Just listen to Jamerson on this!

[soulwally]

I've got to admit I've only just caught up with A Taste Of Honey by the Tops and the Supremes in the past couple of weeks. It's a great treatment... but Jamerson is amazing [[assuming it's him, and not Babbitt!)

[theboyfromxtown]

Great track......a single in Holland too.

My preferred track of all their duets

[soulwally]

I must admit I showed little interest in the pairing at the time... my tastes were moving on! The single River Deep etc didn't help in this. It must be one of the most insipid Motown singles ever.
Now, when I look to buy the Complete Duets CD, the price has gone out the roof.

[theboyfromxtown]

The single River Deep etc didn't help in this. It must be one of the most insipid Motown singles ever.

I thought so too!

[tmd]

Much better than Tina Turner- of course she did not have the legendary Levi singing on her version.
Not sure how anyone could think this was not a great song.

[jobeterob]

River Deep was the biggest hit by far of the Supremes/Four Tops duets in the USA; my recollection was that it reached #13 pop. But it is significantly inferior to the Ike and Tina Turner version.

I'm not sure what Motown was thinking with the Tops and Supremes when these duets came out ~ because they poured out 3 albums, none of which were very successful and all of which were chock full of what seemed to be filler; and each release did less and less well.

It seemed both groups were slipping with each month and they didn't know what to do with them.

I remember in the 1960's, Rolling Stone Magazine once wrote that the Motown Bassists were the envy of the white guitar bands like Led Zepellin.

Of course, Rolling Stone is also the Magazine which recalled that the Supremes had done an early album in a slightly nasty style like that of the Marvelettes which was probably now regarded as an unfortunate part of the past, much like once being a whore. And I don't think it is now regarded as an unfortunate style or album at all.

[roger]

River Deep was the biggest hit by far of the Supremes/Four Tops duets in the USA; my recollection was that it reached #13 pop. But it is significantly inferior to the Ike and Tina Turner version.

#14 Pop and #7 R&B in the Billboard listings according to the Joel Whitburn books Jobeterob .. and it reached #11 in the UK as well.

Personally I thought that it was nowhere as good as the IKE & TINA TURNER version .. which peaked at #88 on the Billboard Hot 100, although in The UK it reached #3. However, I do enjoy listening to The SUPREMES & FOUR TOPS version and at the time I thought it was very clever of Motown to "rescue" a lost song from the past [[at least as far as The US was concerned) and turn it into a hit.

Roger ....

[skooldem1]

In the case of this song, the charts don't matter. This is known only as a Ike and Tina song. No one, and I mean no one can beat the version by Ike and Tina.

[jobeterob]

I fear for Ike's sake, that it might only be known as a Tina song!