The Supremes, as most here know, were the most successful so-called “girl” group of all time, owing to great writing by Holland-Dozier-Holland and the distinct voice of Diana Ross.
 
The story of how they came to be and why they eventually broke up is detailed in an hour-long documentary I just saw on the Reelz Channel, a cable station in the U.S. (Sorry for those accessing this from other countries, but so far it’s only available in the States.)  
 
“Breaking The Band: The Supremes” outlines some things I never knew about what is arguably the greatest of all the Motown groups. It outlines how the Supremes originally started life as a quartet, why the late Florence Ballard actually had the best voice of the trio, but was never able to be heard above the fierce ego of Ross – and how that led to her untimely death in the mid 70s.  
 
There are interviews with Mary Wilson, the band’s road manager, recreated sequences of their past, the internal bickering that went on and more. One caveat: because they don’t want to pay royalties, there aren’t a lot of actual Supremes songs in a story about the Supremes. Not a surprise, these kinds of docs do this all the time to keep the cost of production down.
 
Overall, not perfect but a very watchable recount of the by-now well known story of how the Supremes became what they were and how it all ended in bitterness.
 
In case you can get this station, it’s worth an hour of your time to DVR it. It airs again on Jan. 21st at 1:30 AM, and a second time on Feb. 1 at 2 PM EST.

This cable station started out as primarily a movie preview channel, but has since branched out into true crime and music documentaries and is worth occasional listing checks to see what they're up to. 

 “Breaking The Band” scheduled airings

Here's a preview of the show:

Last edited by aflem (January 20, 2020 4:15 pm)