This 1964 song knocked the lads from Liverpool off top perch of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Chart.
Their story began when they were still high school pupils growing up on the Brewster-Douglass Housing Projects in Detroit, Michigan.
The young Florence Ballard got acquainted with a Detroit male singing group known as The Primes. Keen to match up with a sister group, The Primettes were born with Ballard calling on best friend Mary Wilson, who in turn recruited classmate Diane Ross (later, Diana) and Betty McGlown. Marvin Tarplin significantly joined the four on guitar.
So now let's fast forward, if I may, over the quintet cutting their teeth round the clubs and local events to the emerging Motown empire. In 1960 Ross asked old neighbour, The Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson to help them catch an audition for Motown executive Berry Gordy although in truth, Smokey's interest was most picqued by guitarist Marvin Tarplin's talents.
I961 finally saw The Primettes strike the motherlode. Renamed The Supremes, they signed a contract with Gordy after many months hanging out after school at Hitsville USA studio, contributing hand claps and backup vocals for other Motown artists such as Marvin Gaye and Mary Wells and The Temptations. Now a vocal trio of Ballard, Wilson and Ross and with Tarplin later to find fame with The Miracles, success came slowly.
But then, "Where Did Our Love Go" reached number One on the US pop charts in 1964. It was also their first song to appear on the UK pop charts, where it reached number Three...
Being a girl, I love to look at photos from the archives of their poise, chic, elegance and wardrobe...their whole look, which having grown up in a Detroit Housing Project, was honed by the Motown in-house charm school which all artists signed to Berry Gordy attended. I'm being a little self-indulgent here so apologies to the gents of BCB.
The great Coco Chanel would approve this ensemble
Perhaps a little too much 'Wow' factor in this final outfit but I think well suited for a group with 12 US Number One singles and a Hollywood Walk of Fame star to their credit.
Fresh and novel to my ears, and which I find unique from other Motown and earlier female R&B and Soul singers was the airy, floaty, breathy vocals which you can hear in the 1964 hit, "Baby Love"....
..but behind the foot tapping, hand clapping, breezy party mood is a miniature vignette of love gone south with such lyrics as "Lonliness has got the best of me."
It became a number-one hit both in the UK and the US and was nominated for the 1965 Grammy Award for Best R&B Song.
The bulk of their material, well, certainly their biggest hits, came courtesy of the Holland–Dozier–Holland song writing team, as it did for many of the Motown artists. The 1965 number one hit, "Stop! In the Name of Love" it is said, had lyrics inspired by Lamont Dozier getting caught in a compromising position by his lady and finding himself uttering those very words as she went to walk out on him
It struck me that Diana Ross has an unusual posture for a lead vocalist...you can see it in live youtube footage. She's far from standing upright and her shoulders are somewhat hunched over. Can a person song to the best in that stance ?
It was said that Flo Ballard had a voice so powerful they had to position her microphone 17 feet in front of her. So that brings up a question...
Who really was the better singer of the Ross-Wilson-Ballard line-up ?
Here's "A Breathtaking Guy" penned by Smokey Robinson for their 1964 second studio album Where Did Our Love Go, where all three - Diana Ross, Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson - sing a part of the chorus with the original title together...
In the song below, Florence Ballard sings sole lead on "Buttered Popcorn", from the album Meet The Supremes. It was released as a single in 1963 but was not overly promoted. Apparently, Berry Gordy felt that this sound didn't reflect how he wanted the public to chime with The Supremes. It certainly has an altogether much, much earthier feel going on.
(BEING CAREFUL NOT TO GET PUT ON THE NAUGHTY STEP HERE) In fact in later days it was pulled once the lyrics had been reappraised, as it were!
Anyway, on a slight tangent, what do you think of this cover of The Beatles "You Can't Do That" ?
Have a listen, if you have time...
...Do you think they could do that ?!
It's from their third album, A Bit of Liverpool although it was titled With Love (From Us To You) for it's UK release.
With "The Happening", The Supremes chalked up yet another hit at Number One on the Billboard Hot 100 in May '67 becoming their tenth number-one single in the USA. However, there was indeed soon to be a very sorry Happening : it was the last hit single ' The Girls' (as they were known from their earliest days at Hitsville USA) made together before Florence Ballard departed (or should I say, was ousted from) the group, to be replaced by Cindy Birdsong ....
The Supremes, as Ross-Wilson-Ballard, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994, and they entered the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998. Additionally, Rolling Stone magazine placed the group at number 97 on their list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".
I think it's fair to say The Supremes were the template for other female vocal groups to emerge such as The Pointer Sisters, The Three Degrees and more recently the magnificent Destiny's Child, but there's a question...Perhaps you agree or disagree about the extent of their influence ?
My Personal all-time Favourite has to be "You Keep Me Hangin' On".
It made Number 339 on Rolling Stone's 2004, The 500 Greatest Songs of all Time....
...I love that little kick at the very end of that song!
I'll have to excuse myself for not writing about the technicalities of the vocals and the music as that's not my forte or field ...I don't sing or have a background in music.
So I'll wrap-up my whistle stop appreciation of The original, glorious Supremes there, at 1967, prior to the changing line-up and to Ross' solo career, as for me, those early years are their Prime.
