For most of its history, this group was a trio. It was originally a quartet called the Primettes, a "sister group" to the Primes, who were some of the men later to become the Temptations. The original group members were Diana Ross, Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, and Betty McGlown. Betty later left the group and was replaced by Barbara Martin. In 1961 the group changed its name to the Supremes; a year later Barbara left and the group became a trio. In 1967, when the group changed its name to Diana Ross and the Supremes, Flo was sacked and replaced by Cindy Birdsong. Flo then had a brief, unsuccessful solo career. In January 1970 Diana left the Supremes for a solo career; her replacement in the group and as lead singer was Jean Terrell, the sister of boxer Ernie Terrell. Flo died of a heart attack in 1976. In 1977 the Supremes disbanded. Diana is still a solo singer and an actress. Mary has been a solo singer since 1979.
For Tim Cameresi's review of "Someday We'll Be Together," click here.Where Did Our Love Go (2:31) - From this point on, the Supes had #1 hits galore; only Elvis and the Beatles had more. Most of the songs listed here reached either #1 or another Top 10 position. The beats in this song sound like a combination of drums and hand-clapping. Diana does a good job of sounding as sad as the narrator who is asking her man why he is leaving her and begging him not to. This is my favorite Supes song; I can even play it on the guitar.
Baby Love (2:35) - This is a near-twin to the previous song because the tempo and theme are the same. Again, Diana excels at sounding sad like her character. The melodies are quite different, however, and this song starts with drums and piano.
Come See About Me (2:42) - The tempo here is moderate and close to swing. Like its two predecessors and some subsequent songs, this song is a sad one about love gone wrong.
Stop! In The Name Of Love (2:52) - Not much new to say here, except that another woman is the reason the man is leaving the narrator. The tempo is swing and slower. A bell-like instrument sounds out on some quarter beats.
Back In My Arms Again (2:51) - The tempo here is slightly faster than in the previous song; this time the bell-like instrument plays eighth beats as well. The narrator has her man back this time. The following lines make this song look like it was written especially for Diana to sing: "How can Mary tell me what to do / When she lost her love so true? / And Flo, she don't know / 'Cause the boy she loves is a Romeo." But don't worry, male singers; if you want to sing the song in a way that would depict a MAN having a WOMAN back in HIS arms, you can substitute Juliet for Romeo and two male names for Mary and Flo.
I Hear A Symphony (2:42) - Aside from the previous song, this song is the only Supes song with a happy mood. The symphony plays within the narrator's heart as the passion between her and her man heats up.
My World Is Empty Without You (2:33) - I like how the low-pitched brass instrument sounds during the instrumental in the middle. The tempo is somewhat fast, all beats loud and clear. Flo was sick at the time of the studio session for this song, so one of the Andantes filled in for her.
Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart (2:52) - Many of the lyrics are hard to discern because at times the instruments nearly drown out Diana's voice. I can tell, however, that love keeps her character sighing, crying, yearning, tossing, turning, you name it!
You Can't Hurry Love (2:45) - The narrator's mother tells her, "You can't hurry love / No, you just have to wait." The narrator wonders how long she must wait; she fears that if she waits too long her heart will break. Don't we all feel that way at some point in our lives! As early as age 20, having failed at love many times, I began to realize that one would be hurt worse in the long run with love than without it. I've also heard a version of this song by Phil Collins.
You Keep Me Hanging On (2:41) - The narrator is tired of being treated like a toy, so she orders the man to leave and never come back. This song has been widely covered; I've heard four versions including this one. The other three were by Vanilla Fudge (a male group of the '60s), Wilson Pickett, and a female group of the '80s.
Love Is Here And Now You're Gone (2:46) - The man persuaded the narrator to fall in love with him; once he had her, he left. After each of the three verses, Diana speaks a few lines. She speaks as beautifully as she sings.
Reflections (2:50) - The sound effects in the first 10 seconds sound like an arcade game. The narrator is looking back on a love that once seemed to be true but now is over. The man has shattered her hopes and destroyed her faith in love. This song was recorded before, but released after, Diana's name was added to the group name.
