Diana Ross: A Biography
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More Trivia
—– “Medley Of Hits” was also edited and released as a single, technically making it the last single released in the US by Diana Ross and the Supremes.
DIANA ROSS AND THE SUPREMES: 25TH ANNIVERSARY
In the fall of 1986, Motown finally treated fans to a healthy sampling of previously unreleased material by Diana Ross and the Supremes. The late John Silva is to be credited with persuading Motown to open up its vaults of hidden treasures. This three-LP/two-CD set charted at Pop #112 and R&B #61.
On the compact disc edition of this compilation, disc one contained every Top 40 pop hit while disc two featured twenty-six previously unreleased recordings. A rare Supremes interview was included, as well as Coke commercials by the girls. (These commercials and others like them turned up on an international release and US promotional record called Things Go Better with Coke.)
More Trivia
—– The first pressing of this CD lists two Coke commercials, but only one actually appears. This mistake was corrected with the second pressing.
THE NEVER-BEFORE-RELEASED MASTERS
On 31 July 1987, fans were treated to this treasure trove of twenty-seven unreleased tracks, each remixed for this collection. This CD also includes eight songs from the unreleased Diana Ross and the Supremes Sing Disney Classics. Interestingly, though some of the Disney album was recorded with Florence, it was finished after she left the group. Consequently, Diana refers to Florence on “Whistle While You Work” and her replacement, Cindy, on “Heigh Ho” (included on the 25th Anniversary collection).
The set closed with an a cappella mix of Florence singing just one verse of “Silent Night.”
More Trivia
—– Mary and Florence recorded their backup vocals to “Going All the Way (to True, True Love)” on the same day as they did “In and Out of Love.” This was Florence’s last recording session as a Supreme.
—– “Chim-Chim Cheree,” “A Spoonful of Sugar” and “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” are three tracks from the Disney sessions that remain unreleased as of this writing.
THE SUPREMES
This four-CD box set was originally planned in 1990, but was put on hold when the company instead decided to issue a four-CD tribute to Marvin Gaye. It was finally released in 2000, produced by Harry Weinger and Andy Skurow.
Most fans and critics agreed that this compilation provided an excellent overview of the group’s career with all the ladies’ hits included on it, as well as plenty of previously unreleased tracks and other rarities. The much-discussed rendition of “People” featuring Florence and Diana on lead vocals was finally released here. Plenty of other songs also received new stereo mixes, including “Everything Is Good About You,” “All I Know About You” and “Take Me Where You Go,” which had previously been available only in mono on the vinyl collection Motown from the Vaults. This box set also included a bonus disc featuring live performances of select hits from 1964 through 1970. In total, fifty-three tracks or mixes were made available on CD for the first time.
DIANA ROSS & THE SUPREMES: ANTHOLOGY
This 2002 collection is the fourth edition of Anthology by Diana Ross and the Supremes. (A fifth would be devoted to the 1970s grouping of Supremes.) The first edition had been a three-LP vinyl set released in 1974 that charted on the Billboard album charts at Pop #66 and R&B #24. It was expanded and reissued in 1986 as a two-CD set. A 1995 double CD Anthology contained the mono singles mixes of the hits and select album tracks. (The mono mixes of the group’s twelve number ones were first released on CD in 1987 on Every Great Number One Hit and every top forty mono master was issued ten years later on The Ultimate Collection.)
This 2002 edition of Anthology is noteworthy because of its many rarities and alternate mixes. A new stereo mix of Florence’s “(Ain’t That) Good News” is included here. And Mary is featured on an alternate mix of “The Tears” first released on the Motown compilation Never Before Released Masters From Motown’s Brightest Stars.
Other tracks that were previously only available on various artists’ collections include “He,” originally from In Loving Memory; an alternate mix of “Baby Love,” which had first appeared on the soundtrack to the film Cooley High; and “The Nitty Gritty,” which was previously available via mail order only on The Complete Motown Anthology. An unreleased mix of “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” is found here, as well as the Phil Spector–produced “Things Are Changing,” which first appeared on the 1995 edition. In all, this Anthology features eighteen tracks or mixes available for the first time on CD.
