Diana Ross: A Biography
Page 60
The girls continued their Top 10 run with another single, “In And Out Of Love”—Pop #9, R&B #16 and UK #13.
Holland-Dozier-Holland, who had just left the company when this album was released, produced most of its songs. However, Smokey Robinson and Deke Richards contributed productions as well. The last H-D-H single, “Forever Came Today”—Pop #28, R&B #17 and UK #27—was an excellent track that peaked just inside the top thirty on the pop charts, breaking a five-year run of top-twenty hits.
When this LP was finally reissued on CD in 1990, it included two bonus tracks: “All I Know About You” (which had been the B-side of “The Happening”) and “Stay in My Lonely Arms” (which first appeared on the Motown compilation The Never Before Released Masters from Motown’s Brightest Stars).
More Trivia
—– The mono mix of “Love (Makes Me Do Foolish Things)” has an alternate lead by Diana.
—– “What the World Needs Now Is Love” was given a single catalog number, but its 45-rpm release was cancelled.
—– The original cover of this album contained a collage of photographs of Diana, Mary, Cindy and Florence! Motown reworked the design after Florence was officially out of the group, using the same concept but deleting any pictures of her from it. Collectors are aware that copies do exist of this album with the new cover pasted over the old one!
LIVE AT LONDON’S TALK OF THE TOWN – 5/10/68
—Pop #57 and R&B #22
Also, see—“Deconstruction” in Part Three.
This superb live album truly captures the excitement of a Diana Ross and the Supremes stage show. The pace is fast and slick with Ross’s energy and razor-sharp voice cutting right through Gil Askey’s big-band orchestrations. With the exception of “You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You” this album was edited to feature an entirely different show to the one recorded at the Copacabana in 1965.
More Trivia
—– The opening medley also included “Unchained Melody,” but it was edited out.
—– Inexplicably, Cindy’s lines in the comedy routine for “You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You” were also deleted.
DIANA ROSS & THE SUPREMES SING AND PERFORM “FUNNY GIRL” – 5/10/68—Pop #150 and R&B #45
Also, see—“From Funny Girl to ‘Love Child’” in Part Three.
This record has been the subject of much debate between Diana Ross and Barbra Streisand fans. Without making comparisons with Barbra’s original work, the album does stand on its own; Diana had never sounded better. Funny Girl lyricist Jule Styne worked with her on this album and later sang her praises in interviews. His only complaint about the project was that Motown decided to add session background singers to the recordings, voices that clearly did not belong to the other two Supremes; in fact, Mary and Cindy are only heard on a few of the ten tracks. But this project was obviously a showcase for Diana’s talent anyway.
Though the Supremes appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show performing a Funny Girl medley and later sang “Cornet Man” on a Bob Hope special, such television promotions did little to boost the sales of this album. One problem could have been that it was one of five Supremes albums released in a three-month period!
More Trivia
—– An extended and unedited mix of “People” was released only in Europe, on a five-LP box set.
—– There is a photo inside this album jacket that Mary and Cindy are actually pasted into as if they were in the rehearsal studio with Diana. Chances are they weren’t.
—– Strange but true? According to Billboard, this LP marked the first time two albums were ever released by an artist the very same week (Live at London’s Talk of The Town and Sing and Perform “Funny Girl”).
DIANA ROSS & THE SUPREMES JOIN THE TEMPTATIONS – 30/11/68—Pop #2 and R&B #1
Ed Sullivan introduced Diana Ross and the Supremes and the Temptations to his television audience by announcing, “Together for the first time on any stage…” Perhaps Ed didn’t realize that the two groups had recently appeared together on The Mike Douglas Show. Motown also decided to team the former Primes and Primettes on record, and the result was the company’s biggest duet album ever.
The first single was a cover of Dee Dee Warwick’s “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me”—Pop #2, R&B #2 and UK #3. (Warwick says she was “extremely upset” that the version she first recorded in June 1966 was not a hit for her at Mercury Records, and that the one most well-remembered is The Supremes–Temptations’ version.) That song was followed by Smokey Robinson’s “I’ll Try Something New”—Pop 25 and R&B #8. Another Smokey tune, “I Second That Emotion”—UK #18—was issued as a single overseas.
