Jean Terrell
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Jean Terrell (born one of ten children to Lovick and Anne Terrell onNovember 26, 1944 in Belzoni, Mississippi) is an African-American soprano singer, best known for having replaced Diana Ross in the Supremes in 1970.
The Terrell family moved from rural Mississippi to Chicago when Jean was six. The sister of of former WBA heavyweight boxing champion Ernie Terrell, during the 1960s, she sang with her brother in his group, "Ernie Terrell & the Heavyweights."
According to Shelley Berger, Syreeta Wright was origially going to replace Diana Ross, but when Berger and Berry Gordy attended a show of Ernie Terrell's in Miami Beach, Jean Terrell captivated them in both looks and vocals. Jean had a voice that could also sound similar to Diana Ross when she sang which is another reason why she was chosen to continue as lead singer of The Supremes. Terrell's voice could also reach a high soprano range as she demonstrates in "The Loving Country" and "You Gotta Have Love In Your Heart." By this time, Florence Ballard had been long gone and the current lineup was Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong. Also the group had reverted back to the use of the name "The Supremes", while previously being called "Diana Ross & the Supremes" after the departure of Ballard.
Wilson and Birdsong recorded with Terrell by day and toured with Ross each night at the end of 1969. The Terrell-Birdsong-Wilson line-up began a legacy of women that would later become known as the Seventies Supremes. The other three women affiliated in this generation of Supremes were Lynda Laurence, Scherrie Payne, and Susaye Greene.
What few people realize is that Jean was almost out of the group before she was even in. The morning after the Farewell performance for Diana Ross & The Supremes, group member, Mary Wilson received a phone call to her hotel room. Berry Gordy was calling her to say that he didn't like Jean anymore and wanted her out of the group. Jean made it clear that she was a proud black female individual from the get-go and not just one of three singing puppets. This uneased Gordy, and he wanted Syreeta Wright instead. It was Mary who put her foot down and said no. After all, over the past few months, she and Cindy had already begun recording their first new album release. Not to mention the fact that they had already announced to the world that Jean was going to take Diana Ross' place just hours before onstage. It would have been ludicrous to oust her then. With that flat denial, Berry then "washed his hands of the group".
Though the "New Supremes" did not harbor the same amount of support that Diana Ross & The Supremes had in the 60's, with Jean Terrell as the lead singer, they did enjoy several top 20 hits, including "Up the Ladder to the Roof" and "Stoned Love" (both 1970), "Nathan Jones" (1971), and "Floy Joy" (1972). However, as of 1971, it was obvious how Motown felt about the group. A great many singles and albums including "Touch" of 1971 and "The Return Of The Magnificent 7" went virtually unnoticed.To make matters worse, reporters and interviewers repeatedly asked Jean questions about Diana Ross. This for her spelled great anxiety attack. In 1972, Birdsong left to start a family and was replaced by a singer named Lynda Laurence from Stevie Wonder's back up group, Wonderlove. Terrell was a member of the group until mid-1973, when she left due to her Jehovah's Witness Religion, and the constant stress of a non-promoted group. Laurence left at the same time, marking the first moment there was a departure of two Supremes at the same time. Terrell was eventually replaced by the next lead singer Scherrie Payne, and Birdsong returned to replace Laurence. In 1978, she landed a solo deal with A&M Records, and released the LP I Had to Fall in Love. Her association with A&M was brief; A&M's plans for Jean conflicted with her devout Jehovah's Witness religion, and she left the label.
She eventually resurfaced in 1987 as a member of the FLOS (Former Ladies of the Supremes), with former 70's Supremes, Lynda Laurence and Scherrie Payne. They recorded a series of singles and albums, and toured overseas as The Supremes. A memorable performance of "How Do You Keep The Music Playing" had all three ladies on lead vocals and Terrell's soprano is distinctly heard toward the breakdown of the song. "Hit And Miss" was also a song that blended Terrell and Payne's voices as Laurence took lead; ironically having two lead singers singing background vocals for a background singer that had become a lead singer. Simultaneously, Jean recorded two solo tracks for the Motorcity label, although neither 'Too Many Memories' or 'Everything to Me' were hits. Terrell left FLOS in 1992 to pursue business interests and was replaced by Sundray Tucker (Lynda Laurence's sister); Tucker would be replaced by Freddi Poole in 1996.
2005 saw more solo activity by Jean Terrell, as she released a biographical DVD entitled Through The Eyes of a Supreme. Jean Terrell has also released a jazz solo album on the same label as former Supreme Susaye Greene.