Let yourself go single. What happened............

[franjoy56]

After a sort of rebound with the album High Energy #42 and a semi hit single Let My heart do the walking.#40 with a sparkling Scherrie Lead their best showing since 1972's Floy Joy, it seems the supremes in the bicentinnial summer 76 were on a rebound. but then came Mary scherrie and susaye lp in October a single that got stuck at #85 Your My drivin wheel, and a final single "Let Yourself Go" along with the accompanying album that both failed to hit the record charts. Let yourself go sounded like more of a go than driving wheel, but iglmhdtw was certainly a pop friendly record that jumped up the charts 10 notches a week until it got stuck at #40 in August 76. Let yourself go still remains a mystery as to its lackluster performance and as one of the most disco danceable sounding recordings in the supremes catalogue

[franjoy56]

Its also hard to believe that the High energy album only had one single release, surely they could have followed iglmhdtw with high energy or "Only You" but they missed the boat.

[daviddh]

not sure what happened with either , i thought you re whats missing in my life was considered and they were performing it in the live show but I also felt their live show was a bit of A MESS with the rushed medleys and over the top broadway songs and then the disco singles. it just didn't work for me and apparently many others. I think the entire High energy and MSS lp should have been performed live mixed with the older hits at the normal pace. I always felt they needed to let the audience hear their new sound. at least that's how I would have managed it.
I liked Driving Wheel but honestly it was not a crossover hit.pure disco and I do think it made top 5 disco.
to me,... Let My Heart Do The Walking was a tremendous return to form. great track,great vocals.
I do think Let Yourself Go had potential and it would have been the lead single for the group, Sweet Dream Machine ,Love I Never Knew both were great.
I also thought Bend A Little and Sha La Bandit should have been released at some point. I think there was an issue with who sang lead so some gems were left off. who was in charge here??? obviously the wrong person

[marv2]

After a sort of rebound with the album High Energy #42 and a semi hit single Let My heart do the walking.#40 with a sparkling Scherrie Lead their best showing since 1972's Floy Joy, it seems the supremes in the bicentinnial summer 76 were on a rebound. but then came Mary scherrie and susaye lp in October a single that got stuck at #85 Your My drivin wheel, and a final single "Let Yourself Go" along with the accompanying album that both failed to hit the record charts. Let yourself go sounded like more of a go than driving wheel, but iglmhdtw was certainly a pop friendly record that jumped up the charts 10 notches a week until it got stuck at #40 in August 76. Let yourself go still remains a mystery as to its lackluster performance and as one of the most disco danceable sounding recordings in the supremes catalogue

I remember that album, "Mary, Scherrie & Susaye" was one of the albums I got for Christmas in 1976. Upon first listening, I was not all that thrilled by it. I did like "You Are the Heart of Me", "We Should Be Closer Together" and "Sweet Dream Machine". The dance songs took a long while for me to begin to like. By the time "Let Yourself Go" was released it has already been announced in the media that Mary was going solo. Also, they were in Europe a lot during that time. "Let Yourself Go" did not receive any Pop radio play at least not in my area. It did receive considerable club play. Still that was not enough to boost sales of the single or album.

[marv2]

Its also hard to believe that the High energy album only had one single release, surely they could have followed iglmhdtw with high energy or "Only You" but they missed the boat.

Motown did not promote it. It was easier to find in the store [[got my copy at a Montgomery Wards LOL!) than the "Supremes" album from 1975. Motown had begun playing around with the radio promos for the first single, going as far as having it pulled from some playlists according to Scherrie Payne in lieu of the lastest Diana Ross single. Still, there were at least 3 potential singles on that album. One being "You're What's Missing In My Life" great song.

[Boogiedown]

Both pop and black radio programmers were resistant to playing disco and they included it in their playlists begrudgingly and as little as possible. It was hard for disco records like LET YOURSELF GO to break through this barrier especially when so much other disco product was competing for these limited airplay slots.

LET YOURSELF GO was good quality disco and did very well in the clubs , but its momentum was lost by the time it was released as a single because the clubs had already been playing several Supremes cuts off their album simultaneously for weeks. Collectively , three songs from M,S & S [[ LYG, YMDW,LINKYCFSG) reached #5 on the disco chart.

