Who was the lead singer of the Supremes immediately after Diana Ross left the group?

Jean Terrell, an American R&B and jazz singer, immediately replaced Diana Ross as the lead singer of The Supremes in January 1970. Ross left the group to pursue a solo career and was then replaced by Terrell. This group also reverted back to its original name; they again called themselves, The Supremes.

Terrell was born in November 1944 in Belzoni, Mississippi. At a very early age, she moved with her family from Belzoni to Chicago in northeastern Illinois. The family was hoping for a better life situation. Jean was then guided by her family to sing, and it was in the late 1960s that she and her brother formed a group called Ernie Terrell and The Heavyweights.

Motown president Berry Gordy discovered the 24-year-old Terrell in 1968 in Miami, Florida. She was performing with her brother (Ernie) at a nightclub. Looking for a replacement for Diana Ross, who was leaving The Supremes, Gordy decided to sign Terrell to Motown as a solo artist. Later, he dropped her into The Supremes as Ross's replacement alongside Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong.

Terrell recorded much of the new post-Ross Supremes material in the studios. She rehearsed the group's new musical act during the day with Wilson and Birdsong. Ross, Wilson, and Birdsong performed as Diana Ross & The Supremes at night.

After Ross's farewell show with the group at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 14, 1970, Terrell joined the group on stage to be presented to the press and people within the USA.