associated_acts years_active occupation alias birth_place label name background instrument genre article_title birth_name birh_date
the mary wilson supremes , diana ross , florence ballard , 1960 -- 1962 singer barbara martin , barbara richardson detroit , michigan , u.s. motown barbara martin solo_singer vocals r & b , pop barbara martin -lrb- singer -rrb-
 barbara diane martin 1943 6 0 y
barbara martin -lrb- singer -rrb-

barbara diane martin richardson -lrb- born june 1943 in detroit , michigan -rrb- is an african-american singer ; better known for being one of the original members of motown singing group the supremes .
after the primettes dropped betty mcglown from their lineup due to mcglown 's upcoming nuptials , martin replaced her in the group in 1960 .
she and her groupmates , diana ross -lrb- then known as diane -rrb- , mary wilson and florence ballard , signed a recording contract with motown founder berry gordy on january 15 , 1961 as the supremes , a name that ballard had chosen -lrb- as she was the only group member in the studio at the time -rrb- from a list provided by motown songwriter , janie bradford , and became part of the motown stable of performers .
in between recording a handful of early singles , none of which became hits , martin , wilson , ross , and ballard worked as studio singers and hand clappers for other leading groups .
in october 1961 , martin became pregnant .
her husband supported her decision to stay in the group , but she left in the early spring of 1962 - leaving ross , wilson and ballard a trio .
although martin sang on many of the group 's early singles , and most of the tracks on the group 's first album , `` meet the supremes '' , she is not pictured on the album cover , and never received any royalties from motown after 1962 .
all of martin 's recorded vocals appear under the name of the supremes , while mcglown 's appear under the primettes .
martin 's only lead vocal for the group came in 1960 when the group recorded the smokey robinson ballad , `` after all '' , singing the bridge to the song whereas ross , wilson and ballard sang verses .
the song was featured on the group 's 2000 box set `` the supremes '' .
martin also has a spoken interlude line during the song '' -lrb- he 's -rrb- seventeen '' , and has brief solos , but not leads , on two other songs .
