Meet the Supremes question[[s)

[marybrewster]

The LP "Meet the Supremes" was recorded October, 1960 - September, 1962.

Four singles were released:

1."I Want a Guy"
Released: March 9, 1961
2."Buttered Popcorn"
Released: July 21, 1961
3."Your Heart Belongs to Me"
Released: May 8, 1962
4."Let Me Go the Right Way"
Released: November 5, 1962

The LP itself was released on December 9, 1962.

In a game of why's and what if's:

Does anyone know the reasoning why there was such a large time frame between "I Want a Guy" being released and "LMGTRW" being released? It's basically two years. And how about the length of time [[almost a year) between "BP" and "YHBTM"?

One might easily surmise Mr. Gordy and Motown were searching for the right "sound" for the Supremes. But what were the Supremes doing in that one year, and two year period? Strictly recording? Performing?

Another question: do you suppose if "IWAG" or "BP" had been a "hit" that this release would have come out much sooner? I know things were different back in the 60's, but these days it seems that once an artist has a hit, an "LP" is released, and then other singles are released later. In this example, it's quite the opposite.

When it was released in 1962, the LP itself didn't even chart in the US. But it was re-released in 1964, and it DID chart in the UK. Any thoughts on why it didn't chart in the US? My assumption is that once the LP "Where Did Our Love Go?" was released [[and charted at Number 2), there was a push to put out "anything" Supremes. But yet even with new cover artwork, this debut LP STILL went no where. One would think it would have at least scraped the bottom of the US Billboard 200.

[antceleb12]

Well I know they were still doing background work, Florence was a Marvelette for a while...excellent question...

[mysterysinger]

The UK issue of "Meet The Supremes" [[issued 1964 and reached number 8) was not the same album as the US one.

The track list on the UK album was:
A1 Where Did Our Love Go
A2 Your Heart Belongs To Me
A3 Buttered Popcorn
A4 Baby Don't Go
A5 [[The Man With The) Rock & Roll Banjo Band
A6 I Want A Guy
B1 When The Lovelight Starts Shining Thru' His Eyes
B2 You Bring Back Memories
B3 Play A Sad Song
B4 Time Changes Things
B5 Never Again
B6 Standing At The Crossroads Of Love

The US "Meet The Supremes" track list was originally:
Tracklist
A1 Your Heart Belongs To Me
A2 Who's Lovin' You
A3 Baby Don't Go
A4 Buttered Popcorn
A5 I Want A Guy
B1 ----------------------------------------Added Let Me Go The Right Way on revised album
B1 You Bring Back Memories---Became B2 on revised album
B2 The Boy That Got Away------Amended to B3 Time Changes Things on revised album
B3 Play A Sad Song----------------Became B4 on revised album
B4 Never Again---------------------Became B5 on revised album
B5 [[He's) Seventeen---------------Became B6 on revised album

From Wiki - "The original album track order contained ten songs. Side 1: Your Heart Belongs To Me; Who's Lovin' You; Baby Don't Go; Buttered Popcorn; I Want A Guy. Side 2: The Boy That Got Away; You Bring Back Memories; Play A Sad Song; Never Again; [[He's) Seventeen. This configuration was withdrawn to include the current hit, "Let Me Go The Right Way" and the B-side, "Time Changes Things". "The Boy That Got Away" was withdrawn from the line-up, giving the album 11 tracks.

and the US version of the "Where Did Our Love Go" album contained:
Tracklist
A1 Where Did Our Love Go
A2 Run, Run, Run
A3 Baby Love
A4 When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes
A5 Come See About Me
A6 Long Gone Lover
B1 I'm Giving You, Your Freedom
B2 A Breath Taking Guy
B3 He Means The World To Me
B4 Standing At The Crossroads Of Love
B5 Your Kiss Of Fire
B6 Ask Any Girl

[reese]

The fact that MEET THE SUPREMES was released at all in 1962 is a mystery. I mean, it came out after four flop singles. Who did they expect to buy it?

When it was re-released in 1965, as Marybrewster said, one might think it would have charted somewhat better because of the girls' popularity. But most of the girls' successful albums were usually headed by hit singles, whereas albums like LIVERPOOL, COUNTRY WESTERN & POP, and WE REMEMBER SAM COOKE only did so-so. An album with no hits like MEET was still probably a low priority for fans who had to be choosey with their dollars.