I'm Gonna Make You Love Me (with the Temptations) (3:06; Eddie Kendricks lead for the Temps) - When Eddie sings his lines, a male narrator tells a girl to look out--he's gonna make her love him. When Diana sings her lines, a female narrator tells a man that SHE will do everything SHE can to win HIS heart. Nice slow, swing tempo.
I'll Try Something New (with the Temptations) (2:20; Eddie Kendricks lead for the Temps) - Smokey Robinson and the Miracles had previously released their version of this song. Eddie sings all of the first verse; Diana sings all of the second verse; on the third verse, the Temps' bass singer, Melvin Franklin, sings the first line, Diana sings the second line, and Eddie sings the rest. The Miracles' version is somewhat slow, but this one is even slower.
Someday We'll Be Together (3:29) - This song was to the Supes as "Let It Be" was to the Beatles and "Someday Never Comes" was to Creedence Clearwater Revival: the group's curtain call. The classical string quartet are the instruments in this song besides drums. Someday did come briefly in 1983, when Diana, Mary, and Cindy were with many other Motown artists to record a tribute video to Motown founder Berry Gordy, Jr., for the company's 25th anniversary.
Stoned Love (4:07) - Of the post-Diana songs, I like this one best. It's slow at first, but near the 1-minute mark it speeds up to moderate and swing. I'm not sure what this song is about, but I am sure that it's not about drugs.
Nathan Jones (3:01) - The tempo is somewhat fast in this song. After Nathan has neither written nor called the narrator for a whole year, she has banished him from her heart. Another girl group, Bananarama, covered this song later; that version appears on the soundtrack for the movie Rain Man.
As for Diana Ross' post-Supremes career, I have an album of duets with Marvin Gaye.
Someday We'll Be Together was originally recorded for Diana's first solo LP (with recording begun before the formal breakup of the Supremes). At the last minute Berry Gordy & co. decided the song wasn't up to par for La Ross' solo debut, so they "threw it out" as the Supremes' final single, and surprise--it became a hit (one of my personal favorites). I've also read that the released single wasn't even a final cut, and the male voice speaking in the background (Johnny Bristol of "Hang On In There, Baby" fame) was actually coaching Diana in a run-through and never intended for inclusion.
The Happening (2:50) (1967) - Title song of the Columbia motion picture The Happening. The narrator declares, "I was sure, I felt so secure...until love took a detour." She was "riding high on top of the world" when it happened: "Suddenly I just woke up, to the happening." Now she states: "I see life for what it is / It's not all dreams / It's not all bliss." And there is also a warning: "It happened to me and it can happen to you." (UK #6, NL #5)
Reflections (2:50) (1967) - The first 45 released as Diana Ross and the Supremes. Beep beep beep beep....the electronic sound effects at the beginning of this song indicate the narrator is going through some flashback moments of the love she once had. "Through the mirror of my mind, time after time, I see reflections of you and me." Now she is filled with bitterness: "All the love that I wasted, all the tears that I've tasted, all in vain." (UK #5, NL #24, NL #3 in 1989, thanks to an American TV series that featured this song)
In And Out Of Love (2:37) (1967) - The narrator keeps "falling in and out of love." She is "still searching for that special one." But she is not very lucky: "Can't seem to find that everlasting love, that this heart of mine needs so much of." And depressed: "Love always somehow all goes wrong for me." (UK #13)
Forever Came Today (2:59) (1968) - The narrator has been searching for love quite a while--until today. "At last, my forever came today / When you walked into my life and made my lonely life a paradise." She is relieved: "Thanks to you my search has ended" and continues: "Darling make me yours, let your kiss touch my face / And tell me love has led me to this place, your warm embrace" where she hopes to find "everlasting love." (UK #28, NL #40)
Some Things You Never Get Used To (2:23) (1968) - Holland-Dozier-Holland exit and in come Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson to write a Supremes song. The narrator has been left by her loved one recently and it appears she is faced with some things she thinks she never gets used to. "Just like a child's first steps, I had to learn to walk...all over again / 'Cause you were always there if I should fall, and now there's nobody else that I can call." Sometimes the narrator suffers from delusions and realizes, "It's my mind playing tricks on me again." (UK #34)
Love Child (2:59) (1968) - The narrator tells about her life. Being a love child, she was "never meant to be," shared "the guilt my mama knew," "so afraid that others knew I had no name." She was "always second-best" and "diff'rent from the rest." The narrator makes sure all of this is not going to happen to her child. Co-author of this song was R. Dean Taylor, who recorded for Tamla-Motown himself as a solo singer; in 1968 he charted with "Gotta See Jane." (UK #15, NL #18)
I'm Gonna Make You Love Me (2:56) (1969) - A team-up between two Motown top acts with lead vocals by Diana Ross and Eddie Kendricks. The male and female narrator are deeply in love with each other. The male is willing to sacrifice for her, even do wrong for her. And on top of that he says, "Every minute and ever hour I'm gonna shower you with love and affection." To make sure she pays attention he adds, "Look out, it's comin' in your direction." But the female has already planned to "use every trick in the book" to make him love her: "I will try my best to get you hooked...I'm gonna get you, I'm gonna get you, look out boy, 'cause I'm gonna get you!"
