Review Summary: The Most Successful Female Vocal Group Of All Time
The Supremes, led by Diana Ross, broke down many racial barriers during their eventful reign in the 1960's, yet critical revisionism has tended to often over-look their remarkable achievements. Rivaled by only Elvis Presley and The Beatles in terms of number one hit singles, the group scored 12 ground-breaking chart-toppers on the US Billboard pop chart. Motown boss, Berry Gordy, intended to use his roster of artists to appeal too not only blacks but to break into white culture too. Diana Ross and the Supremes were easily the most successful act at Motown to find acceptance in white culture, bridging the racial and cultural gap and becoming the label's flagship group. Their image was wholesome, sophisticated and elegant, and were more pop than soul than most other Motown groups, but its pop music at its very best and all their recordings evoked a soulful air.
There are popular misconceptions about The Supremes, that Diana Ross stepped all over Mary Wilson and the group's founder, Florence Ballard in a ruthless bid to be the sole star of the group. Mary Wilson had a breathy, seamless, pleasant-sounding soprano, while Florence Ballard's startling vocal delivery was more raw, earthy and soulful and indeed possessed a higher volume level than Diana Ross. But with Diana Ross, they immediately had a unique sound that instantly set them instantly apart from other Motown acts. Her soft, soulful voice which was crystal-clear and neatly surfboarded along Motown's complex musical arrangements, conveyed raw elements of vulnerability that proved immensely popular to the sound of young America. It's not necessarily that Ross had a better voice as such, but she undoubtedly had the most star quality, had a regal presence and was in a class and style of her own and this evidently is what Berry Gordy spotted in her when he signed her to Detroit's Motown Records in January 1961. Many have attacked Ross' vocal style for lacking the power and grit of bigger-voiced singers like Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston, but no one can argue that she had a very distinctive sound which was the whole point - when you hear Diana Ross on the radio, you immediately KNOW it's her!
As the civil rights wars continued across America, the sound of Motown seemingly offered light at the end of the tunnel with their racial-crossing music. 'The No.1s' collects all of Diana Ross and the Supremes biggest hits - including some delightful offerings from Diana Ross' successful solo recording career and 1 memorable track of the post-Ross Supremes.......
1. WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO
The follow-up to The Supremes first real chart breakthrough 'When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes' (which charted at 23 on the U.S Billboard Hot 100) was the frantically paced 'Run, Run, Run'. While being a nifty affair with instant immediacy, 'Run, Run, Run' anchored at #93 on the U.S Hot 100, a full seventy places lower than 'When The Lovelight'. Holland-Dozier-Holland then offered the now distraught Supremes, 'Where Did Our Love Go'.
Where Did Our Love Go had already been rejected by Mary Wells (most famous for one of the defining Motown classics, 'My Guy') and Motown's premier female group, The Marvelettes (who helped put Motown on the map by delivering the labels first ever chart-topper with the classic, Please Mr Postman). Lead vocalist of The Marvelettes, Gladys Horton, labelled 'Where Did Our Love Go' "junk". Diana, Florence and especially Mary absolutely hated the song, finding it too mundane in its simplicity and not nearly as soulful enough as they'd have liked. They never believed for one second that 'Where Did Our Love Go' would become a hit. Even Motown boss Berry Gordy predicted it
would just be a reasonably sized hit and go Top 20 if they were lucky. H-D-H were optimistic, though, and The Supremes were low on the totem pole at that point so they were in no position to pick and choose what they recorded.
Eddie Holland was adamant he wanted Mary Wilson to head up front and take lead vocal duties on 'Where Did Our Love Go'. The sultry, repetitive musical arrangements required a dry, soft voice which Eddie Holland believed was much more suited to Mary Wilson's voice than the high, upbeat, energetic sound of Diana Ross. It was then decided to be put to the vote. Eddie Holland firmly stuck to his guns and voted in favour of Mary Wilson. Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland voted in favour of Diana Ross. This proved to be a historic turning point as the entire history and fate of The Supremes could have been a completely different story had Mary Wilson taken the spotlight on 'Where Did Our Love Go'. The Supremes destiny had now been cemented and Diana Ross was now ranked as the groups permanent lead singer, much to the dismay of Florence Ballard (who held rocketing vocal abilities of her own although to be fair it did lack the distinct and unique, sensual sound of the charismatic Diana Ross) and Mary Wilson.