As said, there was poor marketing here by Motown . LET YOURSELF GO might've had a chance if the label had been more proactive in making it an even bigger club hit with a longer version 12" remix provided to the clubs . In turn, this special pressing should've been made commercially available to the club going buying public, which could've resulted in stores reporting the song's popularity to the trades thus giving it traction and a pathway to acceptance.
It's not as if Motown didn't understand this process for working disco , they did it for both LOVE HANGOVER and DON'T LEAVE ME THIS WAY.

[Bluebrock]

not sure what happened with either , i thought you re whats missing in my life was considered and they were performing it in the live show but I also felt their live show was a bit of A MESS with the rushed medleys and over the top broadway songs and then the disco singles. it just didn't work for me and apparently many others. I think the entire High energy and MSS lp should have been performed live mixed with the older hits at the normal pace. I always felt they needed to let the audience hear their new sound. at least that's how I would have managed it.
I liked Driving Wheel but honestly it was not a crossover hit.pure disco and I do think it made top 5 disco.
to me,... Let My Heart Do The Walking was a tremendous return to form. great track,great vocals.
I do think Let Yourself Go had potential and it would have been the lead single for the group, Sweet Dream Machine ,Love I Never Knew both were great.
I also thought Bend A Little and Sha La Bandit should have been released at some point. I think there was an issue with who sang lead so some gems were left off. who was in charge here??? obviously the wrong person
Driving wheel was a poor choice of single. Scherrie did her best, but must have cringed at some of those lyrics. The album was released too quickly after the High Energy album which still had a couple of potential hit singles in Your Whats Missing and the title track. The live shows were a hot mess which hardly helped the situation.
Whoever was in charge did indeed screw up big time. Too much Mary, not enough Scherrie on the leads. I had lost interest by this time. Little wonder many others thought the same.

[franjoy56]

Very well stated

[franjoy56]

Yes true t 12 inch singles were a big factor i dont remember any 12 inch singles issued to t supremes during this period lyg should have been one of them.

[jim aka jtigre99]

I believe I read in a book somewhere that Berry Gordy was at Motown and heard some of the tracks from MSS and said "it was the high quality we needed" and that he wanted to executive produce and manage the group again. I am sure Mary was quite wary about such an offer since the group had done well with Jean but Berry had "washed his hands of the group".
First off, they should have released the title track as the second single and YWMIML as the third single, both had potential. I guess seeing the hit IGLMHDTW stall at #40 when it should have gone much higher gave them encouragement but if that was the best song why release others? The same thing seemed to happen with Stoned Love in 1970. The MSS LP was too soon after High Energy and Driving Wheel was the wrong pick for the first single, it should have been Let Yourself Go. Motown clearly had washed their hands, even proclaiming that new girl group High Inergy would be "bigger than the Supremes".

[sup_fan]

HE is a very good album but Walking is without doubt the clear winner on it. The rest are fine for LP content but none has the strength of Walking. Possibly the title track but no way were they[[Mary and Pedro) gonna release a track on susaye.

Walking had power and established a sound for the group. They probably wanted to build off that new direction and so the MSS set was rapidly pulled together. I think it’s one of the strongest lps for the group ever. But several things IMO killer it

1. Wrong lead single. I like Wheel but not a good choice. From a song structure and sound it’s quite different from Walking. U needed a follow up more in keeping w the previous hit

2. Mary’s departure. Her foolish decision to leave meant that whatever minimal interest Motown and the public had in the group evaporated

3. Promotion for disco. The above comment is spot on about Motown not understanding how to promote disco tracks. Saturday Night Fever hasn’t hit yet so the mega explosion of disco hasn’t occurred and at this time it was mostly about club cross over. If the top djs were playing it then clubgoers would look for single. This would push local record stores and radio to maybe eventually play it which would sometimes lead to pop cross over. Motown wasn’t a huge source for hot disco at time

[daviddh]

BG offered to manage the group again twice, once with Jean and then with Scherrie. Mary said no but than complains motown did little for them.
just to be clear, Diana struggled herself and several of her albums didnt fair any better.
her Baby Its Me album, one of her best, just got lost. i have no idea what motown was thinking but apparently they werent. how could a great album get lost but motown did several times .
And the Supremes live shows were a mess . when your audience is getting smaller and smaller you would think hmmm something is worng and fix it. nope they didnt

