Labelle year, Cindy Birdsong abruptly left the group to join The Supremes, replacing original member Florence Ballard. After completing a tour where Sundray Tucker briefly rejoined the group to fill in for Birdsong, the remaining members carried on as a trio. As grittier soul and heavy rock dominated much of Atlantic's time, the group was let go from their contract in 1970. Bernard Montague, who was managing groups such as The Delfonics, also left them, leaving them seeking new managers. After nearly signing a contract with Herb Hamlett and Frankie Crocker, they eventually picked Vicki Wickham to work with them. Wickham
Singing News Fan Awards for Favorite Group Singing News Fan Awards for Favorite Group The Singing News Favorite Group award is awarded in the yearly Singing News Fan Awards ceremony held at the National Quartet Convention every September. It is awarded to the Southern gospel group which readers of the Singing News Magazine judge to be the best group on the road. This award was awarded from the first ceremony in every year from 1970 through 1996, except for 1981. In 1997, the award was split into three more specialized awards, Favorite Traditional Male Quartet, Favorite Mixed Quartet, and Favorite Trio. In the 2007 Fan Awards, the