Jean Terrell
| Jean Terrell | |
|---|---|
| Born |
November 26, 1944 Belzoni, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Origin | Chicago, Illinois |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | 1969–present |
| Labels |
Motown (1970–1973) A&M Records (1978) |
| Associated acts | Ernie Terrell and the Heavyweights, The Supremes, Former Ladies of the Supremes |
Jean Terrell (born Velma Jean Terrell, November 26, 1944 in Belzoni, Mississippi) is an American R&B and jazz singer. She replaced Diana Ross as the lead singer of The Supremes in January 1970.
She is the sister of the former WBA heavyweight boxing champion, Ernie Terrell, who fought Muhammad Ali.
Moving from Belzoni, Mississippi to Chicago for a better life at an early age, Jean Terrell was guided by her family to sing, and it was in the late 1960s that she and her brother formed a group called Ernie Terrell and the Heavyweights.
It was while singing in Miami, Florida where Motown president Berry Gordy discovered the 24-year-old singer performing with her brother at a club in Miami Beach. Looking for a replacement for his protegée, singer Diana Ross, who was leaving the group she had fronted during most of the 1960s, The Supremes, for a solo career, Gordy first signed Terrell to Motown as a solo artist, but then decided to drop her into The Supremes as Ross's replacement alongside continuing, fellow members Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong. Terrell then recorded much of the new post Ross Supremes material in the studios, and rehearsed the group's new act during the day with Wilson and Birdsong, while Ross, Wilson and Birdsong performed as Diana Ross & The Supremes at night.
After Ross's farewell show with the group at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas on January 14, 1970, Terrell joined the group on stage to be presented to the press and public. After this introduction, according to Mary Wilson, Gordy changed his mind about Terrell leading the group and suggested replacing her with another Motown act Syreeta Wright. Wilson vetoed this move, preferring to stick with Terrell. Terrell made an instant impact fronting the new Supremes, recording prolifically and successfully with several of Motown's top producers. The revitalized Supremes scored more chart success right from the beginning of the new decade; scoring big in the United Kingdom, while managing several pop and soul hits in the United States: "Up the Ladder to the Roof", "Everybody's Got the Right to Love", "Stoned Love", "River Deep – Mountain High" (with the Four Tops), "Nathan Jones", and "Floy Joy." After the success of "Floy Joy," Birdsong quit to start a family and was replaced by Lynda Laurence (a former member of Stevie Wonder's group Wonderlove). Despite the initial successes, toward the end of 1973, Terrell and Laurence decided that it would best for the Supremes to leave Motown and seek another record company. As Motown, and not Mary Wilson, owned the name "Supremes", both Terrell and Laurence left the group that year. All three Supremes were unhappy with Motown's seeming lack of interest in promoting this line-up of the group. In addition, Laurence was expecting a child at the time. So Scherrie Payne replaced Terrell and Cindy Birdsong returned to replace Laurence, although it would not be until 1975 that the group released any further recordings.
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