''Farewell'' is a 1970 live

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

Diana Ross & the Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...

. The album was recorded over the course of the group's final engagement together at the

New Frontier Hotel and Casino The New Frontier (formerly Hotel Last Frontier and The Frontier) was a hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The property began as a casino and dance club known as Pair O' Dice, opened in 1931. It was sold in 1941, and inco ...

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, including the final night on January 14, 1970. The show marked Diana Ross' penultimate performance with fellow Supremes members Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong. At the conclusion of the show, new Supremes lead singer

Jean Terrell Velma Jean Terrell (born November 26, 1944) is an American R&B and jazz singer. She replaced Diana Ross as the lead singer of The Supremes in January 1970. Biography Early life and career She is the sister of the former WBA heavyweight box ...

was brought onstage and introduced to the audience.

History

The material performed in the show was a mix of popular Supremes hits, cover songs, and

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

showtunes A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context. ...

. During the extended twenty-minute rendition of "Let The Sunshine In", Diana Ross walked through the audience and let some of the guests sing the title-chorus of the song; some of these guests included Smokey Robinson and his wife Claudette,

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting '' American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 19 ...

, Lou Rawls,

Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television personality, radio personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-cre ...

, Bill Russell,

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...

, and Marvin Gaye. The live album was issued as a two-LP deluxe edition box set, produced by

Deke Richards Deke Richards (born Dennis Lussier;"Jackson 5 producer Deke Richards dies aged 68"

. The album was reissued as a gatefold two-LP set under the title ''Captured Live on Stage!'' in 1982, and as a two-disc

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Oc ...

reissue ''Captured Live on Stage!'', in 1992. According to Mary Wilson,

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record l ...

had last-minute reservations about having Terrell replace Ross, as she was more independent and headstrong than Ross had been. Gordy called Wilson during the early morning hours following the final show, and informed her that he was going to instead replace Ross with his original choice for a Ross replacement,

Syreeta Wright Syreeta Wright (February 28, 1946 – July 6, 2004), who recorded professionally under the single name Syreeta, was an American singer-songwriter, best known for her music during the early 1970s through the early 1980s. Wright's career heights we ...

. Terrell, Wilson, and Cindy Birdsong had already recorded most of the material for the first post-Ross Supremes album, '' Right On'', and Terrell had just been publicly introduced as the newest Supreme, so Wilson refused and threatened to quit if Gordy dropped Terrell. Gordy angrily replied he would "wash his hands of the group", and hung up the telephone receiver. The Supremes enjoyed a number of hits following Ross' departure, including "

Up the Ladder to the Roof "Up the Ladder to the Roof" is a 1970 hit single recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label. It was the first Supremes single to feature new lead singer Jean Terrell in place of Diana Ross, who officially left the group for a solo career two w ...

", "

Stoned Love "Stoned Love" is a 1970 hit single recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label. It was the last ''Billboard'' Pop Top Ten hit for the group, peaking at number seven, and their last ''Billboard'' number-one R&B hit as well, although the trio co ...

", "

River Deep – Mountain High "River Deep – Mountain High" is a song by Ike & Tina Turner released as the title track to their 1966 studio album on Philles Records. Produced by Phil Spector and written by Spector, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. ''Rolling Stone'' ranke ...

" (with The Four Tops), " Nathan Jones", " Floy Joy", " Automatically Sunshine", and their last Top 40 Billboard Pop Chart hit in 1976, "

I'm Gonna Let My Heart Do the Walking "I'm Gonna Let My Heart Do the Walking" is a disco-styled soul single composed by the Holland brothers Eddie and Brian, members of the former Holland–Dozier–Holland team and was released as a single by Motown vocal group The Supremes in 1976 ...

"—although promotion and backing from Motown decreased. The Supremes carried on through the middle of the decade, briefly enjoying disco hits, concert touring, and television appearances, before finally disbanding officially in 1977.

Track listing

LP/disc one

Side one

#" TCB" (Bill Angelos, Buz Kohan) #Medley: ##"

Stop! In the Name of Love "Stop! In the Name of Love" is a 1965 song recorded by the Supremes for the Motown label. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, "Stop! In the Name of Love" held the #1 position on the ''Billboard'' ...

" ##"

Come See About Me "Come See About Me" is a 1964 song recorded by the Supremes for the Motown label. The track opens with a fade-in, marking one of the first times the technique had been used on a studio recording. The song became third of five consecutively rel ...

" ##"

My World Is Empty Without You "My World Is Empty Without You" is a 1965 song recorded and released as a single by the Supremes for the Motown label. Overview Written and produced by Motown's main production team of Holland–Dozier–Holland, the song's fast tempo accompanies ...

" ##"

Baby Love "Baby Love" is a song by American music group the Supremes from their second studio album, '' Where Did Our Love Go''. It was written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland and was released on September 17, 1964 ...

" #Medley: ##" The Lady Is a Tramp" ##" Let's Get Away From It All" #Monologue - Diana Ross #" Love Is Here and Now You're Gone" #"

I'm Gonna Make You Love Me "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" is a soul song most popularly released as a joint single performed by Diana Ross & the Supremes and The Temptations for the Motown label. This version peaked for two weeks at No. 2 on the Hot 100 in the United States, ...

" # Monologue - Mary Wilson #"

Can't Take My Eyes Off You "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" is a 1967 song written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio. It was recorded as a single by Frankie Valli. The song was among his biggest hits, earning a gold record and reaching No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for a we ...

" - Mary Wilson on Lead #Dialogue - Diana Ross & Mary Wilson #" Reflections"

Side two

#" My Man" #" Didn't We" #" It's Alright With Me" ( Cole Porter) #" Big Spender" #" Falling In Love with Love" - Mary Wilson on Lead #" Love Child" #Monologue - Diana Ross

LP/disc two

Side three

#Monologue - Diana Ross #" Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)"

Side four

#Monologue - Diana Ross #" The Impossible Dream" #Monologue - Diana Ross #"

Someday We'll Be Together "Someday We'll Be Together" is a song written by Johnny Bristol, Jackey Beavers, and Harvey Fuqua. It was the last of twelve American number-one pop singles for Diana Ross & the Supremes on the Motown label. Although it was released as the f ...

" #Closing Dialogue - Diana Ross & the Supremes

Personnel

* Diana Ross - lead and background vocals * Mary Wilson - lead and background vocals * Cindy Birdsong - background vocals *

Gil Askey Gilbert Askey (March 9, 1925 – April 9, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, producer and musical director who was born in Austin, Texas, and emigrated to Australia in 1988. Personal life Askey was born in Austin, Texas, on March 9 ...

- musical direction, arrangements,

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

conductor ;Technical *

Wally Heider Wally Heider (''né'' Wallace Beck Heider; 20 May 1922 Sheridan, Oregon – 22 March 1989) was an American recording engineer and recording studio owner who refined and advanced the art of studio and remote recording and was instrumental in recor ...

- engineering * John Stronach - engineering *

- executive producer *

Deke Richards Deke Richards (born Dennis Lussier;"Jackson 5 producer Deke Richards dies aged 68"

- album producer * Deke Richard and Kevin Kim - art direction * Kevin Kim - photography, design * Ivy Hill - lithography

Charts

References

* Wilson, Mary and Romanowski, Patricia (1986, 1990, 2000). Dreamgirl & Supreme Faith: My Life as a Supreme. New York: Cooper Square Publishers. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Farewell (Diana Ross and The Supremes Album) Albums produced by Deke Richards 1970 live albums The Supremes live albums Motown live albums Collaborative albums Live albums recorded in the Las Vegas Valley