Categories
First Daily Poll
Do you like Spider Man movies?
Please login or register to vote
Second Daily Poll
Is Katherine Heigl sexier than Chalize Theron?
Please login or register to vote
|
Daily Article for 2010-06-13
Dreamgirls: Did Berry Gordy Turn Florence Ballard's Dream into a Nightmare? by Patricia Martin
We have all seen, or at least heard about, the 2006 remake of the original 1981 Broadway classic hit musical �Dreamgirls�. The movie starred songstress Beyonce Knowles and American Idol alumnus Jennifer Hudson, and much like their lives, the story was full of glamour, intrigue, and of course, scandal. Rumors have floated around that this tale was based upon the lives of Diana Ross and The Supremes. Beneath the central story of Dianna Ross�s life, people often wonder about the career of lead singer turned back-up singer, Florence Ballard and her relationship with manager Berry Gordy. This is a tale of a young girl�s dreams coming true that tuned into a nightmare in the hands of the very man who made it all possible.
Florence Ballard was born on June 30, 1943 in Detroit, MI. Ballard, nicknamed �Flo�, grew up with 17 siblings whom she sang with accompanied by their father�s box-string guitar in their Brewster-Douglass project home. Similar to other Motown singers, Flo began signing in her church after she was told what a melodic voice she had.
Soon, this spunky tomboy�s nickname changed to �Blondie� because of her fair head of hair and light complexion. Ballard�s talent and good looks earned her several auditions and gigs beginning when she was in high school. Eventually, at fourteen years old she was given a spot in the group the Primettes, a sister group of the Primes, later to become the Temptations. The Primettes consisted of Ballard�s childhood friend, Mary Wilson, two other young women and later, Diana Ross.
Unfortunately, tragedy struck this happy and growingly successful young woman when she was leaving a sock hop in 1960 at 17-years old. She was accidentally separated from her brother and was raped at knifepoint by a stranger in an empty parking lot. After the incident, she fell into depression for several weeks and never spoke of the incident again except for when she told her group mates about it. This attack was later what some said affected her personality and added to her emotional distress when she went through times of turmoil in her life.
The Primettes started out as a local group, but in January 15, 1961, it was signed by Berry Gordy, Motown Records CEO, and was renamed The Supremes. A year later, the group was down to three young ladies; Ballard, Ross and Wilson. At first, all three women took turns signing lead vocals and rumor had it that when Ballard sang, it was so loud that she didn�t need the microphone. Despite the power and developed sound of Ballard�s voice, Gordy made the executive decision to make Ross the official lead singer of the group because he believed her lighter, more commercial voice would give the group cross-over status with the white audience.
After a series of flops, The Supremes recorded their first hit record, �Where Did Our Love Go�, in 1964. This was the catalyst to the group�s growing success and by 1967 they had 10 hit records on the national music charts, including "Come See About Me," "Stop! In the Name of Love," and "Back in My Arms Again." During this time, The Supremes also released 18 top selling albums. The young women appeared on television variety shows, commercials, and performed all around the world.
Part of the group�s massive success could be credited to their chemistry. They grew up together and were as close as sisters were. Aside from their vocal talent, the rest of their success stemmed from their classy and beautiful image that some say contradicted their meager beginnings. The Supremes� chemistry, image and unique musical style, rhythm and blues infused with pop, led them to be the number one American recording group of their time.
Despite The Supremes huge success, for Ballard, everything that glittered was not entirely gold. Beginning with Gordy�s reassignment of Ross as the lead singer, things began to decline for Ballard. It is the musical �Dreamgirls�� legendary tale that at one point, the characters rumored to portray Gordy and Ballard had a relationship and that Gordy�s character left Ballard�s for Ross� presumed character. All this was in the midst of Ballard losing her spot as lead singer. In the media, rumors also surfaced that Gordy had issue with Ballard�s weight and this prompted Ballard, who was only a size 9, to begin a regimen of diet pills. These pills made the famed singer feel on edge so she was prescribed valium to offset this side effect. Some sources go as far as to say that all of these factors led to Ballard being forced out of the group. Some even said that, during this time, Ballard had some issues with alcohol. To make matters worse, there are rumors that although The Supremes earned millions of dollars, Gordy kept the girls on a tight budget, giving them an allowance of $225 a week and deducting all of their touring expenses from their royalties.
1967 was a rough year for Ballard. Her once close friend Ross was steadily taking more and more of the spotlight and Ballard and Gordy were constantly fighting. Ballard began missing public appearances and recording sessions and Gordy found a replacement singer, Cindy Birdsong, to wait in the wings to take Ballard�s spot after her departure.
At the age of 24, Ballard gave her last performance as a Supreme in 1967 at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas. The following morning, Gordy fired her and that same year the group was renamed Diana Ross and The Supremes. A source suggests that the reason that Ballard was fired was that during this last performance, Ballard bared her stomach defiantly while on stage and this outraged Gordy. While Ballard was known for her sense of humor, this does not seem typical behavior for this sassy, yet sophisticated young woman.
Following Ballard�s divorce from Motown Records and The Supremes, Ballard married Thomas Chapman and embarked on a lackluster solo career with ABC records. With the help of her attorney, Ballard received a little more than $100,000 in her release from contract settlement deal from Motown. This money was quickly depleted by her management company who she later found out was facing multiple charges of embezzlement. Adding salt to the wound, Ballard was also prohibited in her contract with Motown to ever mention that she was a member of the Supremes. Ballard continued to try to make it big on her own and in 1971 she unsuccessfully sued Motown for the royalties that were owed to her. The dream the young woman had turned into a reality for herself with the help of father-figure, Berry Gordy had been ripped away from her almost as fast as it had come.
Over the years, Ballard gave birth to three daughters and was invited onstage by Mary Wilson at a Supremes concert in California in 1974, but this is where the joys in her life ended. She was no longer interested in pursuing a musical career. Her husband left her, her house was foreclosed and she was forced to go on welfare. All of these things were written in the newspapers and no doubt broke Ballard�s heart even more.
Before her early and sudden death, there were a few bright spots in Ballard�s life. She received an insurance settlement from her former attorney and she bought a house with the money. She made several media appearances and she and her husband reconciled.
But in 1976, at age 32, Ballard became ill and entered the hospital complaining of numbness in her arms. On February 22 she died at 10:05 a.m. from a blood clot in one of her coronary arteries.
Since Ballard�s death there have been several biographies written about her, many articles written in her memory and she is the subject of the �Dreamgirls� Broadway musical and movie. No one will ever forget this remarkable woman.
Some say Florence Ballard�s story is a tragedy of a young girl who had her dreams ripped away from her. However, her life can be seen as a shining light of talent and beauty that shone bright even in the midst of a shattered dream. Hers was a life of a strong woman who, despite the greed and disloyalty of a man who she trusted, still left her legacy on the world.
Comments
Past Articles
The Most Powerful Actors in Hollywood by Leslie Kelly
The Bit (History's Most Influential Stand-up Comedians) by Jessica Mullan
Court TV: the Original Reality Televison by Xina V.
Celebrities whose Faces I Never want to see Again by Jessica Mullan
Best Unusual Foreign Travel Destinations (part 2 of 2) by Xina V
Best Unusual Foreign Travel Destinations (part 1 of 2) by Xina V
Dreamgirls: Did Berry Gordy Turn Florence Ballard's Dream into a Nightmare? by Patricia Martin
Has Cable News Made Us Better Citizens? by Jessica Mullan
|
|