THERE’S A PLACE FOR US
This is the first Supremes CD issued through the Internet-only Hip-O/Motown Select. Actually, this album of standards was originally scheduled for release in 1965; Diana even mentioned it in her stage patter on Motortown Revue Live in Paris, recorded in 1965. However, Motown ultimately cancelled this record’s release; seven of the songs can be heard as performed live on The Supremes at the Copa. This 2004 release contains the original previously unreleased album lineup, plus additional unreleased show tunes and pop standards. “Mr. Sandman” (previously unreleased) and “Sincerely” (first released in mono on 25th Anniversary) are treated to new stereo mixes and “Strangers in the Night” is also included. (This track first appeared along with a new mix of “The Lady Is a Tramp” in 1998 on the various-artists CD Motown Celebrates Sinatra.)
THE NO. 1’S
In the winter of 2004, Diana Ross and the Supremes were back on Billboard’s album chart at #72 with this new collection, which included every number-one hit by the Supremes as well as Diana’s solo number ones. All of the Supremes tracks are remixed for this collection and most feature extended fades. The CD contains a bonus dance remix of “You Keep Me Hangin’ On.”
More Trivia
—– The remixes just keep on coming! “Love Child” (featuring an extra verse recorded by Ross in 1968 but not heard until this release) was also remixed for this collection by the British remixers known as Almighty. It did not make it onto this CD, however. It—and an extended version of the “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” remix—was instead issued on Almighty’s compilation 12” of Pleasure. A different set of mixes of both songs can also be found on Almighty: The Definitive Collection 3. A remix of “My World Is Empty Without You” was also made available on the CD Motown Remixed.
The following are various-artists LPs or CDs that featured new or rare tracks by Diana Ross and the Supremes. Several other various-artists collections are mentioned throughout this discography.
THE MOTORTOWN REVUE VOLUME ONE
Also, see—“The Motor Town Revue” in Part One.
This album features the Contours, the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, the Marvelettes, Stevie Wonder, Mary Wells and the Miracles all recorded live at the Apollo. It was released in June 1963 and peaked on Billboard’s pop chart at #63. The Supremes performed “Let Me Go the Right Way.”
THE MOTORTOWN REVUE IN PARIS
Also see—“1965: a banner year” in Part Two.
In December 1965, Motown issued another set of live performances from the Miracles, Martha & the Vandellas, Stevie Wonder and the Supremes in Paris. The girls performed “Stop! In the Name of Love,” “Baby Love” and “Somewhere.”
More Trivia
—– Songs recorded but not included on the final album: “Come See About Me,” “People,” “You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You” and “Shake.” The performances were plagued with sound problems.
—– The Motortown Revue shows were reissued on CD via the Internet in 2005 as The Motortown Revue Collection on Hip-O/Motown Select.
MOTOWN AT THE HOLLYWOOD PALACE
Motown released this compilation, hosted by Diana Ross and the Supremes, in April of 1970. Diana introduced Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 in their first national television appearance. Also on hand are Gladys Knight and the Pips (who never actually appeared on any Hollywood Palace program with the Supremes); Stevie Wonder (performing two duets with Diana,
“I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” and “For Once in My Life”); and ventriloquist act Willie Tyler and Lester. The Supremes performed a medley of “Where Do I Go” and “Good Morning Star Shine” (both tunes from the Broadway musical Hair), and lip-synched their final number-one hit, “Someday We’ll Be Together.” Mary Wilson is also featured on “Can’t Take My Eyes off of You.”
More Trivia
—– The medley from Hair and Mary’s solo number are not the actual performances as seen on the TV show. Both tracks were rerecorded. Also, both were made available on CD for the first time on the 2002 edition of Diana Ross & the Supremes: Anthology.
