Florence Ballard

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Florence Ballard (1965)

Florence Glenda Ballard (born June 30, 1943 in Detroit , Michigan , † February 22, 1976 there ) was an American musician and founding member of the Supremes .

Life

Florence Ballard was born in Detroit, Michigan (according to other sources in Rosetta, Mississippi) in 1943, the eighth of thirteen children of Jesse and Lurlee Ballard. Thanks to her father, Jesse Ballard, Florence started making music at a young age. She joined the church choir, took part in talent and singing competitions and received a lot of attention in the region. Her friend, Mary Wilson , had known her since she was 10 and sometimes had to compete against her in competitions.

In 1959 she was asked by Milton Jenkins, the then manager of "The Primes" (later known as The Temptations ), to found a sister group to the Primes, which should consist only of girls. Ballard brought in her longtime friend Mary Wilson, who in turn recruited a friend from the neighborhood, Diana Ross . When Betty McGlown later joined the group, the primettes were complete. McGlown was later replaced by Barbara Martin.

In the summer of 1960, Ballard was raped by Reggie Harding , a young basketball player and her brother's friend. Ballard only spoke to her bandmates about the incident that would weigh on her for her entire life. In 1961 the Primettes signed with the young record company Motown and were renamed The Supremes at Ballard's suggestion .

The Supremes in 1965 at a concert in the Netherlands, from left Mary Wilson, Florence Ballard & Diana Ross.

After Motown put the focus solely on Ross, which Ballard could not accept as the initiator of the group, Berry Gordy expelled her unceremoniously from the group in July 1967. Ballard was replaced by Cindy Birdsong from Patti LaBelle And The Bluebelles and the group was renamed Diana Ross & The Supremes .

In 1968, Florence Ballard married Berry Gordy's former chauffeur, Thomas Chapman. She and Thomas had three children.

In 1968 she signed a contract with ABC Records . She even recorded an album, but it wasn't released until 2002. Marital problems and financial difficulties made her feel depressed and became an alcoholic.

After successful therapy, Ballard tried to rebuild himself. She began writing a book about her life, gave a sold-out concert in the Ford Auditorium on her own, which received a standing ovation, and was invited to appear on TV shows. Mary Wilson and Diana Ross offered their help.

With no prior complications, Florence Ballard was hospitalized on February 21, 1976 with numbness in her extremities. Previously, she is said to have suffered a GTKA (generalized clonic-tonic seizure). Eight hours later she died of a thrombosis of the coronary artery .

After her death, interest in Ballard continued. Jennifer Hudson dedicated her the Golden Globe Award , which she received for the role of Effie White, a character who was inspired by Florence Ballard. In 2007 Ballard's sister Maxine Ballard published the biography The True Story Of Florence Ballard . This suggests that her sister was murdered. During the autopsy , a brown, cereal-like substance is said to have been found in her stomach, which has not yet been identified. In 2008, another biography about the singer was published, entitled The Lost Supreme , authored by Peter Benjaminson. The book is based on an eight-hour interview that Benjaminson conducted with Ballard.

album

Singles

  • It Doesn't Matter How I Say It (It's What I Say That Matters)
  • Love Ain't Love / Forever Faithful
  • Yesterday
  • My Heart / Stay in love
  • The Impossible Dream
  • Yours Until Tomorrow
  • It's Not Unusual
  • Stay in love
  • Walk on By
  • Hey baby
  • Heavenly Father
  • Everything wonderful

literature

  • Mary Wilson, My Life as a Supreme . New York: Cooper Square Publishers. ISBN 0-8154-1000-X .
  • Peter Benjaminson, The Lost Supreme: The Life of Dreamgirl Florence Ballard . Lawrence Hill. ISBN 1-55652-705-5

Web links

Commons : Florence Ballard  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ IMDB states Detroit as the place of birth, Find-A-Grave and Allmusic Guide name Rosetta , Mississippi, as the place of birth.
  2. ↑ 'The Lost Supreme' and a Classic Hollywood Con , Rolling Stone, July 1, 2014
personal data
SURNAME Ballard, Florence
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Flo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American musician
DATE OF BIRTH June 30, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH unsure: Detroit , Michigan or Rosetta , Mississippi
DATE OF DEATH February 22, 1976
Place of death Detroit