Florence Ballard
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Biography:
Florence Glenda Ballard (Flo) came from a big family, and like most from large broods, enjoyed being around family for gatherings, barbecues, whatever. She was born to Jesse and Lurlee Ballard in Rosetta, MS, June 30, 1943, the eighth of 13 siblings; the family moved to Detroit before she turned ten to take advantage of Detroit's booming job market. Jesse found employment at an automobile plant, and as a hobby, played guitar and sang; Lurlee played piano. Jesse taught his precocious daughter songs and encouraged her interest in music.
She built a "that girl can sing" reputation in the neighborhood, took music classes and sang in her school's choir. At 14, she befriended the Primes (Paul Williams, Eddie Kendricks, and Kell Osborne) and performed a few gigs with the smooth, silky trio at Detroit venues. The Primes' manager, Milton Jenkins, encouraged Ballard to form a sister group to the Primes, so she chose Mary Wilson, Betty McGlown, and Diane Earle (Diana Ross). All sang lead, but McGlown left early and was replaced by Barbara Martin. Wilson had the lowest voice; Ballard, the most demonstrative; and Earle, the highest with a razor edge that distinguished from the others, similar to the effect Eddie Kendricks had with the Temptations -- you knew when Kendricks or Earle made the session without reading liner notes.
With guitarist, Marv Tarplin accompanying, before the Miracles snatched him away, the Primettes played hops, talent shows, and house parties for fun and experience -- pay was sometimey. They tried to get a deal with Motown Records before they graduated from high school only to be told to try again after they finished; they cut a one off record for Lupine Records and also did backing sessions for Robert West's Lupine family of labels, as well as, occasional sessions for Berry Gordy. The Lupine single &"Tears of Sorrow" b/w &"Pretty Baby," didn't do jack but displayed their compelling harmony and fascinating leads; it's one of West's best productions and sound like an early Motown cut. Wilson sang one side and Earle the other. Then came a time out caused by a neighborhood friend raping Ballard and putting everything on hold while she recovered from the ordeal.
Gordy signed the Primettes the second time around in 1961. After a renaming to the Supremes (Gordy didn't like the Primettes), they cut their first single on Tamla; parental pressures forced Barbara Martin to quit shortly thereafter and &"I Want a Guy," led by Earle, flopped. Soon, the producers zeroed in on Earle and rarely wrote anything for Wilson or Ballard's voices. After a series of flops, number one smashes became automatic and they traveled first class, shopped at exclusive stores, had personal hairdressers and valets, drank from crystal glasses, and ate off fine china dinnerware.
The pace was frantic and Motown muddied the water by pushing Wilson and Ballard out of the limelight to spotlight on Diana (don't call me Diane); this was nothing new for Motown, they did the same with the Miracles reducing the once exciting quintet to a virtual one-man show. When Claudette Robinson stopped touring, it got even worse, the Bobby Rogers, Warren Moore, and Ron White setup was so far behind Smokey Robinson on stage you thought they were part of the band.
Ballard didn't take the snub well, but the breaker came when she tired of the relentless pace. She couldn't keep up and started drinking and missing gigs. Missing gigs is a no-no, the worse thing an artist can do. A bad attitude and even a controlled drug or alcohol addiction is dealt with, but a hot group can't have a member missing in action, especially a trio. This is why the Temptations bounced David Ruffin and Dennis Edwards, and the reason for the personnel changes in Destiny's Child.
By 1967, Cindy Birdsong (formerly with Patti LaBelle && the Blue Bells) had replaced Ballard. Lawsuits ensued. The money Ballard thought was sitting in a bank turned out to be a pittance. The Supremes' expenses (all deducted from royalties) were substantial and they had an ungodly number of unreleased tracks in the can. She married Thomas Chapman, a former Motown chauffeur, in 1968 and through various connections, including Robert Bateman, inked what everyone thought would be a promising deal with ABC Paramount Records. After all, she was Florence Ballard, an original Supreme!
She had a nice home on Buena Vista in Detroit but used part of the advance from ABC to rent a lavish Manhattan penthouse with three maid rooms and a view of Central Park. George Kerr produced her first single, &"It Doesn't Matter How I Say It" (1968), but radio play was hardly automatic, in fact, it was almost nonexistent. No big deal, the Supremes crapped out nine times before exploding with &"Where Did Our Love Go." She completed an album, ...You Don't Have To, that ABC left for dead; it wasn't released until the year 2000, and then by a European company who seemingly blew their wad on licensing fees and had nothing left for promotion.
The big booking agents shunned her and the one she depended on for work got her gigs in clubs unfit for an ex-Supreme. Bucket-of-blood holes where you dressed before you came because there was no dressing room; then you waited in the owner's office until enough customers arrived. There were some decent gigs, opening for Wilson Pickett, and some television shows, but nothing close to what she was use to; performing with Bill Cosby, and singing at President Nixon's inauguration party were the only real plums. ABC released the more commercial &"Love Ain't Love," produced by Bateman in the fall of 1968, but let it languish. She never appeared on Soul Train or American Bandstand. ABC soured on Ballard, some say because of Chapman's constant demands, and didn't extend her contract; she never got another record deal.
The penthouse became an albatross and was let go, then came the birth of twins -- Michelle and Nicole -- which added to their financial problems. Waiting on a lawsuit to settle is unbearable and when Ballard's finally did, the lawyer took the monies forcing her to file a suit against him. Conditions went from bad to abject, she lost the home she loved and suffered the humiliation of getting on welfare and moving into public housing. The couple had another daughter, Lisa, in 1972.
But the marriage was shaky, Ballard's finances depleted, and Chapman was fooling around and being abusive; he left the family and sent Ballard into a deep depression that only alcohol and pills solaced. Finally, the second lawsuit settled and she received a large settlement in 1975. Ballard cleaned up and made another go at recapturing the stardom she once took for granted.
An appearance at Detroit's Ford Auditorium gave her a needed boost, she reconciled with Chapman, purchased a new house, and did television. But the melancholy years, fueled by chemicals and alcohol, weakened her system causing a fatal cardiac arrest February 22, 1976 -- she was 32 years old. Reverend C. L. Franklin conducted Florence Glenda Chapman's funeral at the New Bethel Baptist Church two days after she passed to a capacity house of family, friends, artists, producers, writers, and musicians. Andrew Hamilton, All Music Guide
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