Diana Ross & The Supremes at Berns 1968 - part 1

Diana Ross and her The Supremes visited Berns for a spectacular show 1968. Diana herself was on the brink of an outstanding solo career. The girls performed some of their greatest hits like "Baby Love" and "Can't hurry love" and the concert was taped by swedish national television.

[@ez8546]

Of course nobody could ever replace Florence, but no other Black girl group singer of the day except Cindy Birdsong could have filled those shoes. According to Diana, Mary, Berry or any Motowner, she was the only singer who was even considered. She had the look, the experience (Patti LaBelle and The Bluebells) and the class to easily slip into that role and she did it magnificently.

[@MrPeclo]

Motown: Diana Ross and The Supremes=The Best.

[@jamespickett2687]

Diana Ross and the Supremes! Gets no better than this. A national treasure!

[@nycp1969]

The Supremes were fine but Berry knew Diana was a star like no other.

[@korbynrowan1351]

Pro tip: you can watch movies at Flixzone. I've been using them for watching lots of of movies these days.

[@coreyking1182]

@Korbyn Rowan yea, I have been watching on Flixzone for years myself :D

[@michalemilburn-jones8242]

Miss real showmanship, along with live performances.

[@martinmeyerson5868]

Excellent!!!

[@jdishmael001]

Diana! I live!

[@berrydivo3702]

A Superior Show. I musical set is the same as their London's Talk of the Town show. Yet this Berns Hotel performance is the one that definitely should have been recorded for a "live" album release. The Talk of the Town orchestra was not able to capture the Motown hits of the Supremes nor really the standards that the trio performed. The sound quality of this Bern's show is far superior than that heard on the Talk of the Town album.

[@mjc5509]

This was the standard 1968 European tour show . Same songs and jokes as TALK OF THE TOWN LP

[@bonniemoore3461]

The Supremes Lost their edge with this type of music. The big band ,the music arrangement ,the tone of the voices just no longer soulful. It's been whitewashed and weakened. No more Motown ! Now it's Downtown. Weak ,weak ,weak !!

[@KRstar78]

Ultimately it’s was berry wanted, no imagination wait I take that back he had vision but it was at the expense of his talent.

[@bradleyscarton3931]

Whitewashed and weakened? Definitely not. It proved their versatility and that they could sing anything. And they didn’t lose their edge. This was at a time during the Civil Rights Movement when black people in America weren’t even considered citizens. If the Supremes could play the grandest nightclubs all around the world, there wasn’t a place they couldn’t play or go. It was Berry Gordy’s vision for his artists to be embraced by both teens and adults but by white audiences too. This made it possible. This opened the doors for every black performer to follow to play anywhere.

[@lamoneal]

@@bradleyscarton3931 Everybody knew at some point the group would break up, if for no other reason than time and gravity: what goes up must come down. No other group at Motown had as many #1 hits. Twelve hits in six years is extremely rare for any group but, especially for a black female group at that time. Gordy and Diana, and even Mary knew eventually the hits would stop. So, it was strike while the iron is hot. This was both an obvious business and artistic decision, hence Ross as lead. Even the Beatles disbanded around the same time. I think Berry could had more foresight with Mary and Flo, but I also understand his myopia. Whatever one thinks about Ross, he clearly hit the jackpot and he wasn't about to change his cards. He saw Ross as his ace and for awhile they took it about as far as any black entertainer could.

[@reealitychick]

Not the same sound - I have watched and listened to many NOT THE SAME -- as the Original 3 Flo Mary Diana... the O'' were the sounding best -- these girls are OK - but not that interested in their songs... Some R buyable ???

[@thatgirlteateagang9193]

Background not the Same cant hear Flo powerful voice hooking up Daina

[@gucciysl]

Cindy wearing Florence's dress

[@loveblind]

They let her hog the spotlight.

[@brianwoods9741]