[marv2]

BG offered to manage the group again twice, once with Jean and then with Scherrie. Mary said no but than complains motown did little for them.
just to be clear, Diana struggled herself and several of her albums didnt fair any better.
her Baby Its Me album, one of her best, just got lost. i have no idea what motown was thinking but apparently they werent. how could a great album get lost but motown did several times .
And the Supremes live shows were a mess . when your audience is getting smaller and smaller you would think hmmm something is worng and fix it. nope they didnt

None of that had anything to do with the record, "Let Yourself Go". If you're in business, you are suppose sell whatever it is you are putting out. Motown and Berry Gordy did not do that for the Supremes when it came to this release.

[kenneth]

My favorite two tracks off the MSS album no one has mentioned, "Come Into My Life" and "I Don't Want to be Tied Down."

I love the way "Life" sounds like it might've been recorded by George Clinton with Parlet. Love the long introduction, the vibe and the weird chanting background vocals. I always thought the lead vocal was shared by two of the ladies, until the gracious Ms. Greene herself corrected me on that via this forum. And Scherrie gives just a bravura performance on "Tied Down." I love the backing track with that sort of shuffle beat.

I always thought "Let Yourself Go" a pretty ordinary song. I think it likely sounds better now than it did at the time when the air waves were flooded with disco. To me it was pretty standard disco fare. I liked "Driving Wheel" and did hear it on the radio a few times.

[daviddh]

None of that had anything to do with the record, "Let Yourself Go". If you're in business, you are suppose sell whatever it is you are putting out. Motown and Berry Gordy did not do that for the Supremes when it came to this release.
I disagree, and by the time LYG was released Mary announced she was going solo. so no one cared . I think Motown was glad

[Ollie9]

"I Don't Want To Be Tied Down" was the hit single that never was from that last album. Not my fave, but a hit all the same. All the promotion in the world was never going to make "Driving Wheel" a pop hit. Absolutely terrible choice for first single.

[daviddh]

"I Don't Want To Be Tied Down" was the hit single that never was from that last album. Not my fave, but a hit all the same. All the promotion in the world was never going to make "Driving Wheel" a pop hit. Absolutely terrible choice for first single.
I totally agree. great track. I think Driving Wheel was the weakest track on the album. the rest kicked butt and had potential

[Ollie9]

I totally agree. great track. I think Driving Wheel was the weakest track on the album. the rest kicked butt and had potential

"Driving Wheel for me is also the weakest song on the album david. Choosing it as the first single was really really odd. Was there some sKulduggery at hand i wonder lol.
I would love to know who made the decision???.

[Bluebrock]

I totally agree. great track. I think Driving Wheel was the weakest track on the album. the rest kicked butt and had potential
Driving wheel is for sure an absolute turkey. Who the hell decided that load of old tosh was a suitable choice for the 1st single? When i first heard it i couldn't believe how tacky those lyrics were. It finally killed off the Supremes, but in truth they had been dying a slow lingering death since 1973.

[milven]

I disagree, and by the time LYG was released Mary announced she was going solo. so no one cared . I think Motown was glad

I totally hate the way my favorite group ended. Mary announces that she is leaving one of the best Supreme line-ups [[MSS), does her farewell Supreme show out of the country, leaves the two surviving Supremes in the wind as she goes out on tour as Mary Wilson & the Supremes, the two surviving Motown Supremes are caused to disband along with Joyce, who was standing in the wings waiting to join, Mary's career as a soloist seems to have stalled and she hangs onto the Supreme name and fake Supremes for years living off the Supreme legacy. Decades later, she says that she has kept the Supreme Legacy alive, but sometimes I think it is the other way around.

During the run of the Supremes, I always watched Mary in the live performances in person or on TV. I loved her smile and enthusiasm. So perhaps she was my favorite Supreme at the time.

But it saddens me that she turned over management of the group to her husband. Evidently, he couldn't even keep track of his bookings in the end and Mary continued to tour as a Supreme even though she had announced her departure and had a farewell concert.

