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TN THE POP MUSIC field, fame is the name •E- of the game played on the best-seller record charts, it’s keeping up with changing musical tastes by switching styles whenever necessary, whether gospel, folk, rhythm and blues, ballads, or a mixture—and finding an image that will appeal to teen-agers and adults alike.The Supremes—or, more correctly, Diana Ross and the Supremes, as they are now billed—have bridged the generation gap and the singing trio has become a phenomenal international success. They have sung to standing ovations all over the world, and their record buyers are as diverse as the British and the Japanese.There is no denying it—the Supremes are what used to be called ‘‘great entertainment.”‘‘But who would have thought that tradition would still find supporters,” wrote one critic, “when we are told youth prefers the raw unpainted coffee cellar to the grand ballroom, the flash of electricity to the glow of the candelabra. The Supremes are a tribute to an ever-assimilating pop market of adults, eager for the'with it’ drive of youth without its radicalism.”The Supremes concede just enough in their material and approach to be understood without a teen-slang code book. Their audience spans age and taste barriers.“They are totally committed and vibrantly alive,” penned another critic. “Their sound and their presence is not just singing or perfectly coordinated movement, or what might be called rock ’n’ soul, but pure theater.”When Diana Ross pleads “Stop in the name of love,” the response can be heard far and wide. And that rapport earned the group seven gold records in less than two years: “Where Did Our Love Go,” “Baby Love,” “Come See About Me,” “Stop in the Name of Love,” “Back in My Arms Again,” “I Hear a Symphony” and “You Can’t Hurry Love.” Each have been million-disc sellers. Several of their records have sold over three million and are still going.The Supremes had five consecutive records top the best-seller charts, an achievement unmatched by any other American group.Last summer, the Supremes changed Iheir billing to Diana Ross and the Supremes in recognition of their lead singer’s outstanding talent. About the same time Cindy Birdsong, a member of Patty and the Bluebells for six years, joined Miss Ross and Mary Wilson as the newest member of the trio when Florence Ballard, exhausted from the girls' demanding schedule, withdrew from the group.The “new” Supremes, like the old, are still essentially Miss Ross, who has grown more dramatic, more aggressive and more lilting in her presentation.Diana, out front, carries the lyric line of their songs. Mary and Cindy swing and sway in smooth harmony.They have moved deeper into the mass popular-music market with Rodgers and Hart tunes and personal appearances in the finest nightclubs, vast concert halis, college auditoriums and on the top television shows in the United States. They have also performed in the swank spots of Europe and the Far East.CONTINUED
Newspaper Details
Pacific Stars and Stripes
Tokyo, Tôkyô, JP
Sun, May 26, 1968
Page 45
Full Page
Clipped by
Anthony V.
USA 13 Jun 2018
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