Birdsong was born in Mount Holly, New Jersey on December 15, 1939, to parents Lloyd Green Birdsong Sr. and Annie Birdsong, as the eldest of their children. After living in Philadelphia for a duration of her childhood, the family returned to New Jersey, settling in Camden. Birdsong set her sights on becoming a nurse and attending college in Pennsylvania. When Cindy returned to Philadelphia she was contacted by a longtime friend, Patsy Holte, in 1960 to replace Sundray Tucker in Holt's singing group The Ordettes.[1] At twenty years of age, Birdsong was the oldest member of the group with the remainder of the group still in their mid-teens.
Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles
By 1962, the group had two new members, Sarah Dash, and Nona Hendryx, both who previously sung for a vocal group which was defunct at the time. In the same year, they auditioned for local record label owner Harold Robinson. Robinson agreed to work with the group after hearing LaBelle sing the song "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman".
Shortly after Robinson signed them, he had them record as the Blue Belles and they were selected to promote the recording of "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman", which had been recorded by the Starlets. It was recorded as a Bluebelles single due to label conflict. The Starlets' manager sued Harold Robinson after the Blue Belles were seen performing a lip-synching version of the song on American Bandstand. After settling out of court, Robinson altered the group's name to "Patti LaBelle and The Blue Belles". Initially, a Billboard ad cited the group as "Patti Bell and the Blue Bells".[2] In 1963, the group scored their first hit single with the ballad "Down the Aisle". Later in the year, they recorded their rendition of the "You'll Never Walk Alone"; the single was later re-released on Cameo-Parkway Records where the group scored a second hit on the pop charts with the song in 1964. Another charted single, "Danny Boy", was released that same year. In 1965, after Cameo-Parkway folded, the group signed with Atlantic Records where they recorded twelve singles for the label, including the mildly charted singles "All or Nothing" and "Take Me for a Little While". The group's Atlantic tenure included their rendition of "Over the Rainbow" and a version of the song "Groovy Kind of Love".
By this time, Birdsong was contacted by Berry Gordy in April 1967.[3] She was being considered as a replacement for Florence Ballard by Diana Ross due to Ballard's "erratic behavior".[4] Birdsong said:
All I was told was they wanted me there. I was met at the airport by Motown executives and driven to Berry Gordy's house where the group was having a meeting with him. I was a still a member of Patti's group and didn't even tell her that I was going to Detroit. So, the door of the room swung open and Florence came out in tears. Her mother came out with her. Oh, she was so upset, so shaken, she didn't even see me. it was then I realized that I was to replace her. I felt so bad, but later on Florence understood why I did it.[4]
Birdsong began to rehearse with the Supremes doing Ballard's work as in her place,[3] and when Ballard was fired from the Supremes at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, and forced Ballard back to Detroit,[4] Birdsong officially assumed her place during the second July 1 show.[5]
During her tenure with the group, Gordy mostly used the Andantes on background vocals to accompany Ross instead of Birdsong nor Wilson.[4][6] However, when the single, "Someday We'll Be Together", hit number one, the group made their final television appearance with Ross, performing on The Ed Sullivan Show on December 21, 1969.[7]
Post Diana Ross: The "new" Supremes (1970–1972; 1973–1976)
In 1970, Jean Terrell replaced Ross as lead singer of the Supremes.[8] However, at first, Syreeta Wright was considered a replacement but Terrell was chosen instead.[9] In the new group, both Wilson and Birdsong's voices were heard more prominently, including the three albums the group recorded with the Four Tops. The group had a hit with the Four Tops with a cover version of Ike & Tina Turner's "River Deep – Mountain High".[10] They scored more chart success at the beginning of the new decade, scoring hits in the United Kingdom, while having several pop and soul hits in the United States, including "Up the Ladder to the Roof", "Everybody's Got the Right to Love", "Stoned Love", "Nathan Jones", and "Floy Joy".[11] However, Birdsong left to have her first child and was replaced by Lynda Laurence.[12] Birdsong later returned to replace Laurence in 1973 after Laurence left to start a family with her husband Trevor Lawrence.[13][14] It was also when Scherrie Payne joined the group as well, replacing Jean Terrell. During that period, Birdsong contributed to two albums: The Supremes (1975) and High Energy (1976). Birdsong was later fired from the Supremes in February 1976.[4] In that same year, Birdsong and Terrell then contacted Ballard to create a new group, but Ballard's death that same year cancelled their plan.[15]
Later career
In June 1977, Wilson performed a "farewell" concert with The Supremes (by then Scherrie Payne and Susaye Greene) and thereafter embarked on a solo career. Later that fall, Wilson was forced to play several Supremes dates, most notably in South America, that Payne and Greene would not fulfill on such short notice. Rather than risk lawsuits, Wilson recruited Birdsong and Debbie Sharpe as her backups, performing under "Mary Wilson of the Supremes".[16][17]
After leaving the Supremes, Birdsong worked at UCLA Medical Center under her married name of Cindy Hewlett, and then went to work for Suzanne de Passe at Motown Records. In 1983, Birdsong joined former Supremes Mary Wilson and Diana Ross in a one-off reunion on the Motown 25 anniversary television special. In 1986, she was a member of the Former Ladies of the Supremes along with Terrell and Payne but left to pursue a solo career in music.[4] Once again, she was replaced by Laurence in the group.[4] She briefly recorded for the small Hi–Hat Records with a single "Dancing Room".
