The Lost Supreme: The Life of Dreamgirl Florence Ballard (31 page)

208. During the period of time that the group name “The Supremes” was made valuable, Ross-Wilson-Ballard were partners sharing equally in profits and losses while performing as entertainers under the group name.

209. During this same period of time the trade name was also the business name of Ross-Wilson-Ballard, such as having their bank accounts in the name of “The Supremes.” . . .

214. On or about February 22, 1968, Defendants Motown, International, Berry Gordy, Jr. and Diana Ross, their servants and agents, falsely and fraudulently in the purported release agreement . . . represented to Miss Ballard, amongst other things, that

A) The name “The Supremes” was property owned by Defendant Motown and not Ross-Wilson-Ballard.

B) Miss Ballard had no rights, title or interest in the name “The Supremes.”

C) Miss Ballard never had any interest in the ownership of the name “The Supremes” . . .

219. . . . Since Ross-Wilson-Ballard’s entry into the partnership . . . Defendants Mary Wilson and Diana Ross have continually carried on the partnership under the name “The Supremes.”

220. . . . Since on or about February 22, 1968, Defendants Diana Ross and Mary Wilson have taken and appropriated for their own use receipts and proceeds from said partnership business, the continued use and exploitation of the partnership name and assets, and sums of money greatly exceeding the proportions to which each of them were entitled. . . .

200

b

E
xcerpts from
F
lorence
B
allard’s
L
egal
C
ase
227. As a result of Miss Ballard’s skill and competence as a singer and entertainer, in conjunction with the skills of Defendants Diana Ross and Mary Wilson, under the trade name “The Supremes,” substantial monies, benefits and prestige accrued to the group, thereby creating valuable goodwill associated with the trade name. . . .

230. . . . Defendants Motown, International, and Berry Gordy, Jr. fraudulently, falsely, maliciously and internationally misrepresented the following: a) That the trade name “The Supremes” was originated and owned by said Defendant Motown;

b) That Miss Ballard, individually, had no rights, title, ownership or interest in said trade name;

c) That the trade name, “The Supremes,” was the exclusive property of said Defendant Motown;

d) That Miss Ballard at no time had any rights, title, ownership or interest in the trade name, individually, or as co-owners with Defendants Diana Ross and Mary Wilson . . .

232. . . . Defendants Motown, International, and Berry Gordy, Jr. permitted others to use and perform under the name “The Supremes” . . . the persons who performed under said trade name were Defendants Cindy Birdsong and Jean Terrell. . . .

238. . . . Defendants Motown, International, Berry Gordy, Jr., Cindy Birdsong and Jean Terrell have and continue to do irreparable harm to Miss Ballard’s rights, title, ownership and interest in the trade name “The Supremes.”

S
ources

Newspapers

Detroit Free Press
: 05/18/69, 07/03/69, 09/02/72, 09/03/72, 11/12/72, 11/19/72, 04/01/73, 04/04/73, 04/05/73, 04/07/73, 01/16/75, 07/03/75, 07/21/98, 05/25/99

Detroit News
: 08/07/56, 05/27/60, 09/02/72, 09/03/72, 09/04/72, 09/07/72, 05/19/84

Los Angeles Times
: 02/23/76

Magazines

Detroit Magazine
: 10/20/68

Jet Magazine
: 02/20/75, 05/15/00

Look Magazine
: 05/03/66, 10/19/71

Interviews (in person, via telephone, or via e-mail)
Alan Abrams, Billy Ballard, Florence Ballard, Linda Ballard, Katherine Ballard, Pat Ballard, Michelle Ballard Chapman, Nicole Ballard Chapman, Pat Cosby, Michael Hathaway, Florence Lollis, Alastair Londonderry, Jim Lopes, Weldon A. McDougal III, Roger Pearson, Katherine Anderson Schaffner, Andrew Skurow, Harry Weinger, Mary Wilson. Other interviewees requested anonymity.

201

202

b

S
ources

Court Papers

The People of the State of Michigan vs. Reginald Harding
, June 11, 1960, Detroit Recorder’s Court

Chapman vs. Baun
, Wayne County Circuit Court 232 N.W.2d 621, 395 Mich. 28,
In the Matter of the Complaint against
Leonard A. Baun before the State Bar Grievance Board, Appellant
. No. 3.

Supreme Court of Michigan, September 8, 1975, P. 621–629

In the Matter of Leonard A. Baun, a Member of the State Bar of Michigan,
Appellant.
No. 32207-A, Decided April 12, 1979.