Having followed this group since the beginning and sticking by it through to the end, I found the end confusing and sad and kind of bitter the group ended in such a sad way

[gman]

Everyone I played the last 3 LPS for liked them...and was surprised it was the Supremes. Like someone stated above....the club play was carrying the group. Radio formatting was either Pop/Heavy Disco...a lot of stations didn't cross mix. He's My Man didn't stand a chance on pop radio...considering the climate, it was a good choice to reintroduce the group keeping with the times...Color My World Blue was very Pop/RnB friendly and should have been issued and promoted as soon as HMM crested. High Energy was a much more pulled together LP...the spiraling long intro and soaring vocals on the opening cut set the stage nicely for IGLMHDTW...with the latin tinged percussion and scat intro. Scherrie Payne nailed it!...but die hard fans were upset there was another personnel change. Cindy was a very much loved and very recognizable Supreme...Not having an extended 12"single available def hurt IGLMHDTW...not to mention a very choppy 7" edit....MS&S was great LP....many record stores here in NYC gave the LP lots of display visibility. Once again, it was dance/club friendly, and one magazine review stated all the cuts were being played by DJs...I loved [[and still do) Driving Wheel..it was tight..the LP version had a very hypnotic groove...loved that pounding acoustic piano and Scherries drop into the background chorus vocals. at the time I thought Let Yourself Go was a masterpiece... it was IMHO very fast to dance to.
I didn't go to clubs...but a friend who went every weekend said DJ's usually slowed the pitch a bit...I think LYG shows its age more than both IGLMHDTW a YMDW

[daviddh]

i loved COLOR MY WORLD BLUE, thought this could have been a single
BEND A LITTLE, why was the left off. a lot of mistakes.

[marv2]

i loved COLOR MY WORLD BLUE, thought this could have been a single
BEND A LITTLE, why was the left off. a lot of mistakes.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9wVwIri6kE

[gman]

that was nice....but I prefer the original extended with Mary's spoken lines. I think CMWB and You're What's Missing are the 2 most commercial sounding and radio friendly cuts from the Scherrie era....there were many more choices in the what-would-have-made-a-great-extended-dance/remix-single genre than the chance-for-a-big-radio-hit one.

[BayouMotownMan]

All of these are factors but consider these complications and you know why the single tanked:

1. The group's latest and last lp, Mary, Scherrie & Susaye, was dead. The first single out bombed and Motown waited far too long to issue a second single to promote the album. LYG was barely distributed by Motown, I had to special order it.

2. The Supremes were dead. Mary and Pedro had pretty much driven the group into the ground. There was so much dissension that pretty much each lady was staying to herself while performing together.

3. Motown itself was dying a slow death. LYG was issued in early 1977, the beginning of one of Motown's worst years since the early 60s. The company only had a handful of hit singles and lps during this period and by the end of that year Motown was in trouble. They were also not developing enough new performers and of the ones they did sign, only High Inergy, Switch and Rick James were the only ones to take off. Only James sustained. Wonder, Gaye and the Commodores ruled while Ross stagnated and Robinson floundered. It would be two years before Gordy took back the label he created and got it up and running correctly again.

LYG was by and far a contract release. Motown attended the groups disastrous opening in Vegas and the word at the company is that they had degraded into an amateurish act. Scherrie Payne & Susaye Greene were both astounding vocalists and Mary even flourished with them. The most impressive grouping of Supremes would be that last group, when captured in the studio where the sound was controlled. On stage they often seemed to be competing with one another. Their stage show was all wrong, a mixture of Vegas and disco. Not a good mix.

Mary announced she was leaving, then tried to come back and what followed was a windfall for different lawyers in Hollywood.

[thanxal]

I totally hate the way my favorite group ended. Mary announces that she is leaving one of the best Supreme line-ups [[MSS), does her farewell Supreme show out of the country, leaves the two surviving Supremes in the wind as she goes out on tour as Mary Wilson & the Supremes, the two surviving Motown Supremes are caused to disband along with Joyce, who was standing in the wings waiting to join, Mary's career as a soloist seems to have stalled and she hangs onto the Supreme name and fake Supremes for years living off the Supreme legacy. Decades later, she says that she has kept the Supreme Legacy alive, but sometimes I think it is the other way around.

