Cindy Birdsong in 1965, recording two relatively successful albums, 1966's "Over the Rainbow" and 1967's "Dreamer" scoring modest charted singles such as "All or Nothing", "Take Me a Little While" and "I'm Still Waiting". Starting in mid and late 1967, Birdsong began to appear as a stand-in vocalist for Supremes founder Florence Ballard when Ballard's bout with alcoholism caused her to miss important gigs. In 1967, Birdsong abruptly left the Bluebelles to join Diana Ross and the Supremes as Ballard's official replacement. Birdsong said that the remaining Bluebelles were angry with her for not telling them about joining the Supremes and refused
Cindy Birdsong to talk to her for years. Later, after the group changed their name to Labelle and embraced funk and rock music, they recorded member Nona Hendryx's composition, "(Can I Speak To You Before You Go To) Hollywood", which was allegedly based on Birdsong. Birdsong and lead singer Patti LaBelle repaired their friendship in the early 1980s after Birdsong appeared at one of LaBelle's sold-out, standing-room concerts. In 1999, Birdsong and the other Blue Belles received a Pioneer Award from the R&B Foundation and were honored by Lauryn Hill. For her first two and a half years as a Supreme, listeners