The Supremes - Where did our love go

Video of The Supremes singing "Where did our love go"

"Where Did Our Love Go" is a 1964 hit song recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, "Where Did Our Love Go" was the first single by the Supremes to go to the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, a position it held for two weeks, from August 16 to August 29, 1964. It was also the first of five Supremes songs in a row to reach number one (the others are "Baby Love", "Come See About Me", "Stop! In the Name of Love", and "Back in My Arms Again").
This version was ranked #472 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time

History

Overview

Holland–Dozier–Holland had originally composed the song and prepared the instrumental track for The Marvelettes to record it. The Marvelettes rejected the song, thinking it childish, and H–D–H offered it to the Supremes, who by early 1964 had only one top-forty hit, When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes, and eight failed singles. Although the Supremes were apprehensive at first about the song, they decided that they really didn't have a choice in the matter.

Upon learning the Supremes had chosen to record "Where Did Our Love Go", the Marvelettes warned the girls to stand up for themselves and not just take anything H–D–H would give them. As a result, when the song was recorded on April 8, 1964, there was a bit of animosity on the part of the Supremes towards singing the song. Lamont Dozier was forced at one point to redo the arrangement of the background vocals, replacing the original, more complex backing with simple repetitions of the word "baby".

One of the most famous aspects of "Where Did Our Love Go" was its rhythm section, comprised primarily of footstomps. The sound effect was performed by an Italian-American teenager named Mike Valvano, who stomped down upon two wooden boards suspended by strings, to create the aural illusion of a group of foot-stompers. Handclaps were overdubbed for the 45 RPM single mix of the song.

Since the lead vocal was originally written to be sung by the Marvelettes' lead singer Gladys Horton, it was arranged in a register lower than the Supremes' lead singer Diana Ross' natural register. The resulting vocal track had a sensual appeal not present in Ross' earlier songs, and she elatedly rushed to Motown chief Berry Gordy's office, and dragged him to the basement studio at Hitsville U.S.A. to hear it. Upon hearing the finished song, Gordy remarked that the song had potential, possibly enough to make it to the top ten.

Release and reaction

"Where Did Our Love Go" was released as a single on June 17, 1964, and entered the Hot 100 at number seventy-seven. Six weeks later, while the Supremes were on tour as part of Dick Clark's "American Bandstand Caravan of Stars", the song made it to number one for two weeks. The girls began the tour at the bottom of the bill; by the conclusion of the tour, they were at the top.

The song became the focal point and title track of the group's second album, Where Did Our Love Go, released later that year. A German language version of the song was recorded by the Supremes for German-speaking markets overseas.

While not exactly a true cover, the melodic and chordal progressions of labelmates the Four Tops' "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" are very similar to those of "Where Did Our Love Go". "I Can't Help Myself" reached number one in 1965.

Credits

Lead vocals by Diana Ross
Background vocals by Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson
All instruments by the Funk Brothers
Footstomps by Mike Valvano

Source: Where did our love go (Wikipedia)

The Supremes - Stop in the name of love

Video of The Supremes singing "Stop in the name of love"

"Stop! In the Name of Love" clip (help·info) is a 1965 number-one single recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland-Dozier-Holland, "Stop! In the Name of Love" held the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart from March 21, 1965 to April 3, 1965, and reached the number two position on the soul chart. The fourth of five Supremes songs in a row to go number one (the others are "Where Did Our Love Go", "Baby Love", "Come See About Me", and "Back in My Arms Again"), it is remembered as one of the most popular and well-known songs of the late 20th century.

Overview

The song had its origin in an argument Lamont Dozier had with his girlfriend; when she began to walk out the door, he yelled out "stop... in the name of love!" Both Dozier and his girlfriend began laughing and reconciled; and Dozier had the seed for the next song he would write for the Supremes.

The Supremes' choreography for this song, with one hand on the hip and the other outstretched in a "stop" gesture, is equally legendary. Paul Williams and Melvin Franklin of The Temptations taught the girls the routine backstage in London, before the Supremes' performance on the BBC television special The Sound of Motown, hosted by Dusty Springfield.

"Stop! In the Name of Love!" was recorded in January 1965. and released as a single on February 8. The song was included on the Supremes' sixth album, More Hits by the Supremes, and was nominated for the 1966 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Rock & Roll Group Vocal Performance, losing to "Flowers on the Wall" by the Statler Brothers. The song was also honored by inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's permanent collection of 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
[edit]Cover versions and other uses

A cover version was later recorded by Gene Pitney, Nicki French, Globe, Claude François (as "Stop au nom de l'amour") and The Hollies (who saw UK chart success with the song in 1983).

Yukihiro Takahashi recorded a cover version on his 1980 album Murdered By The Music.
Rapper Lil Wayne sampled "Stop! In the Name of Love" for his 2007 single "Gossip".
The Disney Channel featured the song as a DTV music video set to clips from the cartoon shorts The Big Bad Wolf, Mickey's Delayed Date, and Lend a Paw.

A FoxTrot strip published in August 1993 has Paige singing the song, but mistakenly singing "Shop!" in place of "Stop!" Peter seemingly corrects her by continually repeating "Stop!" to her, but in actuality, he is demanding she stop singing entirely.

In the Fairly OddParents episode "Love Struck!", Timmy comes between the groups of males and females about to wage war on each other, yelling out the song's title.
On an episode of Good Times, "The Rent Party", which was the last episode with John Amos (James Evans), Willona, Thelma and Florida dressed up as The Supremes and performed the song during a rent party for a tenant.

A scene from an episode of The Steve Harvey Show featured Regina, Lovita, and Cedric's date Nikki singing the song at a karaoke bar.
A German version, titled "Was hab' ich Dir getan?" was recorded by the Jacob Sisters in 1966.

In 2003, on their Something Wrong album, the IcelandicTrip-Hop band Bang Gang recorded a version of the original song.

Source: Stop in the name of love (Wikipedia)

Supremes - Stop in the name of love

The Supremes - Baby Love

Supremes - where did our love go

The Supremes according to Wikipedia

The Supremes, an American female singing group, were one of the signature acts on Motown Records during the 1960s. Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul and disco. They were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts, with twelve number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100.[1] Most of these hits were written and produced by Motown's main songwriting and production team, Holland-Dozier-Holland. At their peak in the mid-1960s, The Supremes rivaled The Beatles in worldwide popularity,[1] and their success made it possible for future African-American R&B and soul musicians to find mainstream success.[1]
Founding members Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, Diana Ross and Betty McGlown, all from the Brewster-Douglass public housing project in Detroit,[2] formed The Primettes as the sister act to The Primes (with Paul Williams and Eddie Kendricks, who would go on to form The Temptations).[2] Barbara Martin replaced McGlown in 1960, and the group signed with Motown the following year as The Supremes. Martin left the act in early 1962, and Ross, Ballard and Wilson carried on as a trio.
During the mid-1960s, The Supremes achieved mainstream success with Ross as lead singer. In 1967, Motown president Berry Gordy renamed the group Diana Ross & The Supremes and replaced Ballard with Cindy Birdsong. Ross left to pursue a solo career in 1970 and was replaced by Jean Terrell, at which point the group's name returned to The Supremes. After 1972, the lineup of The Supremes changed more frequently; Lynda Laurence, Scherrie Payne and Susaye Greene all became members of the group during the mid-1970s. The Supremes disbanded in 1977 after an eighteen-year run.

Source: Wikipedia