MOTOWN AROUND THE WORLD
This 1987 CD featured Motown hits as recorded in different languages by the original artists. The Supremes were represented with “Thank You Darlin’, Thank You Baby” and “Moonlight and Kisses,” two original tunes that were only released in Germany. The girls also sang “Where Did Our Love Go” and “Come See About Me” in German, and “You Can’t Hurry Love” and “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” in Italian.
MOTOWN ORIGINAL ARTIST KARAOKE
From 2003 through 2006, the Singing Machine karaoke company partnered with Motown to release eighteen volumes of original-artist karaoke. The volumes contain eighteen Supremes songs plus Marvin Gaye’s “You’re a Wonderful One” (featuring the Supremes on background vocals) and seven Diana Ross solo hits.
THE COMPLETE MOTOWN SINGLES COLLECTION
As of this writing there are five individual box sets available on Hip-O/Motown Select, chronicling every Motown A-and B-sided single. The project starts with recordings originally released in 1959 and is scheduled to continue with those through 1972 (a total of twelve box sets when completed). These releases mark the first time many of the Supremes’ background sessions can be heard on CD. Titles such as Bob Kayli’s “Small Sad Sam” feature prominent Diana background vocals. Also of note to collectors are the detailed annotations and stories included in each box, as well as the only CD appearance of certain mono single B-sides.
DIANA ROSS
DIANA ROSS – 6/70—Pop #19 and R&B #1
Also, see—“Las Vegas solo turn” and “Heartbreak” in Part Four
For her first solo album, Diana first recorded four tracks with producer Bones Howe. However, Motown quickly changed the LP’s concept and turned the project over to Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson. The duo then created an entirely new sound for Diana, with her vocals more dramatic and powerful than ever before.
The first single release was “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand).” Berry Gordy had hoped for a higher charting debut single than that song generated—Pop #20, R&B #7, AC #18 and UK #33. However, the single did make Cashbox’s Top 10 and has since become not only a classic but also a Diana Ross anthem. Still, radio stations across the country were more taken with another LP track, a nearly six-and-a-half-minute reworking of the Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell duet “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”—Pop #1, R&B #1, AC #6 and UK #6. Motown responded quickly and issued a shorter radio edit that bulleted to number one and earned Diana her first solo Grammy nomination. (This song had also earned a Grammy nomination for Gaye and Terrell three years earlier.)
When this album was being compiled, Gordy wasn’t convinced there was a big enough hit on it. Therefore, he added one song that wasn’t an Ashford and Simpson production—writer/producer Johnny Bristol’s “These Things Will Keep Me Loving You.” Bristol had recently scored with “Someday We’ll Be Together,” which was released as the final single by Diana Ross and the Supremes. Gordy believed “These Things” had the same hit potential and thus decided to include it on this debut album. The song was mixed and prepared as a single. However, Diana was adamant that she wanted “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand)” as the first release. Then, because of the demand for “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “These Things Will Keep Me Loving You” was ultimately cancelled.
This debut solo album has more than stood the test of time; when it was reissued on compact disc in 2002, it received even better reviews than it had at the time of its original release!
More Trivia
—– The CD was remastered and rereleased on 26 March 2002—Diana’s fifty-eighth birthday—to include the four tracks produced by Bones Howe. “Time And Love” was rerecorded on the same instrumental track by Jean Terrell for the Supremes’ 1971 LP Touch. If you listen closely to Jean’s version, you can hear Diana’s original vocal bleed through in spots.
—– The reissue also features a live version of “Something on My Mind” from Diana’s debut concert at the Coconut Grove. She also performed “I Wouldn’t Change the Man He Is” in those shows. A live version of this song, along with the rest of the concert, remains in the Motown vaults. For now…
—– Bones Howe also cut instrumental tracks for “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” and “Ooo Baby Baby.” To date, no lead vocal from Diana has been found.
EVERYTHING IS EVERYTHING – 9/70—Pop #42 and R&B #5
This album is most notable for the track “I’m Still Waiting”—Pop #63, R&B #40 and UK #1. Writer/producer Deke Richards had hoped that it would be the follow-up to “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” According to Richards, Berry Gordy decided “I’m Still Waiting” was “a nice little song,” but he wanted something much more powerful for single release and instead chose Ashford and Simpson’s “Remember Me.” When a disc jockey in the UK started playing “I’m Still Waiting” Motown released it as a single there, and it became a number-one smash. The company waited over a year before releasing it in the US but by then the momentum for it was lost and the song charted poorly.
