Florence Ballard between 1964 and 1967. After many rehearsals with Cholly Atkins and Maurice King, the Supremes' live shows improved dramatically as well. During this time, Ballard sang lead on several songs on Supremes' albums, including a cover of Sam Cooke's "(Ain't That) Good News". During live shows, Ballard often performed the Barbra Streisand standard, "People". According to Mary Wilson, Ballard's vocals were so loud she was made to stand 17 feet away from her microphone during recording sessions. Marvin Gaye, for whom Ballard sang backing vocals on occasion, described her as "a hell of a singer, probably the strongest of the
Russ Ballard and the Whisky A Go Go in Los Angeles. Ballard wrote and produced "You Can Do Magic" for the group America on its 1982 album "View from the Ground". The single climbed to No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1982, and helped resurrect the band's career. The following year, America brought in Ballard to produce their follow-up album, "Your Move". One of its tracks, "The Border", which was co-written by Ballard with Dewey Bunnell, reached No. 33 on the Billboard Hot 100. Ballard wrote ABBA singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad's 1982 solo hit: "I Know There's Something Going On"