[RossHolloway]

Didn't the group do a lot of studio work for other acts during this time period: background vocals, handclaps and they did perform and record.

[luke]

And let's face it Meet was a pretty bad album. And albums by females were not burning up the charts.

[rovereab]

Just realised that in the UK we didn't have an early Supremes album which included Baby Love and Come See About Me. I assume we had our version of Meet The Supremes followed by the same More Hits that the US had.

[mysterysinger]

In the UK, "Meet The Supremes" was actually followed by.....
TML11002 With Love From Us To You [[alias A Bit Of Liverpool)
TML11012 We Remember Sam Cooke
TML11018 Sing Country, Western and Pop
TML11020 More Hits

It does seem odd that "Baby Love" and "Come See About Me" didn't feature on "Meet The Supremes".

[rovereab]

Very strange, especially where Baby Love is concerned, as it reached #1 in the UK. It and Come See ABout Me, didn't feature on a Supremes album until Greatest Hits was released.

[mysterysinger]

The UK didn't exactly go short though before TML11063 [["Greatest Hits") was released.

TML11001 "16 Big Hits" had "Baby Love"
TML11011 Choker Campbell's "Hits of the Sixties" had instrumental versions of both songs.
TML11014 Earl Van Dyke "That Motown Sound" had an instrumental version of "Come See About Me"
TML11026 "At The Copa" had live versions of both songs.
TML11027 "Motortown Revue in Paris" had a live version of "Baby Love"
TML11043 "16 Big Hits Volume 4" featured "Come See About Me"
TML11050 "16 Big Hits Volume 5" featured "Baby Love" [[again)

[rovereab]

The UK didn't exactly go short though before TML11063 [["Greatest Hits") was released.

TML11001 "16 Big Hits" had "Baby Love"
TML11011 Choker Campbell's "Hits of the Sixties" had instrumental versions of both songs.
TML11014 Earl Van Dyke "That Motown Sound" had an instrumental version of "Come See About Me"
TML11026 "At The Copa" had live versions of both songs.
TML11027 "Motortown Revue in Paris" had a live version of "Baby Love"
TML11043 "16 Big Hits Volume 4" featured "Come See About Me"
TML11050 "16 Big Hits Volume 5" featured "Baby Love" [[again)

Yes, I missed the word "Supremes" before the word album above [[now corrected). UK Motown, in other respects, never seemed backward in ensuring big hits were represented on albums. All part of the rich Motown history :)

[daviddh]

the album suffered from 4 flops, and after WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO, I don't think the Supremes promoted the singles or this album at all. it barely sold 150,000 copies and that was after the were having hits. not there best album but some nice moments here and there. i think I liked about 2-3 songs from it. the deluxe edition made me appreciate it more, you can see how the ladies had grown over the span of the years. to , me if I were BG ,I would have issued HTERES A PLACE FOR US instead

[mysterysinger]

The Japanese mini LP releases omitted "Meet The Supremes" too which kind of confirms a lack of demand for the album. Then, of course, it started getting released as an out of copyright album so available cheaply. Hip-O-Select were brave in issuing the expanded version I think.

[RossHolloway]

And let's face it Meet was a pretty bad album. And albums by females were not burning up the charts.

Considering the album was released in late '62 before the "Motown Sound" truly came to be, the album has grown on me over the past several years. There's no denying that the group could really sing and the music track and production are both on point.

[thommg]

I started backwards. My first Supremes release was the blue Greatest Hits set. Then I went back to pick up the others. I found the reissue of Meet The Supremes with the blue cover and didn't even know the "stool cover" existed until years later.

My guess is, while the initial singles didn't really hit, they sold enough to compile an album containing some of them. Perhaps, Gordy was waiting for a release to hit big before putting out a "Meet" album, but finally decided he needed to get something in the marketplace on them. As others have stated, it's not the best album but the energy that comes out of those recordings is fantastic. It's interesting to hear where the voices started so you can appreciate how far they have come to this day. And how they learned to interpret a song. For that reason alone, I'm glad Gordy released it probably knowing it wouldn't sell.

