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- started as a backup vocal group
- 1st single ("Baby, I Need Your Loving") went to #11 in 1964
- H-D-H tunes with Levi Stubb's smooth vocal sound
(#1, 1965) - 3rd release
Reach Out, I'll Be There
(#1, 1966)
Other Hits included:
- "Standing in the Shadows of Love" (#6, 1966)
- "River Deep - Mountain High" w/Supremes (#14, 1970)
- "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)" (#4, 1973)
- continued through personnel changes into the 80s ("Indestructible"
[#35, 1988] was used by NBC for the 1988 summer Olympics
- Stubbs provided the voice for the man-eating plant in Little Shop of
Horrors
- still continue to tour & record
- most popular male group at Motown in the 60s
- dual lead singer format
- Eddie Kendricks (strong falsetto) & David Ruffin (smooth baritone)
"The Way You Do the Things You Do"
(#11, 1964)
My Girl
(#1, 1965)
- 1968 - Ruffin left the group
- 1970 - 3rd lead vocalist Paul Williams left
- 1973, owing $80,000 in back taxes, he shot himself
- 1971 - Kendricks left
- success still continued, turning even to disco in the 70s
Other Hits included:
- (#13, 1966)
- "Beauty is Only Skin Deep" (#3, 1966)
- "I Wish It Would Rain" (#4, 1968)
- "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" w/D. Ross & Supremes (#2, 1968);
also with the Supremes - "I'll Try Something New (#25, 1969)
- "I Can't Get Next to You" (#1, 1969)
- "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World is Today)" (#3, 1970)
- "Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)" (#1, 1971)
-
- mid-70s - like many of Gordy's artists, became dissatisfied with their treatment
at Motown
- they managed to retain the rights to the group's name
- various members had chart successes
- 1991 - "Motown Song" (Rod Stewart w/ the Temptations) hit #10
- Otis Williams (born Miles), one of the founding members, continues to lead
the Temptations into their 4th decade!!
amazingly talented young musician: played piano, organ, drums, harmonica (chromatic)
Fingertips,
pt. 2
(#1, 1963)
live performance was too long to be released as a single, so it was divided
into two parts; part 2 was the first live single ever to hit #1
Other Hits included:
- "Blowin' in the Wind" (#9, 1966; Dylan)
- "I Was Made to Love Her (#2, 1967)
- 1970s - Wonder's true potential began to be realized
- 1971 - turned 21 and demanded an accounting of his royalties; took $1/4
million of his $1 million trust and set up his own 40-track studio, refusing
to submit to Gordy's control
Gordy made unprecedented offer (for Motown, that
is):
- Motown would distribute his album, splitting royalties 50-50
- Wonder could do his own production an dhave his own publishing company
- in effect, Wonder retained full artistic control
attained an incredibly high level of commercial success:
- 4th most-charted singles (behind Presley, Elton John, & Beatles)
- 4th most Top 10 singles (behind Presley, Beatles, & Madonna)
- in the Top 10 artists for "Most #1 Singles" (#7) and "Most
Weeks Held #1 Position" (#10)
#1 solo Hits during the 70s included:
because of his tremendous popularity during the 70s, we will leave a more detailed
discussion to later
Motown's flagship group - bringing to fruition, Gordy's black pop music crossover
dream
- most commercially successful female group of the 60s
- one of the Top 5 pop/rock/soul acts of that same decade
- symbols of black achievement & black womanhood
appealed equally to teens & adults
original members met while living in Detroit's Brewster housing project:
- Diana Ross
- Mary Wilson
- Florence Ballard
- Ballard was the most enthusiastic about pursuing a musical career
- the girls became friendly with the Primes, a male vocal trio including
Eddie Kendricks & Paul Williams ... future founding members of the
Temptations!!)
- the Primes' manager formed the three girls & Williams' girlfriend,
dubbing them the Primettes
- Ballard was originally considered the lead vocalist, though all three sang
lead
- her soulful vocal style was similar to Aretha Franklin
- while in H.S., the girls began hanging around "Hitsville" (Motown
Records)
- became friends with Smokey Robinson
- gained a local following for their group
- 1961 - Gordy signed the trio as "the Supremes"
- the name was suggested by Ballard
- early 1964 - "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes"
reached #23
- Dick Clark Cavalcade of Stars
- began touring as the opening act
- "Where Did Our Love Go" was released during the tour
- the resulting success landed them the prestigious
ending spot by the conclusion of the tour!!
Where
Did Our Love Go
(#1, 1964)
- Lamont Dozier said, "All of the Supreme's biggest hits were mostly
children of ‘Where Did Our Love Go'"
- before the end of 1965, the Supremes had registered 6 number 1 hits!!
review characteristic Motown sound:
- lead singer with vocal backup
- strong professional orchestration (strings, brass, sax, keys, & percussion)
- beat is always strong with a heavy backbeat, often reinforced by handclaps
- used bari sax to double bass & provide solos
- predictable harmonic modulation 3/4 through the song
- no real improvisation or deviation from the predetermined arrangement
- lyrics avoided controversy (mostly boy-girl romance)
Gordy's continued control over his acts:
- limited the Supremes to $100 weekly allowance
- the balance was placed in a joint bank account
- members were not allowed to date
- Gordy purchased diamond rings for each to give the appearance of being
engaged (!!)
rumors of a romance between Ross & Gordy have never been confirmed
1966-1967 - 4 consecutive #1 Hits:
- "You Can't Hurry Love"
- "You Keep Me Hangin' On"
- "Love is Here and Now You're Gone"
- "The Happening"
- Ballard became frustrated with Ross' stardom
- "The Happening" [#1, 1967] was credited to "Diana Ross & the Supremes"
- she began missing performances due to "illness," gained weight,
etc.
- exact circumstances remain unclear, but she left the group in 1967,
replaced by Cindy Birdsong
- Ballard found little success as a solo artist
- died of a cardiac arrest in 1976
- "Someday We'll Be Together" (#1, 1969) was Ross' last recording
with the Supremes
- note irony of the title
- she was replaced by Jean Terrell
- Ross & Wilson have both published autobiographies
- they also confirmed that the Broadway musical Dreamgirls was
based on the Supremes' career
The Jackson Five
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