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
Birdsong (novel) Sunday Telegraph", "The Times Literary Supplement", "The Spectator" and "The Scotsman". American and other international press reviews were similarly positive. The novel's popular reception was similarly positive. "Birdsong" came 13th in a 2003 BBC survey called the Big Read, which aimed to find Britain's favourite book. It received an "Also Mentioned" credit in "The Observer" 2005 poll of critics and writers to find the "Best British book of the last 25 years" (1980–2005). "Birdsong" was listed in "The Telegraph" as one of the most consistently high selling books of 1998–2008, continuously in the top 5,000 sales figures. Reviews of the