More Trivia
—– “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” reached number one on the Cash Box pop singles chart.
—– Berry Gordy has said that he wrote Marvin Gaye’s “Try It Baby” with Diana in mind. The Supremes and Temptations version that opened this album was mixed and readied for a single release, but then cancelled.
—– An opening hits medley was recorded and mixed but deleted from the finished LP. It finally surfaced on the 2004 CD issue Diana Ross and the Supremes & the Temptations Joined Together: The Complete Studio Duets.
LOVE CHILD – 14/12/68—Pop #14 and R&B #3
Also, see—“From Funny Girl to ‘Love Child’” in Part Three.
Though a variety of producers are featured on this album, it has the distinction of including the first recordings Diana ever made with Nicholas Ashford and Valerie Simpson. Since Holland, Dozier and Holland had recently departed from Motown, Berry Gordy gave Ashford and Simpson the first shot at coming up with a new hit single for the Supremes. The result was the spirited “Some Things You Never Get Used To”—Pop #30, R&B #43 and UK #34. An album of the same name was also put together but shelved when the song failed to make the impact hoped for by the company.
“Love Child”—Pop #1, R&B #2 and UK #15—was the first number-one single that featured only Diana with no actual Supremes in the background. By this time, the company was using the Andantes to supplement backup vocals not only for Diana, but also for Martha Reeves (of Martha and the Vandellas), Wanda Rodgers (of the Marvelettes), and even many of Motown’s male acts.
More Trivia
—– The original concept of the Love Child album was to include only somber or social-awareness songs. Motown ultimately played it safe, however, and the final lineup took a sharp turn for more upbeat, light tunes after the fourth track.
—– An alternate stereo mix of “I’ll Set You Free” with a different lead vocal by Diana was released on a vinyl compilation in the UK, Stop! In the Name of Love. A mono mix of “You’ve Been So Wonderful to Me,” with an additional verse, was released on the UK CD compilation Motown Delights. An alternate version of “Honey Bee” was mixed in 2005 and then included on the UK compilation Cellarful Of Motown Volume Two.
—– For the record, here are the twelve songs, in sequence from the original, unreleased album Some Things You Never Get Used To. Side One: “Some Things You Never Get Used To,” “Heaven Must Have Sent You,” “He’s My Sunny Boy,” “Come On and See Me,” “Can I Get a Witness?” and “You’ve Been So Wonderful to Me.” Side Two: “My Guy,” “It’s Not Unusual,” “Just a Little Misunderstanding,” “Uptight (Everything Is All Right),” “What Becomes of the Broken Hearted” and “Blowin’ in the Wind.”
T.C.B. (TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS)—WITH THE TEMPTATIONS – 28/12/68—Pop #1 and R&B #1
Also, see—“The lonely leading lady” in Part Three.
At this time, rarely did a week pass when one couldn’t find Diana Ross and the Supremes on US national television. They would usually perform their latest single and then follow with a standard or a medley of show tunes with complicated arrangements and choreography. As if their schedule wasn’t busy enough with these TV shows, recording dates and touring, the Supremes were also featured in their first television special. This highly rated NBC program definitely starred Diana though,
in that she appeared without Mary and Cindy more often than with them. The special also featured the Temptations, at the height of their popularity with the record-buying public at the time.
This soundtrack album was released the day after the special was broadcast and then bulleted straight to number one on the pop and soul charts. The group’s repertoire did not include either of the Supremes’ or Temptations’ latest records (“Love Child” and “Cloud Nine,” respectively) or their smash duet “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” because the show was taped months prior to its airing date, and before any of those songs were hits.
Album liner notes were by Berry Gordy.
More Trivia
—– Material that was performed, but didn’t make the final edit of the album included Mary and Cindy’s performance of Mais Que Nada, with the Temptations, which would have been positioned just prior to the group’s rendition of “Respect.”
