Florence Ballard Ballard chose "Supremes". When the other members heard of the new name, they were not pleased. Diana Ross feared they would be mistaken for a male vocal group. Eventually Gordy agreed to sign them under that name on January 15, 1961. The group struggled in their early years with the label, releasing eight singles that failed to crack the "Billboard" Hot 100, giving them the nickname "no-hit Supremes". One track, "Buttered Popcorn", led by Ballard, was a regional hit in the Midwest, but still failed to chart. During a 1962 Motortown Revue tour, Ballard briefly replaced the Marvelettes' Wanda Young
Donald E. Ballard Donald E. Ballard Donald Everett Ballard (born December 5, 1945) is a retired American colonel in the Kansas National Guard and former member of the United States Navy, in which he was a hospital corpsman in the Vietnam War and received the Medal of Honor for heroic actions above and beyond the call of duty on May 16, 1968. Ballard was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He was married and was working in a dental lab when he decided to join the Navy in hopes of becoming a dentist someday. He enlisted in the United States Navy in 1965. After