Former Ladies of the Supremes to which she agreed, and called on former Supremes Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong. Wilson declined, instead opting to forge a solo career, while Birdsong agreed and coaxed former Supreme Jean Terrell to join the new Supremes group (By early 1976, was stated that Terrell and Birdsong would try to create a new group alongside original supreme Florence Ballard, but Ballard's sudden death cancelled their plans). The three of them set about forming a new incarnation of The Supremes, although due to contractual difficulties over the ownership of the name (Mary Wilson was involved in lengthy lawsuits with Motown over
Nona Hendryx where she met fellow New Jersey native Sarah Dash and later met Philadelphia-born singer Patricia Holte (Patti LaBelle). After a short-lived tenure as a member of the Del-Capris, Hendryx and Dash formed a singing group with Holte (once the lead singer of a girl group in Philadelphia called The Ordettes). In 1961, Cindy Birdsong, from Camden, New Jersey, became the fourth member of the group, who became the 'Bluebelles' and signed their first deal with Newtown Records. After the release of their debut hit, 1962's "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman", their name altered again to Patti LaBelle and