loveblind I got a question to ask you seriously ? Here's the question. you have a business and you are responsible for making this business work or fail now in this business you have three singers all three singers sing lead they each take turn & lead now even before this group came to you they came to your company this group had made a pat of whoever is lucky enough to lead the group the others would just get behind that person. so it's one particular person's turn to lead this lead did not like the song given to lead and wanted not to sing this particular song you force this group to sing this song that all your other groups turned down. You tell this group you can't turn down nothing , you're not in the position to turn anything down, now you get in there and record this song. So this particular lead did what was told her to do ,so the lead singer went in and recorded the song singing the song half hearted . Unbeknownst to the lead singer , the singer was doing the song the way the writers envisioned and the record goes on to become a no#1 hit and not only a jo#1 hit but a monster #1 hit for at least spending 4 weeks at no.#1 now you have a company to run and this is no games in business you either succeed in your building or you fail , the choice is yours and part of your success depends on the success of your roster of performers this particular lead has just garnered your company 4 weeks sales of your and your groups products at it's highest market share now here's the business question to you are you going to ignore the success given and your business or are you gonna try to reinvent the wheel that is already perfectly round in your hands . The choice is yours because that is what was put in front of Berry Gordy .He had that same business decisions and we all know what that decision was . It made good business sense . because he Berry said you strike while the fire is still hot because it's not going to be hot always . Whether anyone liked it or not Berry Gordy made a business decision that would allow him to continue to keep his business going and keeping it healthy. It was a good move on Berry's part because keeping Diana in the front position she was able to produce (12) twelve no.,#1's and that is nothing to sneeze at . It was the Supremes that firmly put Motown on the map . Berry Gordy used the Supremes to get the other acts on his roster into Las Vegas . To move Diana out of the top spot would be business suicide because the market which is the public at large was buying the Supremes with Diana at the helm . You keep hearing that Diana was nothing without the Supremes infact it was the other way around as was proven when Diana went solo , you hear this crap about Berry spent all this money on Diana , but don't forget Berry has also spent all this money on the Supremes the point the Supremes continued to make hits after Diana the Supremes just began to flame out while Diana continued to climb the charts and Diana to this very day is now fixed in entertainment history as a consummate solo attraction world wide . Diana didn't hog the spotlight it was just a given that Diana was to be an entertainer, and an entertainer she is bar non there is simply no one else like Diana in entertainment , whether it be music , movie, broadway stage acting Diana's talent covers the entertainment business like a tent .there is no one else like her or even come close to her..

[@scotttaylor6184]

Brian Woods you are obviously a passionate fan.. I respect that... I never blame Ross it was Gordy’s business and way of doing things. But I know holding singers back is wrong... it’s like keeping a bird from flying or chirping... he’s has admitted now that he went to far with the Ross thing. At this point in their career it was too late for sharing the spotlight, she was already doing solo to spots and rumoured to be leaving the group. I wish I never knew the background of this group. It’s hard for me to watch these clips knowing the others hated to be so confined to the background..

[@brianwoods9741]

@@scotttaylor6184 but Scott here's something else to consider, each of the girls sang lead no just Ross. But it was Ross's voice her singing their first #1 hit "Where Did Our Love Go " and Berry has said don't try ti fix what's not broken & the girls even before they went to Motown had made an agreement of whoever ir was that gets the hif coming the other's would simply follow, because as they all just wanted a hit record not do much as the money as it was just making a hit record, because as each of the girls just loved to sing. For years they would each tske turns at lead and finally ,it came time for diana to lead with "Where Did Our Love Go" was brought to the supremes & non of them liked it at first. But Berry made diana go in and record it and look what happened it became a hit , but not just a hit it became a monster hit staying at number for 4-weeks. Berry then said you don't fix what's not broken so he made diana the permanent lead and we cannot argue with the past success look at the other string of number 1's I myself heard Mary say as close as 2018 that Berry Gordy did make the best decision of putting Dianaup front inspite of our not understanding at the time "quote unquote " Mary Wilson said that. So Scott don't be so hard on yourself of not looking at them if Mary can come to grips with what happened with her past then you also should get past that mess. Here's a another something that's nof mentioned vety often each of the girls where payed equally and diana insisted on that dispite the fact the lead singer always make more than the other's. O my bad you said it's obvious that I'm a true Ross fan, well yeah i am a Ross fan but I'm also a true supremes fan as well , and my thing is let the truth be told weather it's the supremes or diana that's all .i side on the side of truth.

[@scotttaylor6184]

Brian Woods you’re not getting my point...I never said Ross was not good at being out front.... If Mary ànd Florence really stuck together they could sang more.

[@lamoneal]

@@scotttaylor6184 I hear you. But the break up and Ross' solo stardom was in the cards. The lead singer in a band or group often becomes a solo star: Beyonce, Sting, Lionel Richie, Teddy Pendergrass, Harry Styles, Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, etc. In many ways Gordy was just following public opinion and record sales.

[@davidfulton1849]

We still have to hear from the Diana Ross haters. Some of the comments are so ridiculous. To those people, are you worth 250 million as Diana is. Jealous of someone's huge success. Pitiful!

[@Sixtiesfreak]

Is it the audio or does Diana's voice sound really reedy and strained? Great show though. :)

[@pianoman551000]

Diana's voice really became nasal at this time. Gordy lowered the key signature in her recordings when Ross went solo. By doing this, Diana developed a more mature sounding voice, leaving behind the sweet, girlish, nasal sound that became the ultimate signature sound of the Supremes.

[@anthonypatterson6619]

WOW the spotlight on diana is brighter than on the one spotlight that is on the other two women.

[@sierria64]

+Anthony Patterson I CAUGHT THAT AS WELL

[@pianoman551000]

@@sierria64 By this time - 1968 - Mary and Cindy were no longer singing background vocals on the Supremes' recordings, they were basically background singers for live concerts.