Cindy Birdsong (born December 15, 1939) – There's Room At The Top (1976)

The original Bluebelles member who replaced Flo Ballard in the Supremes sang on this powerful message song co-written by Brian and Eddie Holland.

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Singer Cindy Birdsong was one of the original members of Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles, until she left in 1967 to replace co-founding member Flo Ballard in The Supremes.

Born in Mount Holly, New Jersey, Birdsong lived in Philadelphia as a child, where she met Patsy Holt (aka Patti LaBelle). Her family then moved to Camden, NJ. She decided to become a nurse and in 1961 was attending college in Philly when Holt asked her to join her vocal group The Ordettes, replacing singer Sundray Tucker alongside Holt, Sarah Dash and Nona Hendryx. The group later changed its name to Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles, and Birdsong sang with them for six years.

Birdsong slightly resembled original Supremes member Flo Ballard, who by the mid-sixties was suffering from depression and drinking heavily. In April, 1967, Motown head Berry Gordy asked Birdsong to replace her. She immediately began rehearsals and first appeared with the Supremes at an April 29, 1967 benefit concert at the Hollywood Bowl.

However, she was still under contract with the Bluebelles, whose lawyers filed suit against Motown. As Gordy made arrangements to buy out her contract, Birdsong began secretly travelling alongside the group, studying their shows and dance routines. She officially started performing with them on July 1, 1967 at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, the night Gordy fired Ballard for good.

Birdsong’s departure angered the other Bluebelles. She did not speak to any of them for over a year, and after that, they barely spoke to her for the next decade and a half. After becoming superstars as Labelle, Hendryx wrote an epic song for their third album Pressure Cookin’ (1973) about Birdsong leaving, “(Can I Speak to You Before You Go To] Hollywood.” In the early eighties, Patti LaBelle and Birdsong repaired their friendship.

She became a crucial member of the Supremes, although Birdsong seldom sang lead on their recordings. After Diana Ross left in early 1970, replaced by the group’s new lead singer Jean Terrell, Cindy and Mary Wilson's voices were heard more frequently. But it's a shame Cindy wasn't allowed to shine on lead more often. One exception was the superb jam “Now The Bitter, Now The Sweet” off their 1972 Floy Joy LP, produced by Smokey Robinson, which featured Mary and Cindy on co-lead vocals. He co-wrote the track along with Aretha’s older brother Cecil Franklin.

After taking a break for maternity leave between 1972-73, Birdsong rejoined the group in 1974. The Supremes' self-titled 1975 LP reunited them with Brian and Eddie Holland who alongside several other producers co-wrote and produced songs for them including the disco hit “Early Morning Love” and the fantastic “I Can Never Recover” which unfortunately was not included on the album and went unreleased until 2011.

The album’s lead single “He’s My Man” was released in June, 1975 and went to #1 on the disco charts, produced by Greg Wright and co-written by Wright and Karin Patterson.

The Supremes memorably performed it live on several television shows including Soul Train.

High Energy (1976) was the last Supremes LP that Birdsong sang on. Solely produced by Brian and Eddie Holland, recording sessions began in December, 1975. Birdsong subsequently left the group in February, 1976, frustrated with their manager at the time, Mary Wilson’s then-husband Pedro Ferrer. Her replacement Susaye Green’s vocals were overdubbed on two tracks, but Cindy’s remained on others, making High Energy the only Supremes album to feature four members.

One of the songs recorded for the LP but not used was the socially conscious message song “There's Room At The Top,” co-written and produced by the Holland brothers. Reportedly, Eddie decided the song’s lyrical content (which he himself had penned) was out of place with the rest of the album. It remained unreleased until 2002, when it appeared on the Supremes compilation The '70s Anthology.

In a sad end-of-life development, Birdsong has suffered several strokes in recent years. Last summer her family asked a Los Angeles judge to place her under a conservatorship due to her ill health and friction between family members and Rochelle Lander, her longtime friend/live-in caregiver. In early October, the judge ordered a temporary conservatorship and allowed county officials to take charge of her care and finances.

Further info:

“Cindy Birdsong: A Supreme replacement,” Goldmine Magazine, April 23. 2008.

“Supremes Singer Cindy Birdsong Family Seeks Conservatorship,” Vulture, June 29, 2023.

“Judge Weighs Conservatorship for the Former Supreme Cindy Birdsong,” The New York Times, August 7, 2023.

#soul #disco #TheBluebelles #TheSupremes #CindyBirdsong