Florence Ballard
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| Florence "Flo" Ballard | ||
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 Flo Ballard posing in a 1968 publicity shot used for her solo-career with ABC Records.
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Florence Glenda Ballard | |
| Also known as | Florence Chapman | |
| Born | June 30, 1943; Rosetta, Mississippi, USA | |
| Origin | Detroit, Michigan, USA | |
| Died | February 22, 1976;(age 32) Detroit, Michigan | |
| Genre(s) | R&B/pop/soul | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer | |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals | |
| Years active | 1959-1975 | |
| Label(s) | Motown, ABC | |
| Associated acts |
The Primettes, The Supremes | |
Florence Glenda Ballard Chapman, nicknamed "Flo" or "Blondie", (June 30, 1943 – February 22, 1976) was an American singer, best known as the founder and one of the original lead singers of the Motown act The Supremes.
In what is called by music journalist Richie Unterberger "one of rock's greatest tragedies"[1], Ballard, unsettled by Diana Ross' "ascendance" to official lead singer of The Supremes and after a series of episodes consistent with chronic depression and alcohol abuse, was dismissed from the Supremes in July 1967 and replaced by Cindy Birdsong. In the two years following her dismissal, Ballard made concerted but unsuccessful efforts at a solo career. The singer spent much of the last five years of her life in poverty; she died in 1976 at the age of thirty-two. A biography of Florence is due to be released this year by her sister Maxine Ballard Jenkins on her website [1].
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Ballard was born in Rosetta, Mississippi, but before the age of ten, her family moved to Detroit, Michigan to take advantage of the booming job market. She was of mixed African-American, Native American and white heritage. Ballard, nicknamed "Blondie" because of her auburn hair and light complexion, founded The Primettes, an all-girl singing group spinoff of The Primes (later known as The Temptations), in 1959. Florence was the lead singer of the Primettes with her big voice which belted out songs like Chubby Checker's The Twist and Ray Charles' The Night Time (Is the Right Time). After winning a local talent contest The Primettes auditioned for Berry Gordy at Hitsville where they sang The Twist and The Night Time (Is the Right Time) a capella and with Florence on lead selling the songs in every way she could and then There Goes My Baby with Diane Ross on lead. The Primettes would sign to the Motown label as the Supremes, a name picked by Florence, on 15th January 1961
In 1960, a friend of one of Ballard's brothers offered her a ride home after she attended a local sock hop. Instead, he drove her to an empty street and raped her at knifepoint. Ballard was able to identify her attacker in a police lineup and later testified against him in court, leading to his conviction and imprisonment. Her rape was never again mentioned (either in clinical therapy or in a casual setting ) and Ballard instead threw herself into her music. [2]
[edit] The Supremes
Main article: The Supremes
In the early days of The Supremes, all three girls took turns singing lead vocals, with Ballard leading on songs such as "Buttered Popcorn", "Ain't That Good News", "Silent Night", "Oh Holy Night", "Heavenly Father", and her featured spot in their stage show, "People," from the Broadway musical Funny Girl. According to fellow Supreme Mary Wilson, Ballard's voice was so strong that she was made to stand up to seventeen feet away from her microphone during recording sessions, while the other two Supremes stood directly in front of their microphones. [3].
Diana Ross was "officially" made lead singer of the Supremes in 1963 because Motown chief Berry Gordy believed that her voice, with its higher register, would attract a white audience to the group. Ross, Ballard, and Mary Wilson subsequently released ten number-one US pop hits between 1964 and 1967, all of which featured Ross on lead vocals.
In 1965, Ross took over singing duties on "People," Ballard's solo number in the group's stage show, beginning with their debut at the Copacabana supper club, in New York. Ballard complained to Gordy that singing "People" was hurting her throat, so Gordy assigned this solo to Ross. This switch led to the beginning decline in the relationship between Gordy and Ballard. Throughout the next two years or so, Ballard and Gordy argued frequently. Resentful and depressed at being pushed out of the spotlight, Ballard turned increasingly to alcohol as a salve for her frustrations. Among other problems, this led to weight gain, until her onstage gowns and outfits no longer fit her figure.
