DECEASED SUPREMES FOUNDER SPEAKS FOR HERSELF: TV One's 'Unsung' gives viewers rare look into the life and legacy of Florence Ballard.

      *Florence Ballard was a founding member of The Supremes. Her voice has been described as soulful, big, rich, and commanding. However, few people know just how strong her voice, passion, and resilience was.

      Ballard's voice was almost hidden behind Diana Ross' after she, Ross, and Mary Wilson forged The Supremes. Some fans are familiar with Ballard's story through Effie White, the character loosely based on Ballard in the movie “Dream Girls.”

      Other fans may know the storyline of Ballard being an original member who was kicked out of the group. But nothing tells the story of Florence Ballard quite like the bio-series 'Unsung' this Sunday night at 8pm Eastern/5pm Pacific.

      The TV One series “Unsung“ has built a solid reputation for giving viewers an inside and sometimes shocking look at what happened to some of their favorite artists. “Unsung” features artists who, despite memorable hits and mass appeal, never reached their potential for superstardom.

The Supremes: Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson & Diana Ross

      In its emotionally provoking episode about Florence Ballard, the show gives viewers a rare opportunity to hear Ballard speak for herself. Throughout the episode, viewers are exposed to rarely heard taped interviews of Ballard from biographer, Peter Benajmainson. This gives viewers a rare opportunity to hear from Ballard, in her own words. Although a wide array of family, friends, and musical peers talk about the singer's life and career, nothing matches hearing the voice of Florence Ballard herself.

      Ballard's life was a series of very high highs and very low lows. Up to her sudden death in February of 1976, she continued to battle the internal and external conflicts that started early in her life.

      Traumatized by an early rape, Ballard became withdrawn from some of her closest friends, including Ross and Wilson.

      “We were real girlfriends. We were girlfriends who grew up together. So, first dates, doing hair, wearing stockings were things we experienced for the first time, together,” Wilson said in an interview with EURweb.

      Wilson also said that at age 14, the three of them were all still virgins, so the experience was that much more devastating. Being so young, they did not know how to handle it, and Wilson said the adults in their lives did not handle it properly. She said that everyone thought with fame, Florence would “just get over it.”

      In the “Unsung” series, Wilson and others point to the rape as an underlying cause of what they saw as Ballard's self-destructive behavior.

      Plagued by several problems throughout her life, including substance abuse, being pushed aside then out of the group she formed, domestic abuse, and financial ruin, Florence Ballard tried continually to regain control of her life.

      In TV One's “Unsung,” Ballard speaks about her childhood, the ups and downs of her career, and conflicts in the group.

      “Diana wanted to be the lead singer. I felt that I was suited better doing some tunes, and I felt that the relationship, as close as I thought we were, it just should have been spread around, but it wasn't. Diana wanted the complete lead and complete control of the group,” Ballard said.

      That had to be difficult for her since she was the one who was approached about forming the group. It was Ballard who helped recruit singers for the group. It was also Ballard who chose the song they auditioned with to get into Motown.

      “Flo put together the whole package, you know. She punched out the words. She got the melody right. She had rhythm; this is a capella, you know, not with anyone behind her,” biographer Benjaminson says.

      Later, it was Ballard who picked the group's name. Yet, creatively and physically, on stage and on tour, Ballard's talents were pushed further and further to the back. And, at the height of the Supremes' success, Ballard was frustrated and disappointed with the way things were going. She was also hurt by what happened to the friendship.

      “We didn't do things together anymore. The only time we would see each other would be in the dressing room or on stage. And, our rooms, we were all on different floors, miles apart. So, it seemed like the group was just splitting somehow, in that manner,” Ballard says from beyond the grave.

      The “Unsung,” episode shows Ballard as: sassy, outspoken, withdrawn, humorous, a superstar, a lover of life, friends, and family.

      TV One gives viewers an opportunity they should not miss, seeing and hearing the voice of an incredible woman who speaks about her: finances, mental health, addiction, and whether or not she would do it all again.

      See it for yourself this Sunday at 8pm Eastern/7pm Central & 5pm Pacific on TV One. For more, go here.

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