Barbara Martin (born June 1943 in Detroit, Michigan) 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. 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 “(He’s) Seventeen”, and has brief solos, but not leads, on two other songs. (More from Wikipedia)
The Supremes were founded in 1959 by four teenagers – Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, Diana Ross, and Betty McGlown – under the name the Primettes; they started as a sister act to the Primes, who evolved into the Temptations. Barbara Martin replaced McGlown in 1960. Ross was going by the name “Diane Ross” initially; that was actually the name that her mother intended to give her, but through a clerical error, her birth certificate says Diana Ross. In order to distinguish themselves from other similar groups in that era, the Primettes hired guitarist Marvin Tarplin to accompany them so they would not have to lip sync.
Some of the earliest tracks on the Meet the Supremes album date from 1960 and 1961 and feature Barbara Martin before she left to start a family in early 1962; the Supremes then went forward as a trio. Although not shown on the album cover, Martin performs background vocals on several songs and sings lead on “After All”, a song that was omitted on the original album but was included on later editions.
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