Kaaren Ragland is the founder of The Sounds of The Supremes.

Biography

Kaaren Ragland was born in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. She attended the Northfield School in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

(BA) and studied acting at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

’s School of Fine Arts (MFA) where she also took classes in the Music Department. Ragland's later education included a JD from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. She states that her mother, a well known

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

educator, always stressed the importance of a well-rounded education.

Career

Ragland appeared in the

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

production of " Eubie" with

Cab Calloway Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist ...

, and in productions of “ Little Shop of Horrors” and "

Balm in Gilead ''Balm in Gilead'' is a 1965 play written by American playwright Lanford Wilson. Dramatic structure Wilson's first full-length play, ''Balm in Gilead'' centers on a café frequented by heroin addicts, prostitutes, and thieves. It features many unc ...

" in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. She was the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

ingenue hired by the National Shakespeare Company in New York City in the mid 70’s while she was still a student at Boston University. In addition Kaaren Ragland appeared in several productions of the play “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When The Rainbow is Enuf” in Los Angeles at the Mark Taper Forum, the Huntington Hartford, and at the Buffalo Studio Arena Theatre. In addition she appeared in more than 20 National Television Spot Commercials. In 1977, last original and founding member Mary Wilson decided to disband the Supremes and forge a solo career. Wilson hired Ragland for

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

s in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

South East Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

during 1978, continuing throughout the 80's as a background singer for Wilson. Mary continued to tour with Ragland and others performing in the US,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and Europe. Ragland 's final tour with Wilson took place in March and April 1989. In late 1989, Ragland formed a group called “The Sounds of the Supremes” with whom she has appeared in over 70 countries around the world. Wilson attempted to prevent her using the name "The Sounds of the Supremes” in a Federal Court action in 1996. But, based on extensive contractual evidence and her multiple concert performance history that began in the UK in 1978 (while contracted to perform as a member of “The Supremes”) the court found in Ragland’s favor, granting her the right to use her own name: “The Sounds of the Supremes".

'Sounds of the Supremes' Personnel

* Kaaren Ragland, Althea Burkhalter, Angel Rose * Former members: Roberta Freeman, Van Jewel, Wendy Smith, Hollis Payseur, Kathy Merrick

Albums

Live At The

Highclere Castle Highclere Castle is a Grade I listed country house built in 1679 and largely renovated in the 1840s, with a park designed by Capability Brown in the 18th century. The estate is in Highclere in Hampshire, England, about south of Newbury, ...

(2007) *1. Symphony *2. You Keep Me Hanging On *3. Where Did Our Love Go *4. Love Child *5. Love Is Here And Now You're Gone *6. Reflections *7. Stoned Love *8. You Can't Hurry Love *9. Come See About Me *10. Back In My Arms Again *11. Baby Love *12. Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart *13. Stop In The Name Of Love *14. Someday We'll Be Together *15. I Hear A Symphony *16. Symphony Reprise

External links

The Sounds of the Supremes Group Site
* https://archive.today/20140615211724/http://www.tsdmemphis.com/index.php/entertainment/1202-

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ragland, Kaaren American women singers Living people Boston University College of Fine Arts alumni Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women