During the run of the Supremes, I always watched Mary in the live performances in person or on TV. I loved her smile and enthusiasm. So perhaps she was my favorite Supreme at the time.

But it saddens me that she turned over management of the group to her husband. Evidently, he couldn't even keep track of his bookings in the end and Mary continued to tour as a Supreme even though she had announced her departure and had a farewell concert.

Having followed this group since the beginning and sticking by it through to the end, I found the end confusing and sad and kind of bitter the group ended in such a sad way

This is the most sane, balanced thing I have read here in a while. I’m glad you are able to cut through the Diana-Mary drama around here and I appreciate the clear-eyed perspective on this 45+ year old point in the Supremes timeline. I have always been troubled by how things ended and this nicely expresses the bitter-sweetness of that point in time. Nothing works out the way we thought it would and our favorite supergroup is no exception to that rule. Humans, I suppose.

[marv2]

i loved COLOR MY WORLD BLUE, thought this could have been a single
BEND A LITTLE, why was the left off. a lot of mistakes.

"Color My World Blue" is great from start to finish. I have very strong memories of the mid 70s and that record would been perfect for Pop and Soul radio at that time. Great harmonies and Scherrie does a great job on lead.

[marv2]

that was nice....but I prefer the original extended with Mary's spoken lines. I think CMWB and You're What's Missing are the 2 most commercial sounding and radio friendly cuts from the Scherrie era....there were many more choices in the what-would-have-made-a-great-extended-dance/remix-single genre than the chance-for-a-big-radio-hit one.

I just the version with Mary Wilson's spoken lines and thought it was very nice also. You are right about those two songs. They definitely had commercial appeal and sound very radio friendly.

[sup_fan]

All of these are factors but consider these complications and you know why the single tanked:

1. The group's latest and last lp, Mary, Scherrie & Susaye, was dead. The first single out bombed and Motown waited far too long to issue a second single to promote the album. LYG was barely distributed by Motown, I had to special order it.

2. The Supremes were dead. Mary and Pedro had pretty much driven the group into the ground. There was so much dissension that pretty much each lady was staying to herself while performing together.

3. Motown itself was dying a slow death. LYG was issued in early 1977, the beginning of one of Motown's worst years since the early 60s. The company only had a handful of hit singles and lps during this period and by the end of that year Motown was in trouble. They were also not developing enough new performers and of the ones they did sign, only High Inergy, Switch and Rick James were the only ones to take off. Only James sustained. Wonder, Gaye and the Commodores ruled while Ross stagnated and Robinson floundered. It would be two years before Gordy took back the label he created and got it up and running correctly again.

LYG was by and far a contract release. Motown attended the groups disastrous opening in Vegas and the word at the company is that they had degraded into an amateurish act. Scherrie Payne & Susaye Greene were both astounding vocalists and Mary even flourished with them. The most impressive grouping of Supremes would be that last group, when captured in the studio where the sound was controlled. On stage they often seemed to be competing with one another. Their stage show was all wrong, a mixture of Vegas and disco. Not a good mix.

Mary announced she was leaving, then tried to come back and what followed was a windfall for different lawyers in Hollywood.

Great recap rick. Always love reading your insightful posts

I have a bootleg copy of the Caesar show and I like it cuz the sound quality of the recording is excellent. You can clearly hear all three girls, the orchestra, the strings. But lord. The show was a hot mess. Absolutely right that the set list was all wrong. Also nearly a third of the show was dedicated to the three solo numbers from each girl. Sorry but I want to hear The Supremes. Not susaye. Not Mary. Not scherrie. I want to hear the group.

Also not only do the girls sing over each other too much but there’s too much constant three part harmony and sometimes they’re not in tune. Perhaps too much choreography so it impacted their singing.

