The Supremes
The Supremes were an American female singing group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful American vocal group, with 12 number one singles on the "Billboard" Hot 100. Most of these hits were written and produced by Motown's main songwriting and production team, Holland–Dozier–Holland. At their peak in the mid-1960s, the Supremes rivaled the Beatles in worldwide popularity, and it is said that their breakthrough made it possible for future African American R&B and soul musicians to find mainstream success. "Billboard" ranked The Supremes as the 16th greatest Hot 100 artist of all time.

Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, Diana Ross, and Betty McGlown, the original group, were all from the Brewster-Douglass public housing project in Detroit. They formed the Primettes as the sister act to the Primes (with Paul Williams and Eddie Kendricks, who went on to form the Temptations). Barbara Martin replaced McGlown in 1960, and the group signed with Motown the following year as The Supremes. Martin left the act in early 1962, and Ross, Ballard, and Wilson carried on as a trio.

During the mid-1960s, the Supremes achieved mainstream success with Ross as lead singer and Holland-Dozier-Holland as its songwriting and production team. In 1967, Motown president Berry Gordy renamed the group Diana Ross & the Supremes, and replaced Ballard with Cindy Birdsong. In 1970, Ross left to pursue a solo career and was replaced by Jean Terrell and the group reverted to being The Supremes again. During the mid-1970s, the lineup changed with Lynda Laurence, Scherrie Payne and Susaye Greene joining until, after 18 years, the group disbanded in 1977.
Q641066
female singing group
Concept
Q43327
Motown
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Detroit
LOC
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vocal group
UNK
None
12 number one singles
UNK
Q180072
"Billboard" Hot 100
ORG
Q1262419
Holland–Dozier–Holland
ORG
Q1299
the Beatles
ORG
Q45981
R&B
Concept
Q257308
Florence Ballard
PER
Q2302368
Mary Wilson
PER
Q36290
Diana Ross
PER
Q3434219
Betty McGlown
PER
Q911412
Brewster-Douglass
LOC
Q953304
Paul Williams
PER
Q1282863
Eddie Kendricks
PER
Q846373
the Temptations
ORG
Q4859135
Barbara Martin
PER
Q281643
trio
Concept
Q1262419
Holland-Dozier-Holland
ORG
Q355288
Berry Gordy
PER
Q3436408
Cindy Birdsong
PER
Q2185544
Jean Terrell
PER
Q3436083
Lynda Laurence
PER
Q2440578
Scherrie Payne
PER
Q4950879
Susaye Greene
PER
Q218837
The Supremes
ORG
Q218837
The Supremes
ORG
Q218837
The Supremes
ORG
Q218837
The Supremes
ORG
1960-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1960
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