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
Roberta A. Ballard Ballard spent fifteen years educating herself in a variety of places. From 1957-1961 she was at Earlham College in Richmond, IN, AB. Ballard went on from 1965-1967 receiving her MD at the University of Chicago, School of Medicine in Chicago, IL. Roberta did a Pediatrics Internship from 1965-1967 at the University of Chicago Hospital in Chicago, IL. She would also do a Pediatrics Residency there from 1966-1967. Ballard would then go to Stanford University, Palo, Alto, CA from 1967-1968 doing another Pediatrics Residency. She would then travel to Washington, DC to do a Neonatology Fellowship at George Washington University Hospital