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The Supremes were a wildly successful Motown all girl singing group that was active from 1959 until 1977. Originally known as The Primettes from 1959 to 1961, and later, from 1967 to 1970, known as Diana Ross & The Supremes, The Supremes were the most successful black musical act of the 1960s, recording twelve #1 hits between 1964 and 1969. Though the personnel changed frequently over the years, the most familiar version of The Supremes comprised of Diana Ross, Florence Ballard, and Mary Wilson, who all grew up in the Brewster public housing project in Detroit, Michigan.
During their first few years at Motown, the Supremes released eight singles, all of which missed the Top 40. Jokingly referred to as the "no-hit Supremes" around Motown's Hitsville USA offices, the girls tried to make up for their lack of a bonafide hit by taking on any chore that was available at the studio,including performing hand claps and singing backup for Motown artists such as Marvin Gaye and The Temptations. The group's first LP, Meet the Supremes ( 1962), collected many of these early singles. During these early years, all three members took turns singing lead on various songs; Mary Wilson favoring the ballads, Florence Ballard the more soulful and up-tempo songs, and Diana Ross the more mainstream pop numbers.
In 1962, Berry Gordy made Diana Ross the sole lead singer of the group, because he felt her higher register would help the group cross over to white audiences.
In December 1963, the Supremes finally scored their first Top 40 hit, "When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes," the first of many Supremes songs written by the Motown songwriting and production team of Holland-Dozier-Holland.
In the spring of 1964, the Supremes recorded a single entitled " Where Did Our Love Go" The song was originally intended by Holland-Dozier-Holland for The Marvelettes, who rejected it. Although the Supremes did not like the idea of recording a second-hand song, because of their track record, they didn't feel they had a choice. In August 1964, while traveling as a part of Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars tour, "Where Did Our Love Go" reached #1 on the US pop charts, much to the surprise and delight of the group. "Where Did Our Love Go" was followed by four more #1 hits: " Baby Love" (which also went to #1 in Britain), " Come See About Me", " Stop! In the Name of Love", and " Back in My Arms Again". After 1965, the Supremes' singles were less uniformly massive, though they still charted on a regular basis, the combination of Holland-Dozier-Holland's songwriting and production, Diana Ross' lead vocals, and Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard's background vocals making for a winning combination. The Supremes broke down many racial barriers, becoming one of the first black musical acts to appear regularly on television programs such as The Ed Sullivan Show, and achieving the crossover success Berry Gordy had been pushing for.