The Lost Supreme: The Life of Dreamgirl Florence Ballard

Lost Supreme-mechanical 4/23/08 11:26 AM Page 1

BIOGRAPHY / MUSIC

$24.95 (CAN $27.95)

“Flo Ballard’s remarkable story is a personal
he Supremes were the

Th

Greek tragedy. In his wonderful
The Lost

most successful female vocal

T group in history. Of the three

Supreme
, Peter Benjaminson tells it master-e

original members—Diana Ross,

L

fully, with all the drama and empathy her life
The

Mary Wilson, and Florence Ballard—two told

deserves. In his talented hands, Flo earns the
their life stories in bestselling books. Only

lasting stardom she was deprived of in life.”

o

Florence Ballard, the spunky teenager who

s

—Gerald Posner, author of

t

L
ost
founded the group, remained silent. But, in S

Motown
and
Why America Slept

the months before her 1976 death, Flo

actually did tell her own side of the Supremes

story—and the story of her entire life—to

u

“Get to know the real Flo, from the beginning
Peter Benjaminson, who recorded her words

Peter Benjaminson
is the author of
Secret
p

to the end. A must read.”

on tape. In this book, for the first time, is Flo
Police, Investigative Reporting
(with Dave
r

Anderson),
Publish Without Perishing,

em

—Otis Williams, the Temptations

S L
ost

upreme

S
uprem
Ballard’s entire heartbreaking tale, revealing
Death in the Afternoon,
and
The Story of
Motown.
He has worked as a reporter for
e

• the surprising identity of the man who

“What a reader may take away from this book is a new understanding of how
raped her before she entered the music

the
Detroit Free Press
and the
Atlanta
cruel the American promise of success can be—and of how that promise can
business

Journal-Constitution.
He lives in New

make real life incomprehensible. Except here, as lived out by a woman who
B

• the details of her love-hate relationship

York City.

e

has been dead for as long as she was alive, it makes all too much sense.”

n

with Motown Records czar Berry Gordy—

jam

—Greil Marcus, author of
Like a Rolling Stone
and
and an account of their first and only date

• her serious drinking problem and ignored

The Shape of Things to Come

in

pleas for treatment

son

• her never-ending desire to sing lead and

“There are two Florence Ballards. One is the Flo whose tragic death is still
how she was prevented from doing so

mourned by her fans 31 years later. The other is the cheerful, confident,

• her attempts to get her life back on track

upbeat, and talented Flo with whom I worked daily. Peter Benjaminson has
after being brutally expelled from the

done a stellar job in capturing both. Flo deserved a biographer with his skill
Supremes

and talent. If this book were a record, it would top the charts.”

• and much more.

—Alan Abrams, Publicity Director, Motown

Flo Ballard traveled around the world in lux-

Records, 1964 –1966

ury, chatting with royalty and heads of state,

applauded by millions. But when she died at

the age of 32, she was a lonely mother of three

$24.95 (CAN $27.95)

just barely recovered from years of poverty and

ISBN 978-1-55652-705-0

Printed in the United States of America

5 2 4 9 5

despair. Though we may mourn the extended

Jacket design: Scott Rattray

silence of such a profound talent, at least now

Front cover image: Harry Goodwin/Redferns

Distributed by

we can begin to understand how and why it

Back cover image: courtesy of Peter Benjaminson

Independent Publishers Group

9 7 8 1 5 5 6 5 2 7 0 5 0

Author photo: Alden Ford

www.ipgbook.com

happened.

TheL
ost

S
upreme

TheL
ost

S
upreme

The Life of Dreamgirl Florence Ballard

Peter Benjaminson

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Benjaminson, Peter, 1945-The Lost Supreme : the life of Dreamgirl Florence Ballard / Peter Benjaminson. —

1st ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 201), discography (p. 181), and index.

ISBN-13: 978-1-55652-705-0

ISBN-10: 1-55652-705-5

1. Ballard, Florence, 1943-1976. 2. Singers—United States—Biography.

3. Supremes (Musical group) I. Title.

ML420.B1336B46 2008

782.421644092—dc22

[B]

2007032949

www.thelostsupreme.com

Interior design: Scott Rattray

© 2008 by Peter Benjaminson

All rights reserved

First edition

Published by Lawrence Hill Books

An imprint of Chicago Review Press, Incorporated 814 North Franklin Street

Chicago, Illinois 60610

ISBN 978-1-55652-705-0

Printed in the United States of America

5 4 3 2 1

Other Books by Peter Benjaminson

Investigative Reporting

The Story of Motown

Death in the Afternoon

Publish Without Perishing

Secret Police

To Florence Glenda Ballard

1943–1976

And Florence Galinson Benjaminson

1922–2000

b

At the end is Florence Ballard. She’s the quiet one.

—Diana Ross