In order to get that desired vocal performance out of Diana Ross, H-D-H dropped her key, dictating that she sing the song in a lower throat register. Diana simply oozed sensuality on Where Did Our Love Go, sounding sexy yet angelic. Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson provided the obligatory but effective backing vocals. The sweet and tight harmonies of Diana Ross, Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson made for a magical combination. Opening with marching foot-stomps, this melodic ballad is simple and catchy.
'Where Did Our Love Go' caught on to the public like a magnet, racing its way into pole position on the charts. This was merely the beginning of "Supremesmania" and the first in a sequence of five consecutive chart toppers on both the Pop and R&B Charts. The Supremes had been traveling across the U.S.A on the Dick Clark Caravan Of Stars appearing alongside such notable chart acts of the day like The Shirelles, Gene Pitney and The Crystals. When The Supremes first started out on the Dick Clark Caravan Of Stars they were simply billed as "and others" but after the staggering chart-topping success of Where Did Our Love Go they were the HEADLINE attraction! Where Did our Love Go also paved the way for a successful chart run in Britain where it bounced up to No.3 on the U.K Singles Charts - LADIES AND GENTLEMAN: THE SUPREMES HAD ARRIVED!
2. BABY LOVE
Baby Love was amazingly even BIGGER where it topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic! "Supremesmania" was spreading across the globe like wild fire! Not bad for a group that only a year before had been referred to as the "no-hit" Supremes. By now everyone had their personal favourite Supreme but everyone knew who the skinny one in the middle was! Diana Ross instantly boasted a magnetic stage presence and was already being singled out by the media.
'Baby Love' was three minutes of pure, utter perfection and vastly continued in a similar style and sound to 'Where Did Our Love Go', even incorporating the marching foot-stomps on the intro as a nod to its predecessor. Diana sparkles vocally with her exuberant delivery that's so touchingly warm and sweet it's virtually impossible to fault. Florence and Mary add to the dazzling effects on Baby Love by their warm backing harmonies.
3. COME SEE ABOUT ME
'Come See About Me' swiftly followed hot on the trail of Baby Love's ground-breaking success and catapulted up to the top of the charts. This was a distinctly more sassy offering (and my own personal favourite of their trio of chart-toppers of 1964) where Diana delivers a more fiery lead performance. The dynamic and soulful backing harmonies of Florence and Mary reaches full effect when each verse steadily builds to the chorus. Notable for its pioneering drum-fade in on the intro, The Supremes sound was slightly more group oriented at this point and didn't fully revolve around the distinctive and crisp vocal style of Diana Ross.
On 27 December, 1964, The Supremes became the first all-black act to appear on the top-rated variety television show, The Ed Sullivan Show to perform 'Come See About Me' which was floating at the top of the charts that week. You really had to be somebody to be on The Ed Sullivan Show. Diana Ross, rather laughably, batted her eyes in a flirtatious manner and gesticulated a lot at various points during her performance. She was evidently eager to stand out and be noticed. Diana clearly was a dynamic performer with a hypnotic presence. The Supremes became regular guests on the 'Ed Sullivan Show' where it provided a useful tool for them to showcase their latest release.
4. STOP! IN THE NAME OF LOVE
At the dawn of 1965, the group enjoyed their fourth consecutive chart-topper with that familiar classic, 'Stop! In The Name Of Love', another one of their landmarks, opening with a speeded-up glissando, followed by Florence and Mary singing the title refrain, before kicking in with Diana's effective lead performance. This was more dramatic than their previous three chart-toppers and the divine Diana Ross was clearly progressing tremendously as a highly adept vocalist whilst evidently developing a unique style and sound. Diana's soft, yearning voice brims beautifully with the far grittier vocal style of Florence Ballard and the dry, misty and slightly husky tone of Mary Wilson.
