The Supremes at Expo 67
Check out this ultra-rare shot of Diana Ross and the Supremes at Expo 67!image source: facebook.com
Labels: the supremes, very stylish girls
posted by Jason Stockl @ 7:43 pm
expo 67 lounge
Mid-century fashion, vintage pop culture and retro cool... from Expo 67 and beyond.
10 March 2008
Check out this ultra-rare shot of Diana Ross and the Supremes at Expo 67!image source: facebook.com
Mid-century fashion, vintage pop culture and retro cool... from Expo 67 and beyond.
9 Comments:
Too cool!! I don't remember them coming to expo....then again..I was only 10 years old...hee hee
I flipped when I saw this photo. On Facebook, of all places!
That is one coold shot! 'Love it!
We were at Expo a week before the Supremes. We missed that show. However we saw in concert I believe in the Plaza area, the 5th Dimension.
That was my 1st concert! :)
The confluence of the Supremes and Expo would have been your "I can die now a happy man" moment, Jason. ;)
Indeed, Puck...
I CAN die now a happy man!
I saw two of their six shows, and got to write a "teen reporter" review of the show for The Ottawa Citizen back in the day. Check out soufuldetroitforum for that article and more on those magical nights.
I was a member of The Supremes Fan Club of Canada, founded by Eric Pressman in 1967 I even started an Ottawa chapter for a brief period, comprised mostly of high school friends. When Eric told me that he had obtained tickets for me to see the group's opening show, and the last show of their three day, six performance booking at the Expo Theatre, I was over the moon.
I contacted the teen editor at the Ottawa Citizen, the local paper which I was also a paperboy, and explained I'd like to do a review. Upon determining that I had a place to stay, they agreed. My parents let me go, a huge concession considering I was 16 at the time.
A press conference was set up at the Hotel Bonaventure in downtown Montreal, where the women were staying. Only Diana Ross was in attendance, and it became evident later that due to the recent departure of Florence Ballard, their management wanted to keep a lid on things.
As a teenager, I was totally ignored by seasoned reporters and DJ's who had only a few minutes for one on one time with Diana. Being shameless, I knelt down between a DJ and Diana straining to overhear their conversation which was being taped on a professional recording device. The DJ asked, "Diana, how would you describe the Motown Sound? She went "....hmmmm," and wasting no time, I hummed out a not so silent drum beat, making exaggerated movements with my hands. The hapless DJ's eyes burned into me, which I blissfully ignored and Diana, threw back her head, laughing gently, snapping her fingers, winked at me , saying, "That's it, That's it!"
For all the sins Diana Ross may have committed, perceived and otherwise, she has earned a pass from me for that magical encounter, that lives on in my memory, and which still gives me goosebumps and a mile wide smile, when I reflect back to that glorious shared moment.
I was also a member of the Supremes fan club, Canada edition, but living in Edmonton and only 13 at the time, I was not as lucky as fans out east who were closer to the Expo site. I do remember distinctly the promotional press package which I received after joining, including an 8 x 10 glossy b&w photo signed by all three, which I have long since lost, unfortunately. There was also a 2 or 3 page pamphlet with some background on each of the girls and describing the group dynamic: “Diana Ross is lead singer, Mary WIlson adds depth and substance with a strong contralto, and Florence Ballard’s clear gospel-flavoured soprano polishes the sound”. The pamphlet used the Joe Eula caricature (from the Lincoln Centre poster, 1965) as a logo in the top corner of the first page. I seem to remember one of the headlines in the pamphlet described their latest hit “Love is Here And Now You’re Gone” as their “12th million seller”. I think at the time I only owned one or 2 albums, “Supremes At the Copa” and “I Hear A Symphony”, but needless to say, I quickly began collecting all the rest of their albums, including the ones previous to those two. I remember thinking how the studio versions of their early hits were so different from the live versions, as those were the ones I had listened to, over and over. I never did get to see the group in concert (I came close in 1969, but the show was cancelled in Edmonton), but I have seen Diana Ross twice and I was lucky to actually meet Mary WIlson at her “Dreamgirl” book signing here in Calgary back in 1989. I remain a huge fan of the Supremes and Motown to this very day!
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