—– The Supremes also sang “When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes” after “Without a Song” but it, too, was cut from the broadcast. A tape of it exists in the Motown vaults.
—– The group also planned to perform the same medley from Funny Girl that they had recently done on The Ed Sullivan Show. Dress rehearsal photos from this performance are pictured inside the album cover. However, session tapes of these recordings indicate that this medley was never quite finished.
—– Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong originally each had a line to themselves on the group’s cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson.” Inexplicably, the song was rerecorded for the broadcast with Diana singing Cindy’s line along with her—as if Birdsong couldn’t even carry twelve words of a song by herself! Indeed, Cindy’s talent was undervalued during most of these years.
LET THE SUNSHINE IN – 21/6/69—Pop #24 and R&B #7
As the decade came to a close, Berry Gordy prepared Diana for her solo career. He had her perform “My Man” alone on a Bob Hope special and also booked her as a solo on Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In. She then appeared on a TV special called Like Hep that starred Dinah Shore and Lucille Ball.
On Like Hep, Diana held her own as an actress and comedienne, but one of the highlights of the special was a dynamic rendition of “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” from Hair. Though Motown featured an edited version of the recording on this album, the biggest hit on this collection was “I’m Livin’ in Shame”—Pop #10, R&B #8 and UK #14. The girls debuted the song on The Ed Sullivan Show and then also sang it during their first hosting stint on The Hollywood Palace.
The two single releases that followed didn’t fare quite as well on the charts. Smokey Robinson produced “The Composer”—Pop #27 and R&B #21 (an album track on a recent Miracles’ album). Also, Berry wrote “No Matter What Sign You Are”—Pop #31, R&B #17 and UK #37—specifically for Diana.
Dinah Shore wrote the liner notes for this album.
More Trivia
—– The album included a defective mono mix of “No Matter What Sign You Are.” This version then turned up on every future Supremes compilation in the US. The CD box set that was finally released on the Supremes by Motown in 2000 included a stereo mix previously only released in Europe. An alternate stereo mix was released in the US on It’s Happening, a special products album featuring Diana Ross and the Supremes on side one and Neil Diamond on the flip side. (Liner notes for the box set mistakenly identify the European mix as the It’s Happening version.)
—– “Let the Music Play” was recorded in 1966 while Florence was still in the group. Diana recorded a new lead vocal but the rest of the track remained intact. Though an odd choice, the unreleased original mix had been considered for inclusion on The Supremes à Go-Go.
TOGETHER—WITH THE TEMPTATIONS – 25/10/69—Pop #28 and R&B #6
The first album of duets with the Temptations was so successful that it was only natural to duplicate the winning formula. This album, which was more R&B in scope than the first collection, had only one U.S. single release, “The Weight”—Pop #46 and R&B #33. Overseas, there was a single release of “Why (Must We Fall in Love)?”—UK #31. The album’s graphics were more elaborate and featured a psychedelic tear-away poster.
In 2004, Motown released Diana Ross and the Supremes & the Temptations Joined Together: The Complete Studio Duets, a double CD that featured this album along with Join the Temptations. It also included additional rare and unreleased bonus tracks.
More Trivia
—– On the Together album cover, the songs listed on side one and side two were accidentally reversed.
CREAM OF THE CROP – 29/11/69—Pop #33 and R&B #3
Also, see—“Someday we’ll be together?” in Part Three.
Appropriately titled, this album is a collection of some of the best Diana Ross and the Supremes tracks remaining in the Motown vaults at the time of Ross’s departure from the group. Though it was clear that she was leaving the group, Berry Gordy didn’t want her to leave without a hit record. The company managed to get some airplay with the flip side of “No Matter What Sign You Are,” a song called “The Young Folks”—Pop #69—but something much bigger was needed to put a period at the end of the Supremes’ 1960s success. Radio and record buyers eventually embraced the sentimental “Someday We’ll Be Together”—Pop #1, R&B #1, AC #12 and UK #13. At this point, it really didn’t matter much that the other two Supremes weren’t on the recording. The song is a unique blend of pop, soul and gospel, and Diana’s vocal is understated, honest and sounds very different from any of her other performances.
