Cindy Birdsong - A Profile

Cindy Birdsong (Cynthia Ann Birdsong) (15 Dec 1939) is 83 today. She is most famous for becoming one of The Supremes in their heyday, replacing Florence Ballard in 1967. Prior to that she was one of Patti LaBelle's (Patricia Holte) Bluebelles between 1962-67 recording five albums with her. 

The Bluebelles evolved from The Ordettes who in turn were formed by joining forces with the Del-Capris whose members included Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash. Birdsong replaced Sundray Tucker (aka Cindy Scott) in The Ordettes, who was the sister of a future Supreme Lynda Lawrence. Sundray later joined Fayette Pinkey and Sheila Ferguson in the Three Degrees in 1967 for touring purposes only. In 1970 she joined her sister Lynda Lawrence and Terri Hendrix in a group called The Third Generation backing Stevie Wonder who would become Wonderlove. She left shortly afterwards to replace, yet another future Supreme, Jean Terrell (who replaced Diana Ross in 1970) as lead singer with Ernie Terrell & The Heavyweights. Ernie Terrell was Jean Terrell's brother who held the World Boxing Association's heavyweight title from 1965 to 1967.

Birdsong was born in Mount Holly, NJ, but spent her childhood in Philadelphia where she befriended Patricia Holte (who would become Patti LaBelle) but her family moved back to NJ (Camden). When she returned to Philadelphia in 1960 she was contacted by Patti to replace Sundray Tucker in The Ordettes. 

Their first record "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman" was controversial as it was actually recorded by a group called The Starlets who were unable to promote it as they had a hit song "Better Tell Him No" with another label (Pam in 1961). The Starlets were from Chicago but recorded the song in Philadelphia in sessions with Bobby Martin and Harold Robinson who owned Newtown records. He changed The Ordettes' name to The Blue Belles after his music publishing company Blue Bell Music (and then various concoctions i.e. The Bluebelles feat. Patti La Belle, Patty LaBelle & The Bluebelles, Patty La Belle & The Blue Belles, Patti La Belle & The Blue Belles, Patty LaBelle & The Blue Belles, Patti La Belle & The Blue Bells) and released the song on Newtown in 1962, initially billed as just the Blue-Belles. However, when they were seen lip-synching to the song over The Starlets version on a TV show, they were sued and subsequently re-recorded the song twice themselves.

When Birdsong joined the Supremes in 1967 it is alleged that she did not sing on most of the recordings by Diana Ross & The Supremes. It is claimed that Motown's session group The Andantes replaced the voices of Mary Wilson and Birdsong. It wasn't until Ross left in 1970, and was replaced by Jean Terrell, that their voices were heard. Birdsong left the group in 1972 to give birth to her son and was replaced by Lynda Lawrence, returning in 1973 when Lawrence left to give birth herself. She left for good in Feb 1976, ironically only days after the death of the original member she replaced, Florence Ballard, and was replaced by Susaye Greene, a former member of Ray Charles' Raelettes and Stevie Wonder's Wonderlove (with Deniece Williams whose breakthrough single "Free" she co-wrote).

To close the loop, Jean Terrell left The Supremes in 1973 to be replaced by Freda Payne's sister, Scherrie Payne, so the only original member was Mary Wilson. When Wilson called it a day for a solo career in 1977, despite a new member, Joyce Vincent (Tony Orlando's Dawn), being drafted to replace her, Berry Gordy decided to disband the group now that there were no original members left. Mary Wilson died just last year on 8 Feb 2021.

In 1985, Birdsong along with Jean Terrell and Scherrie Payne formed Former Ladies of The Supremes (FLOS), but before they got off the ground Birdsong left for a solo career being replaced, once again, by Lynda Lawrence. Sundray Tucker replaced Jean Terrell in 1992 and left in 1996 to be replaced briefly by returning Jean Terrell and then by Freddi Poole who in turn left in 2009 to join The Three Degrees. She was replaced by Joyce Vincent. Finally Lynda Lawrence left in 2017 being replaced by Susaye Greene.

The only solo single I can find listed for Birdsong was a Hi-NRG song, "Dancing Room", released in 1987 in the UK on Hi Hat.

In 1968 Birdsong played Sister Anne in the Tarzan TV series. Prior to becoming a singer she was training to be a nurse and returned to nursing after leaving The Supremes in 1976 working at UCLA Medical Center under her married name of Cindy Hewlett. She later became a minister in L.A.  According to some sources, Cindy is suffering from Alzheimer's. 

Cindy was never the lead singer, apart from on an unreleased version of "High Energy", and with the statement above regarding the use of Adantes, it's difficult to know exactly which songs she featured on so I've cherry picked some of the best Supremes songs between 1970-76 along with Patti Labelle & The Bluebelle's controversial first single, their first five hits plus another that should have been, "All Or Nothing". There is also an interview with Cindy from 1986 when she was launching a solo career.

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