Another single, “Doobee Doodn’ Doobee, Doobee Doodn’ Doobee, Doobee Doodn’ Do”—UK #12—was released overseas and did very well there.
R&B stations in the US also began to play Diana’s version of the Beatles’ “Come Together” and the track made Jet magazine’s top singles list.
This album also contains Diana’s version of Aretha Franklin’s “I Love You (Call Me),” which earned Aretha a Grammy award in 1970. Diana’s rendition received a nomination in the same category one year later. Meanwhile, in Billboard’s year-end polls, Diana was the number-one pop female vocalist of the year.
More Trivia
—– Among the tracks recorded but not included on this album were “What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?” and the Beatles’ hit “Something.” There is also an alternate version of “Ain’t No Sad Song” with a completely different lyric.
—– On the audiocassette of this album, “Come Together” is more than a minute longer than on the vinyl version.
DIANA! THE ORIGINAL TV SOUNDTRACK – 3/71—Pop #46 and R&B #3
Also, see—“The Blues? But why?” in Part Four
Diana’s first solo TV special for ABC was quite a showcase, with the star singing, dancing and doing impressions of W. C. Fields, Charlie Chaplin and Harpo Marx. Her guest stars for this fast-paced hour were Bill Cosby, The Jackson 5 and Danny Thomas. (Diana also made a cameo appearance on the J5’s first TV special and did a guest appearance on Thomas’s Make Room For Granddaddy series, during which she performed “For Once In My Life.”)
More Trivia
—– None of Diana’s performances on the soundtrack are the actual takes used in the TV special. The album contains an alternate vocal for “Remember Me,” but the television audience saw Diana lip-synch the version released on record. The LP also features the full version of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” but an alternate performance was edited for the special. Other songs recorded but not included on the special or soundtrack include “My Man,” “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand)” and a medley of Supremes songs.
SURRENDER – 7/71—Pop #56 and R&B #10
Though this album wasn’t as successful as Diana’s first collaboration with Ashford and Simpson, it remains a fan favorite because of Diana’s gutsy vocal performances on it.
Valerie Simpson had earli
er recorded “Remember Me” for her first solo album (Exposed) but when Berry Gordy heard it he became convinced that it was the perfect follow-up to “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” for Diana. Diana then recorded a powerful vocal on Valerie’s instrumental track and the song was quickly released. “Remember Me”—Pop #16, R&B #10, AC #20 and UK #7—is still thought of in many circles as being one of Diana’s best singles. It reached the Top 10 on Cashbox’s pop chart as well as in the UK.
The follow-up was a reworking of the Four Tops’ “Reach Out (I’ll Be There)”—Pop #29, R&B #17 and AC #16—done much in the same vein as “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” Though another excellent record for Diana, the single was poorly mixed and edited. It was off to a promising start, but it stalled just inside the Pop Top 30. (The single reached number nineteen on Cashbox’s pop singles chart.) Some stations across the country flipped the record over and began to play its B-side, “(They Long to Be) Close to You.” Dionne Warwick had first recorded this Carpenters’ hit back in 1963. Producer Deke Richards cut the song with Diana, but Motown wasn’t interested in giving it a single release. However, when the Carpenters’ version hit big, Motown then included it on the Everything Is Everything album, and Diana sang it on her first TV special.
Radio airplay of the next single, “Surrender”—Pop #38, R&B #16 and UK #10—was inconsistent. In some markets the song was popular, reaching the Top 10 on many playlists. However, other major cities didn’t play it at all, making its overall national chart showing a disappointment. “Surrender” was a Top-10 hit in the UK, though. Shortly after, a Greatest Hits album was released in Europe, including singles and LP tracks from Diana’s first three studio albums. This best-selling compilation was never released in the US.