More Trivia
—– An unreleased mono single mix of “Shadows of Society” and a mono mix of “Someday We’ll Be Together” (with an alternate lead vocal by Diana) still remain in the Motown vaults.
ON BROADWAY—WITH THE TEMPTATIONS – 6/12/69
—Pop #38 and R&B #4
Also, see—“The lonely leading lady” in Part Three.
This is the soundtrack to the second TV special that starred Diana Ross and the Supremes with the Temptations. For this program, the two supergroups put their hits aside for an hour-long tribute to the Great White Way. While T.C.B. was certainly a showcase for Diana, On Broadway was practically The Diana Ross Show—and she played the star role to perfection. The highlight of the hour was her critically acclaimed “Leading Lady Medley,” where she saluted Broadway divas such as Ethel Merman, Angela Lansbury, Julie Andrews, Mary Martin and Barbra Streisand. This show made it clear that Ross was more than ready for solo superstardom. Her costumes were the most elaborate she’d ever worn, all designed by Bob Mackie, who received his first Emmy nomination as a result.
More Trivia
—– A special medley of “Let’s Do It” (paying tribute to certain Broadway composers), “Remember” (as performed by Mary and Cindy) and “Little Girl Blue” (from Diana) were recorded for the special. However, it did not make the final airing. Instead, “It Ain’t Necessarily So” and “Summertime” were pulled out of the medley and broadcast as part of the special—but then not included on the soundtrack!
GREATEST HITS VOLUME 3 – 10/1/70—Pop #31 and R&B #5
Since there would be no more new singles from Diana Ross and the Supremes, Motown gathered the singles of the last three years for this third volume of hits. (The double LP of 1967 counts as Volumes 1 and 2.) All three Greatest Hits Volumes along with The Supremes at Their Best (from the 1970s grouping) were put together in 2005 for a two-CD set called The Supremes Gold.
FAREWELL (the last concert recorded 14 January 1970) – 16/5/70
—Pop #46 and R&B #31
(LP reissue and CD released as CAPTURED LIVE ON STAGE)
Also, see—“A farewell in Las Vegas” in Part Three.
This album was actually recorded over several nights during the final engagement of Diana Ross and the Supremes at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas. Producer Deke Richards pieced together the shows’ finest moments for this lavishly packaged two-LP box set. Turmoil within the group certainly didn�
�t show on these recordings; the girls were even more animated and more playful with each other than on previous live sets. Diana’s showmanship is effortless.
For the first time on a live album there are solos not only from Diana but also from Mary as well. Wilson sings the Frankie Valli hit “Can’t Take My Eyes off of You” and Rodgers and Hart’s “Falling in Love with Love.”
The recording ends with “Someday We’ll Be Together” and Diana’s introduction of the new lead singer of the Supremes, Jean Terrell, to the Vegas crowd. In fact, by the time this album was finally released, the new Supremes’ first single with Terrell, “Up the Ladder to the Roof,” was rapidly climbing the charts. Diana’s first solo album and number-one single were only a few months away.
More Trivia
—– Though “You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You” was also performed during this engagement, it was not included on the album.
MISCELLANEOUS RECORDINGS
Since 1970, there have been dozens of releases by Diana Ross and the Supremes that compile their hits and album tracks. The following LPs/CDs are select compilations that include rare or previously unreleased material. Deluxe or expanded reissues are mentioned earlier in this discography with the appropriate albums.
SUPERSTAR SERIES: VOLUME ONE
In the 1980s Motown was extremely interested in vinyl reissues. This 1980 LP was the first in a new series from the company’s superstar acts. Its cover features all eight members of the Supremes from the 1960s and 1970s groupings, even though all of the music on the record is from the Diana Ross era.
Side one is comprised solely of a “Medley of Hits” that was originally assembled by San Francisco DJs Bill Motley and Trip Ringwald and earlier released on a 12-inch disco single. Motown recorded a near clone of this medley for a maxi-single, and then also for this LP. It is also available on the Diana Deluxe reissue. Side two contained previously released hits from the 1960s.