And then the horrid 60s medley while in the mega dress. The medley starts w a poor imitation of Ed Sullivan and they play up a lot of the “stuck on you” lyrics like Set Me Free Why Don’t Yoh Babe, I cant break away [[from nothing but heartaches) etc. I’m guessing they were trying to be funny and show they’re all in this one dress a la Hair. But there are no references to Hair for the audience to make this correlation!!!! Insane

Mary had no business trying to manage this group. The results clearly speak for themselves. The instant Gordy offered to manage again they should have JUMPED at the chance

[sup_fan]

"Color My World Blue" is great from start to finish. I have very strong memories of the mid 70s and that record would been perfect for Pop and Soul radio at that time. Great harmonies and Scherrie does a great job on lead.

Agreed! An excellent song. I think they should have quickly pulled all these pop tracks into the first lp. Relaunch the group w Color, can’t stop a girl, sha la, it’s all been said, etc. Put out a solid lp w those and get the group alive again on the pop and r&b charts. Then follow up w a dance lp w He’s My, where do I go, dance fever and the rest

[daviddh]

I suppose poor MGMT is to blame.
Bad decisions across the board

[franjoy56]

I suppose poor MGMT us to blame.
Bad decisions across the boardyou guys really went all out in providing i n s ight a s t why the supremes and their last records set t group to its grave should have ended w lyg in t top 20 . we cant always win just greatful f the music

[marv2]

you guys really went all out in providing i n s ight a s t why the supremes and their last records set t group to its grave should have ended w lyg in t top 20 . we cant always win just greatful f the music

I'm with you on that Fran. The two main reasons that Let Yourself Go did not do better is because the album Mary, Scherrie and Susaye was released too close behind High Energy and lack of serious promotion by Motown. They needed radio promotion and better distribution of those last few singles. Their final single wasn't even released in America.

[daviddh]

I am grateful for the music as well and that music is why we are still here. we are all passionate about Motown and its artist, and I think we all we saddened to see the group go out the way they did. I remember being frustrated that Let Yourself Go got no airplay, but it was more or less disco and not all stations were playing it, simple. sad but true. I think the Supremes and Motown needed us to handle their PR dept

[TomatoTom123]

I KNOW IT'S A STUPID SONG BUT I LOVE "YOU'RE MY DRIVING WHEEL"!!!!!

I also like "Let Yourself Go"! Again though both are great disco tracks, but I can't see them crossing over to mainstream pop success that much. :)

[blackguy69]

Few things. First was it really Mary wanting to rejoin or was it Pedro wanting scherrie and Susaye to rejoin. Motown wanting to manage them again could’ve been fools gold. They have you again and then turn around and do nothing for them.

[bradsupremes]

And then the horrid 60s medley while in the mega dress. The medley starts w a poor imitation of Ed Sullivan and they play up a lot of the “stuck on you” lyrics like Set Me Free Why Don’t Yoh Babe, I cant break away [[from nothing but heartaches) etc. I’m guessing they were trying to be funny and show they’re all in this one dress a la Hair. But there are no references to Hair for the audience to make this correlation!!!! Insane

Mary still has that Hair Folly three-in-one dress. We tried to have it photographed for the upcoming book, but we couldn't figure out how it worked, what was up, what was down, or how to fit it on the mannequins. No wonder it didn't work then. It didn't work for the photoshoot. As Mary said "I still don't know how this thing works" as she tossed it back into the storage box.

[marv2]

Few things. First was it really Mary wanting to rejoin or was it Pedro wanting scherrie and Susaye to rejoin. Motown wanting to manage them again could’ve been fools gold. They have you again and then turn around and do nothing for them.

I believe Motown wanted to manage them again so that they could finish them off for good! I look at the way they handle the albums "Mary Wilson" and "Partners" as an indication of that.

[daviddh]

in regards to Mary's solo album, i liked Warm Summer Night and Pick Up The Pieces. but RED HOT. omg awful. I tried to like it but....again straight to the disco dumpster.
the Partners lp was artistically good but not commercially good. I remember a song called Luvbug . I think Ray Charles sang on it and Scherries Another life From Now.beautiful track. but.....again neither hit the mark and Motown dropped them both .
looking back how did Marys album even get released. but maybe that was the plan. get rid of her

[marv2]

Yes true t 12 inch singles were a big factor i dont remember any 12 inch singles issued to t supremes during this period lyg should have been one of them.

Fran, they did not get any 12" releases for any of the songs from that album which was another mistake being that they were Disco songs.

