Florence Ballard Florence Ballard Florence Glenda Chapman (née Ballard; June 30, 1943 – February 22, 1976) was an American singer. Ballard was the founding member of the popular Motown vocal female group the Supremes. Ballard sang on 16 top 40 singles with the group, including ten number-one hits. After being removed from the Supremes in 1967, Ballard tried an unsuccessful solo career with ABC Records before she was dropped from the label at the end of the decade. Ballard struggled with alcoholism, depression, and poverty for three years. She was making an attempt for a musical comeback when she died of a
Florence Ballard next year Jesse Lambert Ballard died of cancer. Named "Blondie" and "Flo" by family and friends, Ballard attended Northeastern High School and was coached vocally by Abraham Silver. Ballard met future singing partner Mary Wilson during a middle-school talent show and they became friends while attending Northeastern High. From an early age, Ballard aspired to be a singer and agreed to audition for a spot on a sister group of the local Detroit attraction, the Primes, who were managed by Milton Jenkins. After she was accepted, Ballard recruited Mary Wilson to join Jenkins' group. Wilson, in turn, enlisted another neighbor,