5. BACK IN MY ARMS AGAIN
Even more of a progression on The Supremes part was their fifth consecutive chart-topper, 'Back In My Arms Again'. Stunning musically, this was somewhat sharper in its tone with its brassed-up arrangement and chugging verses. Diana packs in a soulful and assertive vocal performance and even references her partners on one of the verses, singing 'How can Mary tell me what to do/And Flo she don't know...'
6. I HEAR A SYMPHONY
'I Hear A Symphony thankfully steered The Supremes back on the right road after the disappointing chart-ratings of the still-fabulous 'Nothing But Heartaches', which had abruptly broken their sequence of chart-toppers. 'I Hear A Symphony' is a pure masterpiece and was a swift departure in sound to their previous singles. It was a glossy, sophisticated soul classic that interwined a touch of jazz into the mix. The group's sound was certainly maturing with a vastly more confident lead performance from Diana, bubbling with genuine emotion and not too mention the lovely, seamless backing vocals from Florence and Mary.
7. YOU CAN'T HURRY LOVE
The Supremes continued their classic run of mega hits into 1966 where the nifty Motown classic 'You Can't Hurry Love' became their SEVENTH chart-topping single. One of The Supremes definitive classics, lead singer Diana Ross whips along the verses with conviction, surfboarding along the bouncy, instantly infectious musical arrangements.
8. YOU KEEP ME HANGING ON
In late 1966, The Supremes enjoyed their EIGHTH chart-topper with the startling classic, You Keep Me Hanging On. This was quite a dramatic change in style for The Supremes with the rolling rhythm section, courtesy of Motown's divine in-house band The Funk Brothers, having a much harder edge, diverting The Supremes more into the Rock&Roll genre. Opening with a Morse-Code-like guitar, Diana's lead vocal is notably far more assertive and she sounds as though she's virtually howling at the exalting climax when she sings 'So go on, get out, get out of my life, and let me sleep tonight'. Quite a detour from those sweet love songs like Baby Love. An adventurous and successful experiment for Diana and the girls.
9. LOVE IS HERE AND NOW YOU'RE GONE
Their next single, the fabulous 'Love Is Here And Now You're Gone', features Ross gliding along the verses with finesse, delivering a divinely sensual performance while also talk-singing in that great, intricate voice on the chorus ( a unique technique that would reach full effect on Ross' future blockbuster classic, 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough'). The glorious, bouncy musical arrangements also contain slight hints of jazz and was one of their sessions that was recorded in Los Angeles. Fantastic!
10. THE HAPPENING
An interesting transistion between soul and broadway resulted in 'The Happening' becoming The Supremes tenth chart-topping single. A polished blend of brassy pop and jazz, Diana's delightful, swinging, sassy performance is backed by sensational harmonies from Florence and Mary. 'The Happening' also went Top 10 in the U.K.
11. REFLECTIONS
The likes of the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix perhaps defined the psychedelic phenemenon of the 1960s. Motown swiftly cashed in on this genre by steering many of their top acts like The Supremes and the Temptations into this sound.
Reflections was the first single to be billed as Diana Ross and the Supremes and at which point Florence Ballard was fired from the group and replaced by Cindy Birdsong. The compelling 'Reflections' opens with bizarre, trippy, synchronised effects that zoomed in on the psychedelic vibe. It then leads into a pounding, soulful affair which is complimented by a stirring, fantastic performance from Diana where her fittingly dry, husky, almost mysterious performance is dynamic. One of my own personal favourites and Diana Ross has also said this was one of her favourite songs she recorded with The Supremes.
12. LOVE CHILD
'Love Child' had been penned by Frank Wilson, Deke Richards and R.Dean Taylor (one of Motowns few white acts that scored hits with the classic 'There's A Ghost In My House' and 'Gotta See Jane'). This was Diana Ross and the Supremes first real contemporary musical offering that made any form of political statement and to explore relevant social issues of that of a baby born out of wedlock. 'Love Child' was deemed controversial at the time though is tame by today's standards.
