Background
Few stories from the Motown era are as painful as what happened to Florence Ballard after she left The Supremes.
Ballard had been there from the beginning. She helped form the group that became The Supremes, and during her years with them, they rose from Detroit teenagers to one of the most successful acts in popular music. Then, in 1967, she was out.
Introduction
As part of her departure from Motown, Ballard received a one-time settlement reported at about $139,000. Accounts of the agreement differ on exactly what future rights she surrendered, but what followed is much clearer: the money did not provide lasting security, and her attempt to build a solo career failed to take off. She signed with ABC Records and released two singles, but neither became a hit. Her planned album was shelved.
Meanwhile, her personal life was collapsing. Ballard had three daughters to support. Her marriage to Thomas Chapman deteriorated, her home eventually went into foreclosure, and by the early 1970s she had fallen into serious financial hardship.
She later sued Motown seeking additional royalties she believed were owed to her, but the case was unsuccessful. With little income and three children at home, Ballard eventually had to rely on public assistance. The contrast was brutal.
Only a few years earlier, Florence had been standing beside Diana Ross and Mary Wilson on some of Motown’s biggest records. Now she was struggling simply to keep a roof over her family.
Her situation began to improve in 1975 after an insurance settlement allowed her to buy a small home, and she started making plans for a musical comeback. But there would be almost no time. Florence Ballard died on February 22, 1976. She was only 32. For longtime Supremes fans, her story remains one of the saddest reminders that enormous success onstage did not always mean security once the music stopped.
Video
Lyrics
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I need love, love to ease my mindI need to find, find someone to call mineBut mama said you can’t hurry loveNo, you just have to waitShe said love don’t come easyIt’s a game of give and takeYou can’t hurry loveNo, you just have to waitYou gotta trust, give it timeNo matter how long it takesBut how many heartaches must I standBefore I find a love to let me live againRight now the only thing that keeps me hanging onWhen I feel my strength, yeah, it’s almost goneI remember mama saidYou can’t hurry loveNo, you just have to waitShe said love don’t come easyIt’s a game of give and takeHow long must I wait how much more can I takeBefore loneliness will cause my heart, heart to break?No, I can’t bear to live my life aloneI grow impatient for a love to call my ownBut when I feel that I, I can’t go onThese precious words keeps me hanging onI remember mama saidCan’t hurry loveNo, you just have to waitShe said love don’t come easyIt’s a game of give and takeYou can’t hurry loveNo, you just have to waitShe said trust, give it timeNo matter how long it takesNo love, love don’t come easyBut I keep on waiting, anticipating for thatSoft voice to talk to me at nightFor some tender arms to hold me tightI keep waiting, I keep on waitingBut it ain’t easy, it ain’t easy when mama saidYou can’t hurry love noYou just have to waitShe said trust, give it timeNo matter how long it takes