[luke]

And simply put he loved the Supremes!

[captainjames]

I can remember when "Meet The Supremes" was one of the most sought after releases with the original bar stool covers.

[BigAl]

By all accounts, the Primettes/Supremes differed from most of the other acts signed to the label at the time. They did not begin singing together in church, in school, or on street corners, and the group was cobbled together largely by Milton Jenkins rather than coalescing by itself. Of course Flo and Mary came together without assistance but Betty and Diane were recruited separately so there was forethought involved. Also, from the start, they sang more than just the usual doo-wop and r&b numbers in their act, including pop standards which most young groups wouldn't deign to sing. They had Diane and her keen eye for visual presentation [[and often even her sweat-equity in running up stage outfits on her Singer). To Gordy, this probably looked like his best hope for crossover success even if, vocally, they paled beside most of his other acts. He had the foresight to see that the rough edges could be smoothed out over time and had the patience to wait it out. Diane's voice presented challenges but it was unique and only needed the right material and production, and that's where the problems really arose, and it took three years before the right match with HDH was found. Truly, no other writers/producers could have done that, but Gordy stayed behind the group, knowing that one day it would happen. To me, Meet The Supremes doesn't indicate the potential the group had. To my ears, the Clarence Paul sessions [[which eventually became The Supremes Sing Country Western & Pop) give a clearer indication of what they could achieve, although they weren't quite there yet. HDH was the key, and how lucky it was that it happened.

[Jimi LaLumia]

so big al is basically stating here that Ross was the designated lead singer from day one, before there were hits for the group and before there was any guarantee that they would even have one hit, let alone everything that followed..her lead vocals on almost the entire the Meet The Supremes album bears that out, although they did give "Buttered Popcorn' a shot as a single

[marv2]

so big al is basically stating here that Ross was the designated lead singer from day one, before there were hits for the group and before there was any guarantee that they would even have one hit, let alone everything that followed..her lead vocals on almost the entire the Meet The Supremes album bears that out, although they did give "Buttered Popcorn' a shot as a single

Yeah, but on the first Primettes single you had Mary Wilson lead singer on one side and Diane Ross lead singer on the other. Florence was the "unofficial" leader of the group.

[BigAl]

so big al is basically stating here that Ross was the designated lead singer from day one

Well, no, that wasn't what I intended to say but, now that you mention it, it's probably what happened, at least at Motown. The LuPine sessions of course yielded one lead by Mary. If the group's recorded output at Motown prior to 1964 is any indication, Mary and Flo would get tossed a lead once in a while but Diane led the majority of the songs and all but one of the singles so I can only assume she was pegged early on as primary lead. Her voice wasn't as well-trained or as versatile as Flo's or Mary's but it was very distinctive. The plaintive youthfulness of it was well-suited to songs of romantic angst to which young audiences would relate. Florence's voice and, most definitely, Mary's, would appeal to more mature ears as well, but this was not the demographic which Gordy initially wished to target. Once the group hit it big in the Top 40 and started doing club dates, attended by older audiences, Flo and Mary could have been given a lot more to do but by that time Diane had such a strong foothold with those who made the decisions that it never happened.

[Jimi LaLumia]

as with Martha Reeves, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight ,Levi Stubbs, etc don't you think it makes commercial sense for there to be A front person rather than several.. with the exception of The Tempts, I can't think of many other situations even beyond Motown where The Ronettes, The Shirelles, Shangri Las, etc.
had more than one front person

[marv2]

as with Martha Reeves, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight ,Levi Stubbs, etc don't you think it makes commercial sense for there to be A front person rather than several.. with the exception of The Tempts, I can't think of many other situations even beyond Motown where The Ronettes, The Shirelles, Shangri Las, etc.
had more than one front person

The O'jays and the Dells, oh and the Shirelles.