Love Child was in a way their most compelling and powerful recording. Ross puts in a power-house performance sounding untypically raw and earthy across the dramatic orchestrations. A sharp, gritty arrangement helped it become their eleventh chart-topper.
13. I'M GONNA MAKE YOU LOVE ME (WITH THE TEMPTATIONS)
The exhilarating 'I'm Gonna Make You Love Me' was produced by two of Motown's hottest talents, Frank Wilson and Nickolas Ashford. Injecting the sweet, lush harmonies of Diana Ross with Eddie Kendricks sensual falsetto, proved a
winning combination. An air of sexual chemistry sizzles when their two voices are put together, both complementing the strident arrangement.
14. SOMEDAY WE'LL BE TOGETHER
Diana Ross And The Supremes' touching swan song was 'Some Day We'll Be Together'. Songwriters Jackey Beavers, Johnny Bristol (who provides brief backing vocal interludes on the track) and Harvey Fuqua show off their lyrical finesse while lead singer Diana Ross delivers a beautifully understated performance. Her seamless, easy-going performance sounds extremely effective when riding along the smooth and soulful rhythms courtesy of Motown's unsung heroes, The Funk Brothers. 'Someday We'll Be Together' became their twelth and final No.1 smash hit and served as a great trailer for the much hyped and eagerly anticipated solo career of Diana Ross, launched in early 1970.
15. STONED LOVE
After Jean Terrell took over as lead vocalist, The Supremes surprisingly managed to come up with some cracking soul classics and Stoned Love in my eyes ranks as their post-Diana Ross recording. 'Stoned Love' kind of encapsulates the famous Holland-Dozier-Holland era. Jean Terrell delivers a magnificent lead vocal on top of divine backing vocals from Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong. Stoned Love was one of the last successful singles for The Supremes, jumping to No.2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972 and topping the R&B chart, hence its inclusion here.
16. AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH
Nicholas Ashford and Valerie Simpson always knew how to really make great records for Diana Ross and you could even argue that they provided Diana her most remarkable and fully-formed productions to work on. Diana glides through the verses, talk-singing in that gloriously effective and sensual voice. She is then joined by a shimmering line-up of gospel-influenced backing singers whilst the rhythm steadily and compellingly leads up to an exalting climax on which the chorus is then triumphantly sung. It really is a remarkable recording and one of the major highlights of Diana Ross' career to date.
17. TOUCH ME IN THE MORNING
'Touch Me In The Morning' is an absolute cracking masterpiece and is one of Diana's most memorable and timeless classics. A young composer, Michael Masser was drafted in by Motown. His first assignment was to come up with a no.1 hit for Motown's leading lady - Diana Ross. Masser immediately came up with Touch Me In The Morning with Diana Ross in mind. Touch Me In The Morning would also be aided by the lyrical finesse of Ron Miller. Basically Berry Gordy wanted a No.1 hit waiting in the wings for his leading star just in the event of a needed re-bound if the 'Lady Sings The Blues' movie bombed. Of course we all know Lady Sings The Blues was indeed an enduring success and earned her a much deserved oscar nomination for her powerful and riviting portrayal as the tortured Jazz singer Billie Holiday. Hot on its trail came 'Touch Me in The Morning'. After an extremely sluggish start where it literally hovered for weeks on end down the lower reaches of the Hot 100, it slowly but surely climbed up the charts and eventually zoomed into pole position, remaining there for weeks on end. The formula is vastly similar to 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' where the rhythm steadily builds to its exalting chorus which Diana tackles with utter style and finesse sounding gutsy and soulful. One of Diana Ross's best classics!
Incidentally Michael Masser described the recording sessions for the 'Touch Me In The Morning' single an emotionally draining experience. He claimed that Diana was very emotional during the sessions, crying a lot when she couldn't hit the notes required for the song and she even believed the song was beyond her vocal abilities. After countless takes, Diana finally got that desired vocal performance mastered to perfection, resulting in one of her most well-loved recordings of her career.