I'm Living In Shame (2:57) (1969) - A bit of a melodramatic song, really. The narrator is "living in shame" of what horrible things she has done to her poor mother. Mother was always "sloppy dressed" and "always looked a mess." The narrator admits, "I was always so afraid for my uptown friends to see her" and makes up the story her mother "died on a weekend trip to Spain." To Spain! "She had grandson two years old, I never even showed her," the narrator almost cries. Then "came a telegram: mama passed away while making home-made jam." What a way to go! To make things worse: "before she died she cried to see me by her side." Now the narrator is overwhelmed with guilt: "Mama, can you hear me? I'm living in shame / Won't you forgive me, Mom, for all the wrong I've done?" (UK #14)
The Composer (2:55) (1969) - The narrator dwells on her loved one being a composer, even though the guy has "no knowledge of musical terms." But she states, "deep down inside of me, you have created a melody...You're the composer of the song that's in my heart." The real composer and producer of this song was William "Smokey" Robinson. "The number-one song on my personal chart!" the narrator sings with joy. It didn't sell, however--only a few weeks of airplay in Holland in May of 1969.
The late Florence Ballard's solo singles are EXTREMELY rare. Because of total lack of promotion, both her records did not chart on any hit lists anywhere. Sales of both singles were terribibly low, so bad in fact that ABC records dropped her from the label just 9 months after signing her. It's rumored that thousands upon thousand of copies of her records sat in warehouses and were eventually dumped into a river. It could very well be said that it's almost impossible to find a copy of her singles. I think "Love Ain't Love" may have appeared on a multi-artist compilation somewhere between 1976-1978 entitled "Soul Classics of 1968". However, I'm not sure of that. Other than that one possible album, her two singles are not featured on any other album anywhere, at least not to my knowledge. She did record a solo album in 1968; however, it was never released. If you can find the right people, some (fewer than 100 on the face of the earth, I'd say) might have a copy of it, and perhaps they'd share.
It Doesn't Matter How I Say It (It's What I Say That Matters) (ABC, 1968) - This song was totally ill-suited to Flo's powerful voice. It's very weak. The song is about how it doesn't matter HOW one says something to their lover, but WHAT it is they say and how if one was a particular object how they'd like to be used. For example, the lyrics go "If I were a candy dish, I'd wanna be the one you keep your sweets in" and "If I were a bank, I'd wanna hold all your deposits" and "If I were a rose, I'd wanna be growin' in your garden," etc... The flipside, Going Out of My Head, is a mediocore cover in which Flo is running at 10% power.
Love Ain't Love (ABC, 1968) - I think that this song is the absolute best of all Flo's solo recordings. It's an up-tempo song with a driving force to it that displays in part Flo's vocal strength, although it still doesn't come close to capturing Florence's entire vocal talent as a whole. This song has an undeniable attitude to it: "So come, tell me you'll be mine. Right now baby! Stop wastin' time!" It's all about how "love ain't love until you give it". The flipside, Forever Faithful, is another great song which (had "Love Ain't Love" gotten anywhere on even the Top 100 chart) could have been released as an "A" side--it was that good.
Now this is Collins talking.
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