In 1999, she reunited with The Bluebelles, who changed their name to Labelle after Birdsong's departure, for the first time in thirty-two years as the group accepted an R&B Foundation Award for Lifetime Achievement, singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" together.[18] In 2004, Birdsong joined Mary Wilson and Kelly Rowland (of Destiny's Child) to perform a medley of Supreme hits for the Motown 45 anniversary television special.[19]
Personal life
Birdsong married Charles Hewlett in August 1970 at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco.[20] In attendance were then singing partners Jean Terrell and Mary Wilson.[20] This was Birdsong's first marriage and Hewlett's second marriage. Birdsong filed for divorce in March 1975, citing "irreconcilable differences".[21] The couple have one son, Charles, known as David.[21]
In June 2023, The New York Times printed a full length article on Birdsong's health and financial status. Her family revealed that she suffered several debilitating strokes, and expressed frustration with Birdsong's longtime caretaker and roommate Rochelle Lander who they said was preventing family support.[22] However, in 2021, Birdsong was removed from her apartment by Los Angeles police and was put in a skilled nursing facility.[23] A judge awarded the family conservatorship in October 2023.[24]
In April 2024, the New York Times printed a follow-up article, chronicling Birdsong's continued challenges. Her son David filed a lawsuit against Brad Herman who had been credited for "rescuing" Cindy from her financial and medical woes.[25]
Kidnapping
In December 1969, Birdsong was kidnapped while returning to her Los Angeles apartment with then–boyfriend Hewlett and their friend, Howard Meek.[26] The intruder forced Birdsong to tie up the two, then forced her downstairs into her car at knifepoint.[27] Birdsong managed to unlock the car door while Collier was driving and jumped out of the vehicle onto the Long Beach Freeway to safety.[27][26] She was 'hospitalised with cuts, bruises and knife wounds.'[28] Days later, Charles Collier, a maintenance man at Birdsong's apartment, surrendered himself in to Las Vegas police.[27] In April the following year Collier was sentenced to five years to life in the (California) State Prison. Collier claimed he 'did not know why' he kidnapped Birdsong.[29]
^Company, Johnson Publishing (November 1, 1973). "Jet". Johnson Publishing Company – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
^Company, Johnson Publishing (May 20, 1976). "Jet". Johnson Publishing Company. Retrieved February 11, 2024 – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
^Company, Johnson Publishing (March 22, 1999). "Jet". Johnson Publishing Company – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
^Company, Johnson Publishing (May 17, 2004). "Jet". Johnson Publishing Company – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
^ abCompany, Johnson Publishing (June 11, 1970). "Jet". Johnson Publishing Company. Retrieved January 15, 2023 – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
^ abCompany, Johnson Publishing (October 2, 1975). "Jet". Johnson Publishing Company. Retrieved January 15, 2024 – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
^ abCompany, Johnson Publishing (December 18, 1969). "Jet". Johnson Publishing Company – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
Chronology(The band's name history: The Primettes 1959–1961 / The Supremes 1961–1967 / Diana Ross & The Supremes 1967–1970 / The Supremes 1970 / Diana Ross & The Supremes 1970 / The Supremes 1970–)
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