Florence Ballard

As a founding member of The Supremes, Florence Ballard's rise to fame, along with her abrupt dismissal from the group and early death, was one of the great tragedies of American pop music. Possessed of a formidable voice and stage presence, she brought together the group as a teenager in her native Detroit, but after signing with Motown Records, she was quickly relegated to what essentially amounted to backing vocalist behind Diana Ross. The situation, combined with other personal issues, crushed Ballard's spirit, and she was fired from the group at the height of their popularity in the late 1960s. She descended into poverty and substance abuse for much of the early 1970s before mounting a brief comeback in 1975, but her weakened health caused a fatal heart attack in 1976. Her story would later inspire the character of Effie White, the multi-talented songstress relegated to backup singer, in the hit Broadway production and later feature film, "Dreamgirls." With Ballard's sad death, fans mourned a premature close a life spent in pursuit of song but never fully allowed to blossom in the spotlight.