Florence Ballard

Florence Glenda Chapman was an American vocalist. She was one of the founding members of the popular Motown vocal female group the Supremes. Ballard sang on sixteen top forty singles with the group, including ten numberone hits.

Florence Glenda Ballard was born in Detroit, Michigan on June 30, 1943 to Lurlee and Jesse Ballard, as the ninth of fifteen children. Her siblings were Bertie, Cornell, Jesse, Jr., Gilbert, Geraldine, Barbara, Maxine, Billy, Calvin, Pat, Linda and Roy. Her mother was a resident of Rosetta, Mississippi. Her father was born Jesse Lambert in Bessemer, Alabama after his grandmother was shot and killed, he was adopted by the Ballard family. Jesse Ballard left his adoptive parents at thirteen and soon engaged in an affair with Ballards mother, who was only fourteen, in Rosetta. The Ballards moved to Detroit in 1929. Jesse soon worked at General Motors. Jesse, an amateur musician, helped instigate Florences interest in singing he taught her various songs and accompanied her on guitar. Financial difficulties forced the Ballard family to move to different Detroit neighborhoods by the time Florence turnedthey had settled at Detroits BrewsterDouglass housing projects, and the next year Je

Source: Wikipedia