I stumbled upon this clip a little late, but thanks to my sister Kim, I finally got a chance to hear Florence Ballard discuss, in her own words, the reasons why she felt she was phased out of The Supremes at the height of their popularity and replaced by Cindy Birdsong, then a member of Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles. One of the things I found most compelling about the interview aside from her frank manner, was not only did I grow up in an era when Motown was basically the soundtrack of most of my childhood, and those of you who did as well might also attest to the fact that Broadway musical and film versions of Dreamgirls notwithstanding, getting to hear Florence articulate her feelings provided me with some much-needed closure as to what was rumor and what was the real truth of the matter.She managed to all-at-once convey a sense of vulnerability, accessibility, and overall come across as being an all-around sister "from down the block", with a voice that sounds as if she had truly been there and done that. I also particularly loved the strong southern lilt and cadence of her words, and for the first time felt as if I could finally match them with her face. Most striking though, is her admission that she was indeed an alcoholic, which she, whether she meant to or not, partly attributes to her downfall.
There are two sides to every story, and although most people tend to blame Diana Ross, her relationship with Berry Gordy, and her relentless drive to be center stage, Florence's admissions lend some much needed shading and details.
That doesn't make the story any less heartbreaking, I might add, as later photos of Florence, who died at the age of 32 from coronary thrombosis on February 22, 1976, show the embattled songtress as looking a bit well beyond her years at such a young age, yet somehow, amazingly beautiful. One can only imagine the struggles and demons she fought so hard against. But she did a legacy of solo songs, much of which are in the pop vein as opposed to the more southern or still bourgeoning northern soul sound, to which I think she might have been much better served. I imagine she might have even risen into the leagues of Aretha Franklin or Etta James, had she been given (or perhaps chose?) the opportunity to work with the right producers, and thusly, she might have been able to properly channel a lot her pain into some hair-raisingly classic R&B tracks.
I've also always been fascinated by "You Keep Me Hanging On", which I consider to be their best song, and the urban legend that attributed Florence's ultimate disappointment at recording the first lead, only to have Diana's voice layered over hers to create a fuller sound in the final mix. The vocal dynamics, bassline and guitar parts of the song are legend, and hearing her vocal peaks breakthrough from the background in key parts of the track has always prompted me to wonder how it might have sounded had the producers or The Powers That Be, so to speak, stuck with her as the lead, not only for this song and perhaps many others. 90's female group sensation En Vogue managed to improve upon this template by providing all members with the chance to shine as lead vocalists, and although the original lineup was thrown into turmoil when Dawn Robinson, a key member, left to pursue a solo career. In my humble opinion, they still embody the perfect version of the modern soul/R&B version of the female vocal group; honorable mentions for LaBelle,The Emotions, The Shirelles and The Jones Girls, of course! The resulting mix of the song still works, of course, but this version includes a final verse which features Florence more prominently as opposed to the radio mix, or the version you might be more familiar with. Check it out and see if you can notice the difference.
"GOIN' OUT OF MY HEAD"
"WALK ON BY"
R.I.P., FLO
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