As 1967 progressed, Ballard frequently missed recording dates and was, sometimes, too drunk to perform. She was fired from The Supremes by Berry Gordy in July 1967, after an incident on stage where Ballard stuck out her stomach between her blouse and waistband of her pants outfit. Cindy Birdsong took her place in the group, which had been renamed "Diana Ross & The Supremes" just prior to Ballard's departure.
[edit] Solo career
Ballard married Thomas Chapman, a former chauffeur for Motown, on February 29, 1968, and signed with ABC Records in March 1968, two weeks after having negotiated her release from Motown on February 22, 1968. Ballard received a one-time payment of $139,804.94 in royalties and earnings from Motown for her six-year tenure with the label. [2]
Billed as "Florence 'Flo' Ballard" and with her husband serving as her manager, Ballard released the singles "It Doesn't Matter How I Say It (It's What I Say That Matters)" and "Love Ain't Love" on ABC Records, but the album she recorded was shelved. After that, Ballard's musical career went into rapid decline and the $139,000 was systematically depleted by Chapman and Ballard's management agency. Conditions in her contract with Motown prohibited Ballard from mentioning in any promotional materials or noting on the back of her album liner that she had ever been in the Supremes or recorded for Motown, effectively tying the hands of any label trying to issue her new works. In addition, it is reported that Motown threatened to sue vigorously any label that made reference to such on her behalf. It is not entirely clear if this were a condition of her original Motown contract (signed when she was a minor; a condition Stevie Wonder would effectively exploit to break the legal shackles of the label) or was introduced as part of the settlement process? Clearly, however, her legal counsel failed to sufficiently protect Ballard's financial well-being and ensure her professional longevity.
Ballard continued her efforts at a solo career. In September of 1968, she performed alongside Bill Cosby at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago. That same year, Ballard rode in a Chicago parade with comedian Godfrey Cambridge. On October 20, 1968, she was the featured personality of Detroit's magazine, Detroit and that same month, she gave birth to twin girls, Michelle Chapman and Nicole Chapman, the first two of her three children. She began the new year by performing at one of Richard Nixon's inaugural balls in Washington, DC on January 20, 1969.
In 1971, Ballard unsuccessfully sued Motown for additional royalty payments she believed were due her.
[edit] Decline
In 1973, Ballard gave birth to her third child, Lisa Chapman. Soon after, Thomas Chapman left Ballard and her house was seized by foreclosure. These events effectively ended her career. Over the next few years, Ballard excluded herself from virtually all publicity. In 1974, Mary Wilson, who had maintained a rapport with Ballard over the years, invited Ballard to fly out to California to visit. The Supremes, with lead singer Scherrie Payne, were performing at Six Flags Magic Mountain, and Wilson invited Ballard onstage to sing with the group. She joined them onstage, but she did not sing, only shaking a tambourine to the beat of the music. Although her onstage appearance brought tremendous cheers from the crowd, Ballard told Wilson that she had no desire to continue pursuing a career in music.
Upon her return to Detroit, Ballard's financial situation declined further. Uninterested in a return to the entertainment business, and with three children to support, she applied for welfare. This news and the story of her downward spiral hit the national newspapers instantly.
[edit] Comeback and sudden death
In 1975, Ballard received a settlement from a slip-and-fall incident in which she had broken her leg after slipping on a patch of ice in Detroit. (It has also been written that around this time, Ballard's former Supreme-mate, Diana Ross, heard of Florence's home/money plights and attempted to intervene with funds to assist Florence, but that an arrangement to which Diana would agree could not be made when her legal people were purportedly unable to secure confirmation that the monies would be received directly by Ballard.) With the accident settlement money, Ballard purchased a small house on Shaftsbury Avenue in Detroit for herself and her children. She began to publicly discuss her desire to re-enter the entertainment world. Around this same time, Florence also reconciled with her estranged husband, Thomas Chapman.