Ballard vs. Ross et al
, Wayne County Circuit Court
Other Official Papers

Florence Ballard Death Certificate
, #2352, City of Detroit, Michigan.

Florance Ballard Chapman Autopsy Report
, #A76-358, Wayne County, Michigan

Books

Ballard, Maxine.
The True Story of Florence Ballard
. Detroit: Precious4Max, Inc., 2007.

Benjaminson, Peter.
The Story of Motown
. New York: Grove Press, 1979.

Bianco, David.
Heat Wave: The Motown Fact Book
. Ann Arbor, MI: Pierian Press, 1988.

Gaar, Gillian G.
She’s a Rebel: The History of Women in Rock ’n’ Roll.
New York: Seal Press, 2002.

George, Nelson.
Where Did Our Love Go?: The Rise and Fall of the Motown
Sound
. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1985.

Gordy, Berry.
To Be Loved: The Music, the Magic, the Memories of Motown
.

New York: Warner Books, 1994.

Posner, Gerald.
Motown: Music, Sex, Money, and Power
. New York: Random House, 2002.

203

S
ources
c

Ritz, David.
Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye
. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1985.

Ross, Diana.
Secrets of a Sparrow: Memoirs
. New York: Villard Books, 1993.

Spitz, Bob.
The Beatles: The Biography
. New York: Little, Brown, 2005.

Taraborrelli, J. Randy
. Call Her Miss Ross
. New York: Ballantine Books, 1991.

Taraborrelli, J. Randy.
Diana Ross
:
An Unauthorized Biography
. London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 2007.

Taylor, Marc.
The Original Marvelettes: Motown’s Mystery Girl Group
.

Jamaica, NY: Aloiv Publishing, 2004.

Turner, Tony.
All That Glittered: My Life with the Supremes
. New York: Dutton, 1990.

Waller, Don.
The Motown Story.
New York: Scribner’s, 1985.

Williams, Otis
. Temptations.
New York: Cooper Square Press, 2002.

Wilson, Mary.
Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme.
New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1986.

Wilson, Mary.
Dreamgirl and Supreme Faith
. New York: Cooper Square Press, 1999.

Wilson, Randall.
Forever Faithful! A Study of Florence Ballard and the
Supremes.
San Francisco: Renaissance Sound & Publications, 1987.

