Nice look back, Ellen. I think The Supremes ran alongside The Beatles, at least as far as fandom made by radio listening. They were probably one of the most-heard acts for me in the mid-'60s (I was 9 in '64), and made a nice female complement to The Beatles (again, for me) for instantly hummable, catchy songs with harmonies galore (what, largely, attracted me to The Beatles, early on). They seemed, on Houston AM Top 40 radio, to be everywhere, keeping pace, it seemed, with the Fabs for air time/rotation!
As I've written about, I saw The Supremes open for Judy Garland in December '65 in Houston's Astrodome, which had just opened 8 months before! I was 10, but Mom was a huge Judy fan, and I probably spent most of the night with my head on Mommy's lap, but I remember a tiny woman with a big voice (Judy) on the stage a long way away!
No wonder you're into music with a mom who took you to concerts like that. What a great mom and role model.
My mom was into Judy too, played her LPs on our hi-fi. But I mostly remember watching Judy sing "Over the Rainbow" every year when we watched The Wizard of Oz, and in movies with Mickey Rooney. An incredible voice.
I'm thinking the Supremes don't really qualify as rock 'n' roll, but they were so influential and ever-present in the 60s, as you point out, that I had to include them for my fellow classmates' listening and dancing pleasure.
Nice look back, Ellen. I think The Supremes ran alongside The Beatles, at least as far as fandom made by radio listening. They were probably one of the most-heard acts for me in the mid-'60s (I was 9 in '64), and made a nice female complement to The Beatles (again, for me) for instantly hummable, catchy songs with harmonies galore (what, largely, attracted me to The Beatles, early on). They seemed, on Houston AM Top 40 radio, to be everywhere, keeping pace, it seemed, with the Fabs for air time/rotation!
As I've written about, I saw The Supremes open for Judy Garland in December '65 in Houston's Astrodome, which had just opened 8 months before! I was 10, but Mom was a huge Judy fan, and I probably spent most of the night with my head on Mommy's lap, but I remember a tiny woman with a big voice (Judy) on the stage a long way away!
No wonder you're into music with a mom who took you to concerts like that. What a great mom and role model.
My mom was into Judy too, played her LPs on our hi-fi. But I mostly remember watching Judy sing "Over the Rainbow" every year when we watched The Wizard of Oz, and in movies with Mickey Rooney. An incredible voice.
I'm thinking the Supremes don't really qualify as rock 'n' roll, but they were so influential and ever-present in the 60s, as you point out, that I had to include them for my fellow classmates' listening and dancing pleasure.