According to reports, the Supremes were to have to do four classics. Diana didn't feel a need to rehearse saying they'll close it when "Someday We'll Be Together". So when Mary and Cindy made the stage, all of them reacted very oddly. Then according to some reports, Diana didn't like that Mary was in her way, so she pushed her. Then when Mary wanted to bring out Berry, Diana put down Mary's mic saying "it's been taken care of" then she went and asked Berry to come down herself.

Timmy84 said:

Wasn't it also too... that both women( Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong) had argeed before hand that if and when Ross tried to walk ahead them (while they sung) they would move up with her. In all fairness the producer of Motown 25 had asked/instructed Ms. Ross to introduced Mr. Gordy, nobody told Ms. Wilson though. The "shoving" match between Ross and Wilson was quelled with the impromptu finale with Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, and other Motown luminaries coming on stage.

I don't think "Diana Ross & the Supremes" was ever imbraced by the black community as a whole. In fact, Diana seem to be on a lot of people manure-list after the name change; after that Ross name was synonymous with the word bitch. The much reported drama that went down at Motown 25, only confirmed or should I say reaffirmed that perception.

_____
[Edited 6/26/09 6:04am]

Yeah, according to some reports, Mary & Cindy were in cahoots with what to do when they got there. It was obvious Diana DIFFERED from what Mary & Cindy were doing.

As for "Diana Ross & the Supremes" not being embraced, that's because they were trying too hard (or at least Motown was) to please one section of the audience so some in the black community moved on. According to some reports, the Supremes in the late 1960s had "sold out".

Timmy84 said:

I think the Supremes were popular in that "radio" way, but people BOUGHT Tempts records and played their stuff at parties. Once it became "Diana AND" they'd become young Ethel Mermans a bit. I do think Black folks may have had some issues w/ the AND-ing trend at Motown period.The groups that refused to go that route seem to be very appreciated for it. (This, of course, doesn't apply to Gladys....they were already that when they joined Motown)

The Cindy era Supremes killed off the funkiness of previous Flo era. At least it was 3 part harmony and dancable, but the later stuff is all beaded gowns.
[Edited 6/26/09 13:48pm]

Unless some odd shit happens at 8:00 pm, you can believe Flo's episode will air as scheduled.

I'm boycotting the BET Awards!

Timmy84 said:

TD3 said:

Hey Ron Isley and Chuck D both told me "to fight the powers that be". I'm not a "Thriller" zombie.

Timmy84 said:

The only thing I learned that I didn't know before was that Flo grew up in the Brewster projects, which is where the mother of the Debarge family grew up.

scriptgirl said:

Almost everybody Black around Detroit and in/around the music scene grew up there. That's just how housing was after WW2. The Brewsters and PJs in general weren't bad when the Supremes and MamaD were growing up.

brooksie said:

It sure wasn't. I liked the way they handled the story because I had no idea she treated herself from alcoholism. Plus more excerpts from her interviews were revealing.
[Edited 6/28/09 18:00pm]

brooksie said:

It sure wasn't. I liked the way they handled the story because I had no idea she treated herself from alcoholism. Plus more excerpts from her interviews were revealing.

Timmy84 said:

I'm happy this turned out fairly positive since MJ's sudden death and all the brewing/coming drama. It could have easily gone in a more negative direction. I can't take that right now.

I didn't know she'd checked herself in for treatment. That was very unusual then, it seems like she was serious about getting it all back together. I'm glad this piece decided to go more Flo positive rather than Berry and Diana negative when alls said and done.

Mary Wilson, as usual, always looked great. That woman is like 66 for goodness sakes!

This turned out pretty good considering no Diane and Berry participation, but did anyone expect there would be?!

Timmy84 said:

Yea, I was aware of the alcoholism and treatment but I wasn't aware Ms. Ballard had been raped. Good Show.

brooksie said:

Absolutely not. But in a way everybody was treated with respect. And yeah Mary is gorgeous. They gave Flo the respect she deserved. Loved it! I cried at the end. The first time I cried in a while. Shocked?

Timmy84 said:

I'm not surprised you shed a tear! On the serious side, it really was deep to hear Flo's voice...speaking and singing w/o being obscured by others. I love the fact that she was still so Southern and comfortable in who she was. It was nice to see Otis Williams, bald and all.

I was a bit surprised her daughters didn't participate, but this must be so hard for them even after all these years.

Rape can be a killer, if not in body...in spirit. It can really destroy someone's life. It really bothers me that it got worse for poor Flo as time went on, but I'm not surprised. I'm glad someone brought this into the convo because people just don't know how bad it can be.

People didn't talk about rape back then, esp in the black community. It has always been a taboo topic and today people don't like to talk about it much.

scriptgirl said:

Yup. This is why I'm so glad they brought it up in the way they did. It's way too serious to be swept under the rug. You notice that they said she was scared of causing trouble for him or his family. That's a damn shame, but sadly very common.

Timmy84 said:

I'm not surprised you shed a tear! On the serious side, it really was deep to hear Flo's voice...speaking and singing w/o being obscured by others. I love the fact that she was still so Southern and comfortable in who she was. It was nice to see Otis Williams, bald and all.

I was a bit surprised her daughters didn't participate, but this must be so hard for them even after all these years.

Rape can be a killer, if not in body...in spirit. It can really destroy someone's life. It really bothers me that it got worse for poor Flo as time went on, but I'm not surprised. I'm glad someone brought this into the convo because people just don't know how bad it can be.

It really is. Rape can do a number on you, I'm told.

I'm so glad my black ass is not watching that...other shit.

Timmy84 said:

I can't deal w/ that exploitation job they're doing on him already. I'm following the thread here and I'm just like This is just the beginning folks.

I didn't know the full details of Florence's story before watching this. Her story is so tragic to me. I thought Minnie Ripperton's was sad but not tragic. Minnie lived her dream, had a great love, had children - she lived a great but short life.

In contrast, Florence's life was just so tragic from the rape, to being pushed in the background of a group she really started, to the disintegration of childhood friendships, an abusive marriage, among other tragedies. I almost cried myself watching her story. I hope her soul is at rest.

- This was a good show; I learned some things; missed some snippets (); will catch complete episode on rerun