Much has been written about the Beatles’ August 1965 visit with Elvis Presley in Los Angeles. What has not been extensively explored is the meeting between the Beatles and Detroit’s hit makers, the Supremes, only nine days before the Beatles met Elvis.
Even though half of the group’s members have been dead for decades and the band broke up in 1970, the Beatles remain the biggest musical act ever. Their music has been continually broadcast around the world since 1963. This time frame encompasses 12 US Presidents (Beatlemania was already taking off in Europe before JFK’s assassination), a moon landing, three major wars, the Space, Computer, and Information Ages, a royal wedding and divorce, the end of the Cold War, the reign of six popes, and the advent of the Internet.
The Beatles have sold over 600 million albums. Their 2000 album of hits became the biggest-selling album of the decade. The Beatles still hold the record for most Billboard number one singles (20), most number ones in a year (six in 1964), most top five hits by any group (29), most top ten hits by any group (35), and, recently, the longest period between first and last top ten hits debuts. The debuts of “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “Now and Then” span nearly 60 years. In the Digital Age, Beatles songs have streamed in the billions, including “Here Comes the Sun”, which has 1.539 billion streams and is climbing daily.
The Beatles’ closest competitors during the 1960s are often erroneously noted as the Beach Boys and the Rolling Stones. By the numbers, neither group qualifies for the title. The Beach Boys had four number ones, and the Rolling Stones had eight. Second only to the Fab Four was a three-piece girl group from Detroit: The Supremes. The original Supremes, Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, and Florence Ballard, scored an astonishing 12 number-one singles and easily became the most successful American band of the decade. By the end of 1964, the rivalry between the two groups for chart supremacy was called “The US Battle Royal”.
The Supremes Hit the Charts First
Like the Beatles, the Supremes started as a quartet. The group began when Florence Ballard, then a high school junior, met two members of a group called the Primes, Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams. Ballard formed a sister group called the Primettes, featuring herself, her friends Mary Wilson, Barbara Martin, and Diane (later “Diana”) Ross. At their start, the Supremes performed equal leads on songs.
In July 1960, the Primettes, then a quartet with Barbara Martin, won a contest at the Windsor-Detroit International Freedom Festival and decided to pursue a record deal. Through Ross’ neighbor, William “Smokey” Robinson, they acquired an audition with a local label, Motown Records. Founder Berry Gordy, though reluctant at first, signed them in 1961. Gordy only did so on the condition that they change their name. It was Ballard who chose the name that became synonymous with the Motown Sound: The Supremes.
The Supremes hit the charts years before anyone outside of Liverpool heard of the Beatles. In 1962, their debut album contained their first hit song and the last recorded with Martin. The song, “Your Heart Belongs to Me”, was written by Smokey Robinson and reached #96 on the Billboard Top 100. Martine left to raise a family soon after, and the Supremes became a trio.
The Fab Four loved the Motown sound enough to cover three songs (“You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me” by The Miracles, “Please Mr. Postman” by the Marvelettes, and “Money (That’s What I Want)” by Barrett Strong). The Supremes, in turn, covered the Beatles’ “Eight Days a Week”, “You Can’t Do That”, “Michelle”, “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “A Hard Day’s Night”, and “Yesterday”.
On the surface, the groups had quite a bit in common: Both were from working-class, urban environments. The Supremes were from the Brewster-Douglass Public Housing Projects in Detroit. Three of the Beatles (Paul, George, and Ringo) likewise grew up working class near a Liverpool street named “Penny Lane”. Both groups’ debut albums were similarly titled, Meet The Supremes and Meet The Beatles. Both groups were beloved by millions of Americans after their appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.
It would be natural, then, that the mutual esteem the Supremes and the Beatles held for each other would be evident in their first meeting. Alas, this was not the case. By all accounts, the meeting was an uncomfortable drag.
The Supremes Rendered Speechless
According to Mary Wilson, the two supergroups first met at the Warwick Hotel in August 1965. The Beatles had the day off, as August 16 was the make-up date in case their historic concert at Shea Stadium was rained out the previous evening. The weather on the evening of August 15 was clear, so the Beatles played the show.
From the outset, cultural differences between the two camps became apparent. The Supremes were deeply religious; the Beatles were not. Diana Ross was raised a Baptist. Mary Wilson was a committed born-again Christian, and Florence Ballard sang in her church choir.
In contrast, the Beatles disdained religion at the time they met the Supremes. In less than a year, John Lennon would inspire mass protests in the American South by remarking that his group was bigger than Jesus. (George Harrison later led the Fab Four to become devotees of Indian philosophy, particularly Hinduism and the Hare Krishna movement.)
All four Beatles would become vegetarians, whereas the Supremes wore fur coats. The Beatles, known for their innovation in the studio, asked the Supremes how they achieved the famous “Motown sound. .The Supremes could not answer them, as America’s biggest hitmakers lacked the technical insight, did not play the instruments on their hits, and, crucially, did not produce their records.
In reality, the reason for the distinction was that Berry Gordy recruited the best jazz musicians in Detroit. Hitsville’s backing band, the Funk Brothers, was far more responsible for the Motown sound than any of the label’s singers.
Their images were different, too. The Supremes were African American women during the Civil Rights Era, constantly under pressure to act professionally. They were packaged as a wholesome, family-friendly pop group designed to appeal to white audiences. The Beatles were outspoken, cheeky rockers who honed their craft in strip clubs in Hamburg, Germany.