I
ndex

A

on accepting settlement from Baun,

ABC Records, 109, 111–114, 116–117,

163

119, 123, 174

assaults on, 20–23, 146–148

Abrams, Alan, 41, 111–112, 115

on Beatles’ songwriting, 62

Adams, Bernard, 121

on being famous, 87

“After All,” 25

Berry Gordy and, 77, 80, 83–85, 87,

Aid to Dependent Children (ADC),

92–97, 102–103

149–150

“Buttered Popcorn” and, 26, 31–32,

“Ain’t That Good News,” 75, 175

75, 175

Alcoholics Anonymous, 158–159

childhood of, 1–7

Ales, Barney, 26, 31, 155

choice of name for singing group,

All That Glittered: My Life with the

26–27

Supremes
(Turner), 114

competition for leadership and lead

American Bandstand
, 47

vocals by, 25–27, 49–52, 75–79,

Andantes, 79, 80

80–81

Ashford, Jack, 154

death certificate of,
insert p. 8

Atkins, Cholly, 52, 90, 178

death of, 168

Atlantic City, NJ, 57, 114–115

Diana Ross and, 91–92, 164–165

on
The Ed Sullivan Show
appearances,

B

56

“Baby Love,” 54, 62

expulsion from Supremes, 96, 98,

“Back in My Arms Again,” 79

100–101

“Bah-Bah-Bah,” 44

financial troubles of, 137–139,

Ballard, Billy, 145

149–150

Ballard, Cornell, 21, 24, 178

formation of the Primettes and, 9–15,

Ballard, Florence.
See also
Supremes

18–21, 24, 25, 26–27

205

206

b

I
ndex

lawsuit against Motown Records and

“Beechwood 4-5789,” 34

Berry Gordy, 136–137

Berry, Bill, 41

love for singing, 1, 14

Betrock, Alan, 47

marriage of, 107–108, 136–137

Birdsong, Cindy, 93, 97–98, 117, 150,

on Mary Wilson’s passivity, 165

156

mental and physical health of, 89–91,

named in lawsuit, 125

136–137, 148, 153–154, 156–161,

“Return to Love” tour and, 173–174

171

A Bit of Liverpool
, 76

personality of, 81–82, 87–88, 100,

Black Bottom, 3

137–138

Blue Note Records, 97

photos of,
insert pgs. 1–7

Boston earthquake, 63

physical appearance of, 94–95

Brandt, Pamela, 155–156

settlement negotiations with Motown,

“A Breathtaking Guy,” 33

103–106

Brewster Projects, 7, 11, 13

solo career of, 109–117, 155–156

Brown, Timmy, 73

temporarily joins Marvelettes, 32–33

Brown, Winnie, 78

on touring with the Motortown

Bud Billiken Parade, 116

Revues, 40

Buddha Records, 130, 132

use of drugs and alcohol by, 70, 95,

Burdick, Benjamin D., 126, 127

150, 157–160, 168–169

“Buttered Popcorn,” 26, 31–32,

voice and singing style of, 8, 12, 19,

75, 175

26, 35, 75, 78, 82, 92

on “Where Did Our Love Go?,” 46

C

Ballard, Geraldine, 148

Cain, William O., 121

Ballard, Jesse Lambert, 3–4, 13

Capitol Records, 130, 132

Ballard, Linda, 167–168, 170, 175

“Caravan of Stars” tour, 48

Ballard, Lurlee Wilson, 2, 107, 170, 175

Chairmen of the Board, 132

Ballard, Maxine, 19, 23, 138, 149

Chapman, Lisa Ballard, 135, 168, 169,

“Band of Gold,” 132

176,
insert pgs. 7–8

Barrow, Marlene, 79

Chapman, Michelle Ballard, 119, 176,

Bateman, Robert, 18, 113

insert p. 8

Baun, Leonard, 103–106, 116, 119–124,

Chapman, Nicole Ballard, 119, 167, 176,

145, 146, 160–161, 175

insert p. 8

Beatles, 60–62

Chapman, Tommy, 73, 93, 167–168,

The Beatles: The Biography
(Spitz), 61

169, 175–176,
insert p. 7

207

I
ndex
c

discontinues child support payments,

Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme
(Wilson), 149

174

employment at Invictus Records,

Dreamgirls
, 117, 161, 177–178

129–132

as Florence’s manager, 108–114

E

marriage of, 107–108, 136–137

East McDougall, 3, 5

CIMCO (California International Mar-

The Ed Sullivan Show
, 55–57, 150

keting Company), 101

Edwards, Esther, 48

Clark, Dick, 47

Eight Mile Road Projects, 5–6

Coca-Cola Company, 57

England, 1964 tour of, 53–54

Coconut Grove Club, 63

“Come See About Me,” 56, 156

F

Connors, Mike, 121

Ferrer, Pedro, 73

Contours, 34, 38, 40

“Fingertips—Part 2,” 34

Copacabana, 59–60, 77, 93

Floyd, Eddie, 19

Cosby, Bill, 115

“For Once in My Life,” 141

Cosby, Pat, 11, 87, 91, 107, 115

Ford, Gerald, 72

Crockett, George W., Jr., 121

“Forever Faithful,” 113, 174

Former Ladies of the Supremes (FLOS),

D

117

Dash, Sarah, 97

Foster, Donald, 68

Davis, Sammy, Jr., 81

Four Tops, 45–46, 51, 59, 170

Deadly Nightshade, 155

Franklin, C. L., 169

Demps, Louvain, 79

Franklin, Melvin, 60

Dent, Gerald K., 105, 122, 125–127,

Funicello, Annette, 49

135–136

Fuqua, Harvey, 77

Detroit, 1–2, 8, 9, 11

Detroit Free Press
, 153–154

G

Diana Ross and the Supremes, 52, 96,

Gaar, Gillian G., 155

117, 141

Gaye, Marvin, 33, 34, 51, 52, 59, 88,

“Do You Love Me?,” 34, 38

141

“Down the Aisle,” 98

Gemini 5
astronauts, 57

Dozier, Lamont, 44, 45, 132–133.
See

George, Nelson, 77

also
H-D-H (Holland-Dozier-

“Give Me Just A Little More Time,” 132

Holland)

“Goin’ out of My Head,” 112, 174

208

b

I
ndex

Gordy, Berry, 15–19, 24, 37, 53, 175.
See

“Heavenly Father,” 75, 175

also
Motown Record Company

Hendryx, Nona, 97

crossover ambitions of, 59, 76, 77

Henry Ford Hospital, 148, 157

Diana Ross and, 24, 47, 73–74, 97,

“Hey Baby,” 75, 175

141–142

Hicks, Jackie, 79, 80

filmmaking aspirations of, 84–85

Hitsville, USA, 17, 33

financial control over Supremes,

Holland, Brian and Eddie, 44, 45,

57–58, 64