18. THE THEME FROM MAHOGANY (DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO)
This epic classic is made memorable from its sweeping musical arrangements to Diana's heavenly performance and that utterly divine classical ending is sensational! This classic had for some preposterous reason, been deemed "qualitively ineligable" for a grammy-award nomination. After strong protest, the track was deservedly added to the nominations though sadly failed to win.
19. LOVE HANGOVER
YEAH! We have a monster disco classic here. This adventurous, tempo- shifting disco classic, containing undertones of red hot, pulsating funk, marks the beginning of Diana's disco diva era. The song begins slowly with Diana delivering her trademark sultry and evocative vocal performance and then swiftly steers direction and catapults into hot, compelling disco, with a driving bass-line. Diana sounds amazing on this track and at one point she even does a brief impersonation of Billie Holiday before bursting into laughter. It was this sort of spontaneity that made this such an exciting classic. Innovative and well ahead of its time, Diana apparently nailed her vocal performance in just one take.
20. THE BOSS
Anyone who has qualms about Diana Ross not being a soulful singer or not sounding black enough will eat humble pie on just one listen of her impressively strong, seemingly acrobatic performance on the raging Disco masterpiece, 'The Boss'. She begins the song in a breathy, seamless sound and then effectively alters vocal pitch as the second verse builds to the chorus. Ross smartly moves along to the sharp grooves and pumping, pulsating rhythms. Riotously funky! Check out her vocal gymnastics near the bridge!
21. UPSIDE DOWN
Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers, the dynamic duo behind 70's super disco group, Chic, produced the landmark album of her career, 'diana' (1980). The project's debut release would be the compellingly funky, Upside Down on which her razor sharp delivery is vastly impressive. The track almost sounds like a nursery rhyme set to music and Diana had asked Edwards and Rodgers for a song her children could sing along to and with Upside Down, she certainly got it! Boasting a razor-sharp vocal from Diana, this is another of her most well-loved classics.
22. I'm Coming Out
Another raging disco classic, which was screaming out about her newly-found independence (Diana was on the verge of leaving Motown at that point to control her own career) and also became a celebrated gay anthem. 'I'm Coming Out' captures one of her strongest performances on record and the roller-coaster musical arrangements, including Tony Thompson's thunderous drum-playing on the intro, adds to the dazzling effect.
23. ENDLESS LOVE (WITH LIONEL RICHIE)
No one has done Endless Love better than Diana Ross and Lionel Richie (not even the Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey version comes close). Touching in its simplicity, this epic, sweeping duet, which became the theme song to the movie of the same name, shot to the top of the US charts, remaining there for 9 weeks in a row and proudly became Motown's biggest selling single to that point. There's a nice gelling of harmonies here from the sweet falsetto of Diana Ross to the more forceful delivery of Lionel Richie. The pair met only briefly and the song was recorded in the early hours of the morning.
24. YOU KEEP ME HANGING ON (ALMIGHTY MIX EDIT)
It's amazing how quickly club remixes like these can date so quickly. Even so, it's an interesting experiment in its own right.
On a final note, many critics today have shamefully tended to undervalue Diana Ross and the Supremes revolutionary and remarkable achievements. Some claimed The Supremes had sold out, that they weren't black enough. The only word I can possibly use in response to those critics is BULL****! Diana Ross and the Supremes were hip, streetwise girls that had risen from the perils and restriction of ghetto life and propelled themselves into worldly, sophisticated, all-round entertainers. They undoubtedly had SOUL! They were also extremely versatile sounding just as much at home performing a glitzy showbiz standard as they did on their latest smash hit single. They were also innovative in that they were able to transcend traditional R&B styles and adapt them to intertwine with a mainstream Pop sound which allowed them to be popular with both blacks and whites. I guess this is why myself, a white boy like myself can appreciate the black sound of Detroit. They remain the world's most popular and successful female vocal group in history and Diana Ross to this day continues to be an enthralling and extraordinary artist, remaining an icon and inspiration for the new generation of black singers and entertainers. Diana Ross and the Supremes were truly the American dream.
Ian Phillips
