Grammy Museum to open Supremes exhibition

The Grammy Museum’s first Motown exhibition opens later this month

Opening on 25 June, the exhibition will be the first the museum has staged in honour of any Motown artist

The Supremes in 1966

hould you happen to be anywhere near LA this summer, you might want to roll by the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles to see an exhibition dedicated to the career of The Supremes. The exhibition opens on 25 June, but founding member Mary Wilson will be taking part in an interview/Q&A session at the museum on 24 June.

Detroit natives Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, Diana Ross, and Betty McGlown first got together as The Primettes in 1959, as a companion act to a band called The Primes which featured Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams, later of The Temptations. McGlown was replaced by Barbara Martin in 1960, and they changed their name to The Supremes upon signing to Motown the following year. The trio of Ross, Wilson and Ballard went on to become one of the most successful acts of the 1960s, changing their name to Diana Ross & The Supremes in 1967, though the line-up changed several times over the years: Cindy Birdsong, Jean Terrell, Lynda Laurence, Scherrie Payne and Susaya Green all sang in the band before their eventual break-up in 1977, with Ross leaving in 1970.

The exhibition in LA will include a wide range of Supremes memorabilia, including stage outfits dating back to the Primettes era. In a statement issued to the press, the Grammy Museum’s executive director Bob Santelli said: “We’ve been eager to feature an exhibit celebrating Motown since we honored Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson at our inaugural benefit gala in 2013. As you look at all of these wonderful treasures, please be reminded that three little black girls dared to dream and made their dreams come true.”

Below, you can watch The Supremes performing Stop In The Name Of Love on Ready Steady Go! in 1965

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