Lynda Laurence the departure of Florence Ballard in 1967 and lead singer Diana Ross in 1970, was about to lose another member of the group, Cindy Birdsong, who was expecting a baby. Birdsong originally replaced Tucker in the group The Ordettes, later to be named Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles, so it was ironic that Tucker's sister, Laurence took Birdsong's place as a backing vocalist. At this time, Jean Terrell was the lead singer of The Supremes. Laurence joined the group around the time the group issued their "Floy Joy" album, and appeared on the cover with Terrell and Wilson, though Birdsong
Otis Birdsong his career at the end of the 1988–89 season. As a college freshman, Birdsong finished third among the team's scoring leaders with 14.3 points per game. The following year, Birdsong etched his name in the University of Houston's record books by becoming the first sophomore in the school's history to register 1,000 career points. When the Cougars began playing in the Southwest Conference, Birdsong soon established himself as the dominant scorer in the league's history. In his first year as an SWC player, Birdsong led the league in scoring, finishing eighth nationally with a 26.1 average. Birdsong was named a