's

 

That's mainly due to the departure of HDH.

 

Wasn't she "groomed" for a solo career quite early on (much like Beyoncé leaving Destiny's Child)? The group's billing changed from the Supremes to Diana Ross and the Supremes a while before she went solo.

 

It was a terrible career move for the Supremes...

 

Definitely a good move. I think she had more success as a solo artist than she would have had had she remained with the Supremes.

 

Up the Ladder to the Roof,Stoned Love,Nathan Jones,Floy Joy,etc.

 

That's what the promoters thought when the reunion tour negotiations broke down with Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong. The fans thought otherwise and the tour was canceled after 14 shows.

At the end of the day, it was a good decision by Diana Ross. There is no way that any version of the Supremes, with or without Diana, was going to come close to what they achieved in the 60's (with HDH writing for them and the Funk Brothers playing for them). With decent songwriting, I think that the Supremes (w/Diana) could have remained very popular, especially since soul (early 70's) and dance/disco (late 70's) essentially ruled radio during the decade. It would have been cool to see them on Soul Train, that's for sure.

 

I'm not sure it would have been that successful even with the original Supremes.

 

The Supremes were disintegrating at the end of 69. Cindy Birdsong was badly attacked in her LA home and held hostage the same week in December as the Stones infamous Altamont concert, just a few months after the Manson murders. Mary Wilson's health was declining and she was apparently in an unhappy relationship with Tom Jones.

Diana was simply waiting to leave, they say, just looking for the right opportunity. Ironically, the last single as Diana Ross and the Supremes was Someday we'll be Together. It is said that Diana was the only one of the group on the track. It has also been said that most of the Supremes singles since Holland Dozier Holland left had not featured Cindy or Mary either and that the Supremes was effectively just a brand name.

Farewell concerts were apparently undertaken in a bitter mood with Ross touted as a star of the future. That she would undoubtedly be, though I regard her singles as very good and most of her albums patchy. Some great work though, especially with Chic.

But just buy the three disc Supremes anthology if you want to hear how great they were.

It was the end of an era - the 60s - in more ways than one. Sad, but inevitable, I guess.

 

I don't think there was another hit after those four, correct?

 

Their cover of "River Deep - Mountain High" was also a hit. (Charting #14 on the Hot 100)

 

It's hard to say - there is too much luck involved. Gladys Knight & the Pips and The Staple Singers, two R&B groups that preceded Elvis (!) were top selling pop acts in the early 70s. Who could have predicted that? I think that Diana Ross & the Supremes would have had a shot.

 

Those are good records but barely got played here in the Bay Area. Did they get played where you were?

 

I wasn't alive in the 70's. Up the Ladder to the Roof charted #10 on the Hot 100,Stoned Love #7,Nathan Jones #16 and Floy Joy #16 as well.

 

The Supremes without Diana Ross had 13 hits in the Hot 100. 8 were in the top 40.

You could see the Supremes' decline after H-D-H left. They only had 3 top ten hits, and 3 more in the top 40 post H-D-H. (Actually I prefer the Supremes singles post Diana Ross to those during the period right after H-D-H left and Ross was still with the group). Diana's departure was inevitable - she was also encouraged by the Motown machine. That said I prefer the H-D-H Supremes to Diana Ross solo. She had some good singles, but I don't think they were as good as the Supremes with H-D-H.

 

I was in Chicago during that period and you heard them quite a bit, especially Stoned Love and Up the Ladder to the Roof.

 

Right. Interestingly enough, some records by artists didn't get played much in certain areas around that time despite what the charts will tell you. I was a 45 buyer for Tower Records for awhile in the 70's and there was often a big disparity between the charts and what was actually selling.

 

This is great!! Trivia: Writer/producer Frank Wilson's single for Motown, "Do I Love You (Yes I Do)" is the rarest Motown record (pressed on the "Soul" label and then withdrawn), with only a handful of copies known to exist. It's one of those $10,000+ records.

 

Give me a few examples. I've heard that James Brown had many singles in the 60's and 70's that didn't chart as high but sold millions upon millions of records.