Another rift between the groups was drugs and alcohol. The Beatles took them, but the Supremes did not. While individual members of the Supremes might have smoked cigarettes and both Ross and Ballard later struggled with alcohol addiction, there’s no indication they did so publicly. The Beatles openly smoked and drank.
The fact that all four Beatles were smoking marijuana by the time they met the Supremes likely played into the uncomfortable atmosphere. The Beatles were introduced to cannabis by Bob Dylan the year before and had, by that time, incorporated it into their lyrics. Their drug use wasn’t just limited to weed, though. John Lennon and George Harrison took LSD for the first time in April 1965 and were using it habitually by the time they met Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, and Florence Ballard. Ringo Starr would try acid within two weeks of meeting the Supremes, but Paul McCartney would hold out until 1966.
After long periods of silence, the meeting ended 30 minutes later. Both groups left disappointed. The Supremes were unimpressed with the Beatles, and the Beatles simply couldn’t believe the Supremes were so square.
A Reach Across the Divide
Members of the two supergroups would later reconcile. By 1968, Florence Ballard had been replaced by Cindy Birdsong, and the Beatles had stopped touring. In January that year, the newly-christened Diana Ross and the Supremes performed in London at The Talk of the Town Club. In the audience was Paul McCartney.
McCartney met the Supremes after the show and congratulated them. By all accounts, this meeting was more amiable. McCartney later made hit records with two Motown artists, Ebony and Ivory (1982) with Stevie Wonder, and the 1983 song “Say Say Say” with Michael Jackson.
Tragedy would befall both groups. In 1976, nine years after Cindy Birdsong replaced her, Florence Ballard died at just 32 of coronary thrombosis. She lies at rest in Detroit Memorial Park East.
The leader of the Beatles, John Lennon, would be murdered in New York City just four years later, in 1980. A memorial to Lennon called “Strawberry Fields” remains in Central Park, New York.
Works Cited
“16 August 1965: Day off in New York”. The Beatles Bible. 27 May 2010. [nc]
“The 17 Most Memorable Performances from ‘The Ed Sullivan Show.’” Ed Sullivan.com. 9 June 2023. [nc]
“433. The Supremes: “Where Did Our Love Go””. Motown Junkies. 9 November 2011. [nc]
“The Beatles (1960-70)”. International Vegetarian Union (IVU). [nc, nd]
“Beatles Covers: A Private Collection”. [nc, nd]
CBS News Staff. “A Very Private Moment.” CBS News. 3 December 2001.
commonrider5447. “Groups that rivaled the Beatles at least momentarily in the 60’s? : r/beatles”. Reddit. 12 December 2019.
Crandall, Bill. “Motown really had a hold on the Beatles”. CBS News. 24 January 2014.
“Diana Ross Christian”. Beliefnet.com. [nc, nd]
Editors. “John Lennon sparks his first major controversy.” History.com. 16 November 2009.
Ellen, Barbara, et al. “Mary Wilson of the Supremes: ‘Motown was like walking into Disneyland’”. The Guardian, 29 September 2019.
“Florence Ballard – Death, Supremes & Songs.” Biography.com. 7 May 2021. [nc]
Goodden, Joe. Riding So High: The Beatles and Drugs. Pepper & Pearl. September 2017.
Harbron, Lucy. “What was The Beatles’ favourite drink?” Far Out Magazine. 1 May 2024.
“A Housing History of the Beatles: Three ‘working-class heroes’ and John”. Municipal Dreams. 30 August 2016. [uncredited]
Jackson, Curtis, et al. “Florence Ballard (1943-1976).” Find a Grave, Liebig, Lorie. “All of The Rolling Stones’ No. 1 Hits Ranked.” American Songwriter. 7 December 2023.
“Mary Wilson of the Supremes recounts meeting the Beatles.” The Glass Onion Beatles Journal. 11 February 2021. [uncredited]
McHattie, Callum. “How many number one songs did The Beach Boys have?” Far Out Magazine. 8 January 2025.
Neal, Mark Anthony, and Miller, Douglas. “Reflections: The Supremes and the Politics of Image”. HuffPost, 21 February 2013.
“Paul McCartney attends Diana Ross & The Supremes’ show.” The Paul McCartney Project. 25 August 2024. [nc]
Sanders, Jasmine. “A Black Legacy, Wrapped Up in Fur”. The New York Times. 31 January 2019.
Secton, Paul. “US Battle Royal, Christmas 1964: The Supremes Vs. The Beatles”. Udiscovermusic. 19 December 2024.
Sitkol. “The Beatles/The Supremes unpleasant first meeting”. Steve Hoffman Music Forums. 15 January 2015.
“Strawberry Fields”. Central Park Conservancy.
“The Supremes”, Billboard. [nc, nd]
“Supremes, The”. Detroit Historical Society.
Uitti, Jacob. “5 Iconic Paul McCartney Duets”. American Songwriter, 12 September 2023.
Walker, Derek, et al. “Mary Wilson (1944-2021): Motown legend, committed Christian | Opinion | Premier Christianity.” Premier Christianity Magazine. 11 February 2021.
Williamson, Kevin. “The Day Bob Dylan Introduced The Beatles To Pot”. The Revolver Club. 30 August 2023.