[BigAl]

as with Martha Reeves, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight ,Levi Stubbs, etc don't you think it makes commercial sense for there to be A front person rather than several.. with the exception of The Tempts, I can't think of many other situations even beyond Motown where The Ronettes, The Shirelles, Shangri Las, etc.
had more than one front person
In general, it's preferable for there to be one readily identifiable lead voice on A-sides, and you're correct in that The Tempts were a notable exception. Of the girl groups, The Shirelles had a hit which was led by Doris Coley [["Dedicated to the One I Love") before Shirley Alston became the regular lead. [[Much like "Buttered Popcorn" for the Supremes I guess, except "Dedicated" was a big hit.) Of course The Marvelettes had Gladys at first with occasional split leads and an occasional actual lead by Wanda, and then vice-versa, before Wanda took over the leads, but Gladys still did a good half of B-sides and album cuts until she quit. After that, Ann Bogan got the lead on one single [["I'm Gonna Hold On As Long As I Can"). The Chiffons had most of their hits with Judy Craig on lead but a great many of their sides, including some A-sides, featured Sylvia Peterson doing lead [["Nobody Knows What's Goin' On In My Mind But Me," "Up On The Bridge"). The Sweet Inspirations had Cissy Houston routinely trading off with Sylvia Shemwell. Like the Shirelles and The Supremes, Shemwell did the lead on their first single [["Why Am I Treated So Bad?") before Cissy took that spot over, but Sylvia continued do at least half of the leads on all their other material.

Most interesting perhaps, were Reparata & The Delrons [["Whenever A Teenager Cries"). Mary Aiese was the original lead [["Reparata" was her confirmation name, apparently). When she decided to leave the group she turned the leads AND the "Reparata" name over to former backup Lorraine Mazzola, who continued to use the name even after the group split up and she joined Barry Manilow's backups, "Lady Flash." Later the two of them had a tug-of-war over the name. [[I don't know who won.)

[Jimi LaLumia]

I think the change over of lead singers with The Marvelettes certainly didn't help with the casual radio listeners and their ultimate demise..in my opinion anyway.. the casual fan isn't as deep into the minute details and are easily confused

[Jimi LaLumia]

brand names without faces..Coca Cola, Warner Bros.. AT&T , Disney.. can maintain loyalty forever..
brand names in groups for the casual music fan, when the main face/ voice changes, holds no such guarantees, be it Supremes, Temptations, Marvelettes, Miracles etc.. hard core Motown fans continued to support no matter what, but to have huge records nationally the hard core is just not large enough to make that happen

[BayouMotownMan]

The problem with Meet The Supremes was obviously a quality issue. It was released briefly in 1962 as Motown put some promotion behind Let Me Go The Right Way, a funky little track that should have been a bigger hit. The lp was pulled not long after when it was obvious LMGTRW was not hitting. It was re-issued in early 1965 with a new front cover when The Supremes were white hot. Consider if you will that quickly assembled sets on the London sound, Sam Cooke and an issuance of older C&W material all did some chart action. But this first lp of original recordings sank again in its second release. Motown even tried to stir up some sales by re-issuing Time Changes Things as the flip to Forever Came Today in 1968. The material on Meet seems quite dated even by 1965 standards. Ross is so shrill on I Want A Guy and Never Again, the average listener would never identify this lead voice with that of, say, Love Child. She needed time to grow and develop as did the group. In Meet they were desperately searching for a "sound" and didn't really get one til the group hooked up with HDH. The reviews for Meet were not enthusiastic as well. In fact, I didn't buy this lp until the early 70s in a dollar bin. Didn't like the lp then and still don't.

[BigAl]

One big problem with Meet The Supremes was that there was no real cohesiveness of style and it turned into a mish-mash of what Motown was doing at the time with its other acts: doo-wop [["Never Again," "Play A Sad Song"), the latin-esque style which was working for Mary Wells [["Your Heart Belongs To Me," "Time Changes Things"), a novelty number [["Buttered Popcorn," featuring Flo), a teeny-bopper [["He's Seventeen"), a ballad [["Baby Don't Go," featuring Mary), Four Seasons-styled stompers [["Let Me go The Right Way," "You Bring Back Memories"), and, of course "I Want A Guy," which doesn't really fit into any specific category, so the music was all over the place. On most of the tracks, Diane was still singing shrilly and nasally, which didn't work at all, so the whole thing was a mess and would have squashed any hopes of success and possibly even dismissal without Gordy's faith in the group. Still, the album is fascinating [[at least to me) despite its awfulness. Kind of like passing a terrible highway accident where you don't want to look but can't look away.

