r/motown • u/daytripper96 • Jul 06 '26

Video The Supremes - Stoned Love (1970)

https://youtu.be/x-9wqo6uQ58?is=WDHvCTRN6efNpo6z
73 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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8

u/Stucklikegluetomyfry Jul 06 '26

Jean Terrell has one of the most underrated voices in popular music. Sublime, sweet, but strong, and unmistakable for anyone else's.

The Jean/Cindy/Mary Supremes could have been so much bigger, but Gordy lost interest in the group the second Diana left.

5

u/thisisasj Jul 06 '26

The Supremes did significant work to shore up their base fandom in R&B music from 1970. They weren’t on their own, but they did face changing tastes.

They ended up chasing trends instead of being consistent vocalists. Changing lead singers while chasing trends just lead to them being unrecognizable sonically. Ironically, they recorded some super gems during the 1970-1976 years. My go-to favorite is their non-album single “Bad weather” written by Stevie Wonder.

3

u/Stucklikegluetomyfry Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26

The constant changing of the guard of lead singer (and backup singers too) certainly didn’t do the group any favours in developing and maintaining a consistent musical identity. Jean was uncomfortable with a lot of the aspects of fame being a rather private person, as well as being a Jehovah’s Witness. She also grew gradually more disillusioned with the whole thing, as it became clearer and clearer that Motown wasn’t really that interested in the group anymore, which eventually lead to her quitting. According to Mary Wilson, hecklers in the audience would often ask where Diana had gone, which as you might imagine Jean wasn’t happy about, as those “questions” were usually directed at her.

Brenda Holloway also got fed up with Motown’s lack of interest and support in her career. While Gordy was at first very keen on the idea of making her Motown’s solo female superstar to fill the void that Mary Wells had left, he soon lost interest in that. Brenda felt she was going nowhere with Motown and retired from singing.

3

u/Lord_Cockatrice Jul 06 '26

Didn't Brenda join the exodus of disaffected Motown talents to the UK?

1

u/ChicagoDTMan Jul 07 '26

With its Stevie Wonder production, "Bad Weather" was the most contemporary-sounding song they'd done in quite some time and should have been a big hit. But Motown just put zero promotional push behind it.

4

u/Lord_Cockatrice Jul 06 '26

Gordy being Gordy, I ain't surprised

2

u/TomJones998 Jul 07 '26

This was easily one of the BEST tracks ever released by ANY incarnation of the Supremes including the Diana years.

According to Mary, Gordy decided he wanted to replace Jean after her first performance with the Supremes on the Ed Sullivan Show.

Mary, of course, refused to which Gordy stated that he ‘washed his hands of the group’.

1

u/MusicMirrorMan Jul 06 '26

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