On June 25, 1975, Ballard performed in Detroit as a part of the Joan Little Defense League at the Henry and Edsel Ford Auditorium, backed by the female rock group, "The Deadly Nightshade," to a highly receptive audience. She sang the Helen Reddy hit, I Am Woman, and when the audience wanted an encore - a Supremes encore - Ballard sang "Come See About Me." Soon after, Ballard received requests for newspaper and television interviews, including a fairly candid conversation about her past and hoped future during an appearance on the local Detroit TV talk show, "The David Diles Show."
On February 21, 1976, Ballard entered Mt. Carmel Mercy Hospital, complaining of numbness in her extremities. The next day, she died of coronary thrombosis, a blood clot in one of her coronary arteries. She was thirty-two years old. Ballard is buried in Detroit Memorial Park Cemetery located in Warren, Michigan. It has also been rumored over the years that following Florence's death, singer Diana Ross established trust funds in the names of each of Florence's three children.
Florence Ballard: Forever Faithful!, a biography of Ballard written by Randall Wilson, was printed in 1999. In 2002, The Supreme Florence Ballard, which included all the tracks from the album she recorded for ABC Records in 1968, was released on compact disc by Spectrum, a London-based company.
[edit] Trivia
- Before the Supremes became famous, Ballard toured with The Marvelettes as a replacement for Wanda Young while she was on maternity leave.
- It had once been rumored that Marlene Barrow of The Andantes filled in for Ballard when she was unable to attend the recording session for "My World Is Empty Without You." This was disproved by the release of the remastered and remixed tracks utilized for the "Motown Karaoke" CD series when Ballard's and Wilson's vocals were isolated for a "karaoke" background track of the song. In this new mix, Ballard's participation was more obvious and the rumor thus disproved.
- The 1980 hit "Romeo's Tune", from fellow Mississippian Steve Forbert's album Jackrabbit Slim is "dedicated to the memory of Florence Ballard".
- Dreamgirls, a 1981 Broadway musical, is said to be inspired by the Supremes, and the central character of Effie White, originated by Jennifer Holliday, is said to be modeled after Ballard. That character was played by Jennifer Hudson in the film version of Dreamgirls released in 2006, which featured more overt references to Ballard's life and the Supremes' story than the stage musical. Both Holliday and Hudson's portrayals of Effie have received rave reviews: Holliday won the 1982 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her performance, while Hudson has been awarded a number of critics' awards, including a 2007 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture. At the conclusion of her Golden Globe Award acceptance speech, Hudson dedicated her win to Florence Ballard. Several days after receiving her Golden Globe award Hudson was nominated for the Academy Award in the Best Supporting Actress category, which she went on to win on February 25, 2007.
- She is mentioned in the Billy Bragg song King James Version on his William Bloke album.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Album
- 2002: The Supreme Florence Ballard (originally shelved by ABC Records in 1968 under the proposed title, "...You Don't Have To")
[edit] Singles
- 1968: "It Doesn't Matter How I Say It (It's What I Say That Matters)" b/w "Goin' Out Of My Head" (ABC Records #45-11074A/B)
- 1968: "Love Ain't Love" b/w "Forever Faithful" (ABC Records #45-11144A/B)
[edit] Notes
- ^ Unterberger, Richie (2005). The Supremes. In All Music Guide. Ann Arbor, MI: All Media Guide.
- ^ Wilson, Mary (1986). "Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme", pg. 65-66
- ^ Wilson, Mary (1986). "Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme", pg. 166
[edit] References
- Wilson, Mary and Romanowski, Patricia (1986, 1990, 2000). Dreamgirl & Supreme Faith: My Life as a Supreme. New York: Cooper Square Publishers. ISBN 0-8154-1000-X.
[edit] External links
- Maxine Ballard Jenkins' (Florence's sister) website, where you can find out more information about her book on Florence
- Official Florence Ballard Fan Club
- Florence Ballard Memorial at Find A Grave
- Florence Ballard Myspace page
| The Supremes |
|---|
| Discography • Singles • Albums • Members • Chronology |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Ballard, Florence |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Flo Ballard, Florence Chapman |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | American singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 30, 1943 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Rosetta, Mississippi |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 22, 1976 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Detroit, Michigan |
