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The Supremes: A Saga of Motown Dreams, Success, and Betrayal

The Supremes: A Saga of Motown Dreams, Success, and Betrayal

by Mark Ribowsky (Author)

  • Used

    Hardcover 2009

    $3.44
Synopsis

This is the first comprehensive biography of the most successful girl group in pop history, as told by the author of the acclaimed biography of Phil Spector, He's a Rebel .A sprawling parable of ambition, scheming, money, sex, and betrayal, Nothin' But Heartaches , is the definitive story of the most successful female band of all time. Drawing on first-hand, intimate recollections by friends, associates, and other Motown contemporaries - many never before interviewed - Ribowsky uncovers the truth behind the Supremes, overturning false notions about the band which were perpetuated by the recent film Dreamgirls .Ribowsky's in-depth account includes new details on Diana Ross' cutthroat rise to top-billing of the group - focusing on her relationship with Motown president, Berry Gordy - and the tragic story of Florence Ballard's decline into depression, alcoholism, and drug abuse, culminating in her sudden death at the age of thirty-two.He also takes an inside-the-studio look at how timeless classics like Baby Love , Where Did Our Love Go? , and Stop! In the Name of Love , were conceived and recorded on the Motown 'assembly line' of smash hits, and examines why the Motown 'brand' was more important to Gordy than its loyalty to true rhythm & blues.In a narrative that deftly combines personal testimony, history, and expert analysis, Ribowsky not only tells the full, heartbreaking story of the Supremes' meteoric rise and bitter disintegration, but shows why Gordy's revolutionary concept of 'blacks singing white' was essential to the modern evolution of music.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
 Pages: 480
 Publisher: Da Capo Press
Published: 02 Apr 2009
ISBN 10: 0306815869
ISBN 13: 9780306815867
Book Overview: The Supremes : A Saga of Motown Dreams, Success, and Betrayal

Media Reviews
A Finalist for the 2010 Association for Recorded Sound Collections Awards for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research for the Best Research in Recorded Rock and Pop Music category.
Publishers Weekly, 5/18/09
A dishy, insider look at Berry Gordy's making of the Supremes...Ribowsky nicely intersperses some hindsight reflections by the main players...In this engaging, vivacious account, Ribowsky energetically and thoroughly underscores the Supremes' significance as one of the first crossover successes.

Booklist, 06/01/09
[Ribowsky] retells the familiar story of how [Berry] Gordy's fiefdom became 'Hitsville USA, ' recording a good deal of attributed dissent--always a treat in a pop-music history. Equally illuminating are the stuff about the individual Supremes' travails and tidbits about the interactions of Motown legends like Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye regarding the material Gordy wanted them to perform and the rivalries and peccadilloes of such vaunted Motown production teams as Holland-Dozier-Holland...Illuminating and salacious in the best possible ways.

Booklist, 6/1/09
[Ribowsky] retells the familiar story of how [Berry] Gordy's fiefdom became 'Hitsville USA, ' recording a good deal of attributed dissent--always a treat in a pop-music history. Equally illuminating are the stuff about the individual Supremes' travails and tidbits about the interactions of Motown legends like Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye...Illuminating and salacious in the best possible ways.

Library Journal, 6/5/09
A comprehensive look at the tumultuous relationships within the Supremes as well as among others at the Motown label...Ribowsky's original interviews with members from such other Motown acts as the Temptations' Otis Williams and the Marvelettes' Katherine Anderson, and some Motown myth-debunking add a distinctive flavor. Recommended for readers who have a casual interest in popular music or Motown.

African Americane


Best Musical Titles of 2009, London Sunday Times, 12/6/09
The story of Motown's most successful group has been told many times before by individual contributors with particular agendas. This well-sourced biography is the first attempt to synthesise the conflicting views of the various Supremes and their Svengali patron, Tamla boss Berry Gordy.
Midwest Book Review
A powerful biography...Any general lending library will find this a popular lend.
Elmore, January/February 2010
440 pages of the mythical-sounding, yet completely factual tale of the trio's ascension up the Billboard charts...Ribowsky tells a surprisingly objective story, with a narrative so vivid that you would believe he was there to witness it firsthand...Ribowsky succeeds in constructing a definitive account of the group from its humble and seedy origins to its anticlimactic demise.
The TMR Zoo, 1/3/10
Ribowsky has done a phenomenal job putting together the definitive biography on the biggest girl group (so far) of all time...Ribowsky knows how to dig deep...[and] does some good investigative work piecing the story together from the perspective of an objective party who wasn't involved in the business.

A Finalist for the 2010 Association for Recorded Sound Collections Awards for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research for the Best Research in Recorded Rock and Pop Music category.
Publishers Weekly, 5/18/09
A dishy, insider look at Berry Gordy's making of the Supremes...Ribowsky nicely intersperses some hindsight reflections by the main players...In this engaging, vivacious account, Ribowsky energetically and thoroughly underscores the Supremes' significance as one of the first crossover successes.
The Milwaukee Shepherd Express, 9/17
Capture[s] some of the sights and sounds of Detroit and its flourishing '60s music scene in what, incredibly, seems to be the first full biography of the Supremes not written by an ex-member or intimate.
Smooth Jazz News, October 2009
Read this book for a point of view supplied from someone not directly involved with the Supremes or Motown...Enjoy sifting through the rumors.
Detroit Metro Times MI, 11/25/09
A worthy read...A real-life drama that's actually way better then the fictionalized Dreamgirls...A fun and fascinating book...and it offers some terrific trivia gems.
Howard County Times MD, 11/26/09
[A] solid new biography of the group...Though Ribowsky doesn't shy away from drama, The Supremes is not a work of scandal-mongering. Instead, it is a nuanced portrait of the Detroit music scene of the period. Ribowsky's use of primary sources, including his own interviews with major players, ensures something new for Supremes aficionados, while his balanced tone makes this a good starting place for newcomers as well.
Author Bio
Mark Ribowsky is the acclaimed author of eight books, including He's a Rebel, a biography of Phil Spector. He lives in New York City.