[captainjames]

Also, to answer your original question. Wasn't there something going on internal in the group with four to three Supremes which may have been a reason for the long lapse between singles. I think this album is the one of three to come out that would actually have four Supremes singing one or two songs.



The LP "Meet the Supremes" was recorded October, 1960 - September, 1962.

Four singles were released:

1."I Want a Guy"
Released: March 9, 1961
2."Buttered Popcorn"
Released: July 21, 1961
3."Your Heart Belongs to Me"
Released: May 8, 1962
4."Let Me Go the Right Way"
Released: November 5, 1962

The LP itself was released on December 9, 1962.

In a game of why's and what if's:

Does anyone know the reasoning why there was such a large time frame between "I Want a Guy" being released and "LMGTRW" being released? It's basically two years. And how about the length of time [[almost a year) between "BP" and "YHBTM"?

One might easily surmise Mr. Gordy and Motown were searching for the right "sound" for the Supremes. But what were the Supremes doing in that one year, and two year period? Strictly recording? Performing?

Another question: do you suppose if "IWAG" or "BP" had been a "hit" that this release would have come out much sooner? I know things were different back in the 60's, but these days it seems that once an artist has a hit, an "LP" is released, and then other singles are released later. In this example, it's quite the opposite.

When it was released in 1962, the LP itself didn't even chart in the US. But it was re-released in 1964, and it DID chart in the UK. Any thoughts on why it didn't chart in the US? My assumption is that once the LP "Where Did Our Love Go?" was released [[and charted at Number 2), there was a push to put out "anything" Supremes. But yet even with new cover artwork, this debut LP STILL went no where. One would think it would have at least scraped the bottom of the US Billboard 200.

[sup_fan]

i think the lapses between releases is due to a variety of things. when the girls first arrived at motown in late 60, they were pretty much the first girl group on the label. then later in 61 the marvelettes arrived and hit with their first single. the Sups were still doing backups and stuff but the company focus had shifted. Mary talks about how she and Diana "ran away" to stay with a relative of mary's in chicago. they were gone a month or so. then flo joined the Marvelettes on tour. then Barbara left. overall motown was still very much in it's infancy and could really only focus on a few acts at a time - Mary wells, miracles, marvelettes. then the contours arrived and hit, then stevie. then Martha. it wasn't until the established acts really started to hit regularly was there any real consistency in output.

even in the mid and late 60s, if you weren't an established act, you didn't have the clockwork schedule of releases like the tops, Temps, Sups and others did.

[grapevine]

...the biggest question ...why is Cindy Birdsong on the cover of the 2016 vinyl edition of this LP...???

http://tiny.cc/ut6aay

...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:)

[marybrewster]

...the biggest question ...why is Cindy Birdsong on the cover of the 2016 vinyl edition of this LP...???

http://tiny.cc/ut6aay

...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:)

Yikes, LOL!

[marybrewster]

Thank you all for your insight into my question[[s).

I have been looking for 25+ years for an original US "stool cover"LP. Perhaps someday.

Someone said something above [[BigAl?) that really resonated with me: while both Mary and Flo had good voices, Diana's had more of distinct sound. When you compare to Mary's "Come and Get These Memories" to her later "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You", her voice has definitely grown stronger, but in many ways, is exactly the same. Same with Flo and "Buttered Popcorn" and some of her ABC tracks. But when you listen to Diana's "Baby Love" versus something like "Love Child", her voice has completely transformed.

I don't think Berry [[Motown) would have had as much success in the overall molding of any other Supreme BUT Diana.

[sup_fan]

Marybrewster, you're right that Diana really developed over the years as a talented vocalist. She really was gifted for her phrasing abilities and how she just "embodied" every song she sang. Like a good actress, she was able to enter whatever role the song's lyric dictated

A lot of it was pure talent. but also a lot of it was experience. as lead singer, she had hugely more opportunities in the studio to experiment and develop. much more so than M or F. i'm not saying they would have ever become as unique of a singer as Diana or implying that they were robbed of what could have been. I do believe Diana had "it" from the get go. more so than the others.