SHAZAM

The original Supremes, who are often referred to for convenience's sake as the Columbus Supremes to distinguish them from the much better-known Motown girl trio, are remembered only by serious R&B scholars and doo wop enthusiasts. In 1954, Bobby Isbell (bass) and Eddie Dumas (second tenor) joined with Forest Porter (lead), Jay Robinson (baritone), and Eddie Jackson (first tenor), all students at Columbus, OH's East High School, and formed a quintet that took the name of the Supremes -- the choice, so Isbell explained, came from a bottle of Bourbon Supreme that provided some escape from the cold one bitter night in the winter of 1954. They kept very busy singing in Ohio across more than three years, through 1957, and were one of the most highly regarded R&B vocal ensembles in the region. They broke out that year with an engagement in Florida, their first chance to perform outside of the upper Midwest, and recorded for Ace Records in the spring of 1957. What was to be their big breakthrough proved a non-event, as the single "Just for You and I" failed to sell. The group was gone by 1959, and the name was still available for the picking when the Motown-based Primettes, as they were known, were searching for a new name. The original group has been mostly forgotten since, although they did reunite and perform on occasion into the 1970s. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi