Cindy Birdsong
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Cindy Birdsong (born Cynthia Ann Birdsong, December 15, 1939, in Mount Holly Township, New Jersey) is an American singer. Originally a member of Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles, Birdsong is most notable for being a member of The Supremes from 1967 to 1972 and 1973 to 1976.
[edit] Biography
Cindy Birdsong grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Birdsong's family soon left Philadelphia for Camden, New Jersey. After spending time as a nurse, Birdsong moved back to Philadelphia, where she met singer Patti LaBelle and replaced Sandra Tucker as a member of The Ordettes.[1] Within a couple of years, their group name changed to Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles, and they found success with the singles "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman", "You'll Never Walk Alone" and "Down the Aisle".
Birdsong's affiliation with LaBelle ended when Berry Gordy, Jr. of Motown Records offered her a deal to replace Florence Ballard as a member of The Supremes in 1967. After spending some time as Ballard's stand-in (Ballard and Birdsong superficially resembled one another), Birdsong officially joined Diana Ross & The Supremes, as the group renamed itself immediately prior to her joining, in July 1967.
For her first two and a half years as a Supreme, listeners did not hear Birdsong's voice on most of The Supremes' newest singles. Except for featured backgrounds on several collaborations with The Temptations and live album tracks, Birdsong and fellow member Mary Wilson did not sing backing vocals on the group's later singles. (Florence's voice was featured on the Reflections album as well as Birdsong's, while The Andantes were substituted for Mary and Cindy on many, although not on all, cuts in subsequent Diana Ross & The Supremes albums.) However, Cindy can be heard doing a brief solo during "Let The Sunshine In" on their Farewell performance.
On the evening of December 2, 1969, Birdsong was attacked at knifepoint in her Hollywood apartment by a maintenance man who worked in her building. The man forced her to tie up two of her friends who were visiting at the time, then tied her up and kidnapped her in a car. As they headed south towards Long Beach, Birdsong managed to jump from the speeding car onto the Hollywood Freeway. A nearby car stopped to assist her and took her to a local hospital where she was treated for various knife wounds and bruises. Her captor was subsequently arrested in Las Vegas four days later.
Diana Ross left the Supremes for a solo career in 1970, at which point Jean Terrell was brought in as the new lead singer. In the new group, both Mary and Cindy's voices were heard more prominently, including the three albums the group recorded with the Four Tops. The same year, Birdsong got married to Charles Hewlett. Birdsong continued to perform with the Supremes until 1971, when she became pregnant with her son, David. Birdsong officially left the Supremes in April 1972, after completing the sessions for the Floy Joy album. Her replacement, Lynda Laurence, who, ironically is Sundray Tucker's sister, had already joined Mary Wilson and Jean Terrell onstage and on the Floy Joy album cover, as Birdsong's pregnancy began to show. After a brief retirement, Birdsong returned to the Supremes in late 1973, ironically replacing a pregnant Laurence. Birdsong remained with the Supremes until she quit in February 1976, frustrated with her dealings with Mary Wilson and Wilson's husband Pedro Ferrer, who was serving as the group's manager. During that period, Birdsong contributed to two albums: The Supremes (1975) and High Energy. During this time-frame, Cindy recorded lead vocals on "Til The Boat Sails Away", "You Kee Me Movin On", and a unreleased version of "High Energy". Although Birdsong was featured on several tracks of the latter album, similar to the Floy Joy album, her replacement Susaye Greene appears on the album cover and was over-dubbed on several tracks.
After leaving the Supremes, Birdsong worked as a nurse at UCLA Medical Center under her married name of Cindy Hewlett, and then went to work for Suzanne de Passe at Motown Records. In 1987, Birdsong returned to singing, and released the single "Dancing Room" on Hi-Hat Records. Other songs were demoed, but none released. These songs included "Ready For You", "Check It Out", "Talk is Cheap", and "Anatomy".
In 1983, Birdsong joined fellow former Supremes Mary Wilson and Diana Ross in a one-off reunion on the Motown 25 anniversary television special. She was an original member of the Former Ladies of the Supremes along with Jean Terrell and Scherrie Payne) but left to pursue a career in singing. Once again, she was replaced by Lynda Laurence in the group. In 2000, she reunited with the BlueBelles for the first time in thirty-three years. In 2004, Birdsong joined former Supreme Mary Wilson and Kelly Rowland (of Destiny's Child) to perform a medley of Supreme hits for the Motown 45 anniversary television special. Today, Cindy is divorced and a minister in the Los Angeles area. It is rumored she is writing her memoirs.
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Don't Block the Blessings" by Patti LaBelle, page 94
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Birdsong, Cindy |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Birdsong, Cynthia Ann |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | American singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 15, 1939 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Mount Holly Township, New Jersey |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
