Kaaren Ragland

Kaaren Ragland was born in Richmond, Virginia but her family moved to New England. She attended the Northfield School in Massachusetts, Brown University (BA) and studied acting at Boston University's School of Fine Arts (MFA) where she also took classes in the Music Department. Ragland's later education included a JD from UCLA. She states that her mother, a well known Virginia educator, always stressed the importance of a well-rounded education. Ragland appeared in the Broadway theatre production of "Eubie" with Cab Calloway, and in productions of "Little Shop of Horrors" and "Balm in Gilead" in Los Angeles. She was the first African-American ingenue hired by the National Shakespeare Company in New York City in the mid-1970s while she was still a student at Boston University. Former member of The Supremes, Mary Wilson, hired Ragland for concert tours around the world during 1978, continuing throughout the 1980s. Ragland 's final tour with Wilson took place in March and April 1989. In late 1989, Ragland formed her group, the Sounds of the Supremes, with whom she has appeared in over 70 countries around the world. Wilson attempted to prevent her using the name "the Sounds of the Supremes," in a Federal Court action 1996 but the court found in Ragland's favor, granting her the right to use her name "the Sounds of the Supremes". The other members of the Sounds of the Supremes, as of December 2017, are Althea Burkhalter and Kathy Merrick. Former members were Hollis Paysour, Angel Rogers, Van Jewel, Wendy Smith and Roberta Freeman. Hollis Paysour also toured with Mary Wilson alongside Kaaren in March and April 1989 and again in 2011. Roberta Freeman toured with Mary Wilson in the early 2000s.