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
Ballard MacDonald Ballard MacDonald Ballard MacDonald (October 15, 1882 – November 17, 1935) was an American lyricist, who was one of the writers of Tin Pan Alley. Born in Portland, Oregon, he was a charter member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). MacDonald wrote lyrics for a song called "Play That Barber-Shop Chord" in 1910, which became a hit with revised lyrics when it was sung in The Ziegfeld Follies by vaudeville star Bert Williams. He subsequently worked with composer Harry Carroll on "On the Mississippi" (1912) and "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine" (1912, based on the