Florence ballard biography 1943

The original " Walk on By ", made famous by Warwick and also written by Bacharach and David, debuted as a single in April After an album for the label was shelved, her settlement money was depleted from the Chapmans' management agency, Talent Management, Inc. The agency had been led by Leonard Baun, the attorney who had helped to settle Ballard's departure from Motown.

Following news that Baun was facing multiple embezzlement charges, Ballard fired him. She continued to perform as a solo artist. In JanuaryBallard performed at one of newly elected President Richard Nixon 's inaugural balls. Ballard was dropped by ABC in In JulyBallard sued Motown for additional royalty payments she believed she was due to receive but she was defeated in court by Motown.

Facing poverty and depression, Ballard became an alcoholic and shunned the spotlight. Inshe moved into her sister Maxine's house. Though Ballard played tambourine, she did not sing and told Wilson she had no ambition to sing anymore. Later that year Ballard's plight began to appear in newspapers as word of her application for welfare benefits leaked out.

Around that time, Ballard entered Henry Ford Hospital for rehab treatment. Following six weeks of treatment, Ballard began to slowly recover. In earlyBallard received a settlement from her former attorney's insurance company. The money helped her buy a house on Shaftsbury Avenue. Inspired by the financial success, Ballard decided to return to singing and reconciled with her husband.

Ballard's first concert performance in more than five years took place at the Henry and Edsel Ford Auditorium in Detroit on June 25, Ballard performed as part of the Joan Little Defense League and was backed by female rock group the Deadly Nightshade. Afterwards, she began receiving interview requests; Jet magazine was one of the first to report on Ballard and her recovery.

On February 21,Ballard entered Mt. Carmel Mercy Hospital, complaining of numbness in her extremities. She died at ET the next morning from cardiac arrest [ 40 ] caused by a coronary thrombosis a blood clot in one of her coronary arteries[ 41 ] at the age of On June 30,a headstone was placed at Florence Ballard's gravesite in honor of her birthday.

Although she had a basic gravestone from the time of her burial, it was not until this date that a proper memorial headstone was dedicated to her legacy. Florence Ballard's story has been referenced in a number of works by other artists. Dreamgirlsa Broadway musical, chronicles a fictional group called "The Dreams", and a number of plot components parallel events in the Supremes' career.

The film version of Dreamgirls released in features more overt references to Ballard's life and the Supremes' story, including gowns and album covers that are direct copies of Supremes originals. In Februarya new play about Ballard by Vincent Victoria entitled Dreamgirl Deferred premiered in Houston on the anniversary of her death.

Ballard reportedly had florence ballard biography 1943 domestic disputes with her husband and filed for divorce inbut they reconciled in lateprior to her death. Besides her three daughters, Ballard's family included her cousin, rhythm and blues singer and songwriter Hank Ballardand his grandnephew, NFL player Christian Ballard ; she was also an aunt of the Detroit electronic musician Omar-S.

Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. From an early age, Ballard aspired to be a singer and agreed to audition for a spot on a sister group of the local Detroit attraction, the Primes, who were managed by Milton Jenkins. The group performed at talent showcases and at school parties before auditioning for Motown Records in Berry Gordy, head of Motown, advised the group to graduate from high school before auditioning again.

Ballard eventually dropped out of high school through her group mates graduated. InBallard suffered a misery that changed her entire outlook towards life. From the happy and bubbly girl that she was, she became a recluse, after being raped by a local high school basketball player at knifepoint. InBallard gave birth to a third child but was deserted by her florence ballard biography 1943, which led to a financial crisis in the family.

Ballard reportedly had several domestic disputes with her husband and filed for divorce inbut they reconciled in lateprior to her death. 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. Gordy signed the Primettes the second time around in Soon, the producers zeroed in on Earle and rarely wrote anything for Wilson or Ballard.

After a series of flops, number one smashes became automatic. When Martin also quit the group, Ballard, Wilson and Ross decided it would remain a trio. In the summer ofa year-old Ballard endured a tragic incident that would permanently shape her personality and shift her previously happy outlook on life to a mistrust and fear of strangers. After leaving a sock hop at Detroit's Graystone Ballroom one warm summer night, Ballard was separated from her brother Billy and accepted a ride home from a young man whom she thought she recognized, a local high-school basketball player.

Instead of being driven home, Ballard was taken north of Detroit to an empty parking lot where the man raped her at knife point. For the next several weeks, Ballard secluded herself from public, even hiding from her bewildered band mates who knew nothing of the horrible event that had transpired. Finally, Ballard told her group mates what happened to her.

Although the girls were sympathetic, they remained confused about Ballard's new behavior; she had always been a headstrong, unflappable character, but now there was an apparent change in her persona. Wilson would later attribute Ballard's personality as an adult and subsequent self-destructive behavior to the assault Ballard experienced when she was a teen.

The Primettes never officially designated anyone as the lead vocalist, so often the group would just sing in unison or swap roles among the trio as lead singer. After a couple years performing at sock hops and jubilees, the group signed with Motown Records as The Supremes, a name chosen by Ballard, on January 15, Ballard sang lead vocals on the hit "Buttered Popcorn" when she was just 17 years old.

Florence ballard biography 1943

Her voice was so powerful on the track that studio engineers requested that she stand 17 feet away from the microphone while she sang. During this period, Ballard also stood in for Wanda Young of the Marvelettes, who was out on maternity leave. Although Ballard had a huge and soulful voice, she never sang lead again on another released 45 single for the group.

However, Ballard did sing lead parts throughout her Supremes career on several album tracks. Over the next several years, the relationship between Ballard and Gordy became more and more strained, as the all-powerful Motown boss sought to make Ross the star of The Supremes. By the time Gordy renamed the act Diana Ross and The Supremes inBallard had begun to retaliate by skipping scheduled public appearances and studio sessions.

It took her a considerable amount of time to recover from the trauma. Her impressive voice made a profound impact on fans. Inher third child, Lisa, was born. Soon after, Thomas left the family. Over the next few years, Florence became a victim of circumstances. She began suing the American record label, Motown Records, and fighting for the copyrights of her singles.

Ballard lost a significant amount of money and, towards the end of her life, relied solely on welfare.