[marv2]

in regards to Mary's solo album, i liked Warm Summer Night and Pick Up The Pieces. but RED HOT. omg awful. I tried to like it but....again straight to the disco dumpster.
the Partners lp was artistically good but not commercially good. I remember a song called Luvbug . I think Ray Charles sang on it and Scherries Another life From Now.beautiful track. but.....again neither hit the mark and Motown dropped them both .
looking back how did Marys album even get released. but maybe that was the plan. get rid of her

I loved "Red Hot". It was a great dance record. Many have done remixes on it since. Some as recent as last year. My favorite version was the 12" version. It sounded nothing like the Supremes [[which was good) and more like something James Brown would have done.

[marv2]

Hey everyone check this out! This is how the song was heard in New York City Discos of the song "Let Yourself Go" by the Supremes. It was created by popular DJ Larry Levan and is still played on a Saturday dance party show on WBLS in NYC. It should have been a 12" release:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FgTwdw-vEA

[marv2]

I love how in the beginning of this remix Scherrie says "Turkessa's is going to wind up speaking in Spanish and Mary is not going to understand her....." LOL!!!!

[daviddh]

really good, to bad this didnt take off,perhaps this was a year to early with SNF a year later. tight vocals.
did they do this in concert? i think Mary's departure killed this off.wasnt this released in jan 77 with mary leaving june 77.i suppose they could have had one more hit. it did make top 5 dance.perhaps a 12 in versionmay have helped it

[sup_fan]

Mary still has that Hair Folly three-in-one dress. We tried to have it photographed for the upcoming book, but we couldn't figure out how it worked, what was up, what was down, or how to fit it on the mannequins. No wonder it didn't work then. It didn't work for the photoshoot. As Mary said "I still don't know how this thing works" as she tossed it back into the storage box.

Hahaha that’s hysterical. I believe in her book she said the run at Caesar was cut short due to poor ticket sales. I wonder if they even used the dress for the short time they were there. Or if after a show or two the ditched it.


On the recording they do get relatively strong audience response from some numbers. But then others there’s barely any applause 😳 there was none hardly after the hits medley

It’s an odd show lineup:

Everybody gets to go to moon/corner of sky
Let yourself go
60s medley
Maybe this time
People - susaye solo
What about today - scherrie solo
He’s my man
How lucky can you get - Mary solo
You’re my driving wheel
Let yourself go reprise and bows

[Bluebrock]

in regards to Mary's solo album, i liked Warm Summer Night and Pick Up The Pieces. but RED HOT. omg awful. I tried to like it but....again straight to the disco dumpster.
the Partners lp was artistically good but not commercially good. I remember a song called Luvbug . I think Ray Charles sang on it and Scherries Another life From Now.beautiful track. but.....again neither hit the mark and Motown dropped them both .
looking back how did Marys album even get released. but maybe that was the plan. get rid of her
I agree. Mary's album was awful. Poor song selection of songs except for the two you mentioned. Mary's vocals were of a poor standard which may or may not have had something to do with her being pregnant, but even a talented vocalist would have a tough job making these songs sound decent so poor Mary had no chance.
I liked the Partners album but it was not commercial enough to be a success. Great vocals throughout though.

[gman]

After seeing Mary live for the first time in the mid 80's, I said Wow!...her voice definitely had more power and range than I heard on recordings...even live fan to fan bootlegs of MSC/MSS shows. She definitely honed her craft after leaving the group...and this comes from someone who chose MW for his favorite Supreme....first recording I heard that sounded anything like the live voice was Ian Levine's Motorcity track Don't Get Mad Get Even [[of course, You Danced My Heart Around The Stars was recorded almost 10 years earlier...but I hadn't heard that masterpiece yet...that's one of my all time fav MW tracks) Red Hot was breathy and sexy...the 12" mix is far superior..so was Warm Summer Night...only 2 songs I still play. I liked Partners...insert 3 MW leads, and we could have had basically the next Supremes LP...loved In The Night the most...and I Found Another Love and Scherrie's excellent ballard closer...Finally, with Walk The Line we got a Mary CD that sounded like they weren't asking her to whisper... seeing her live, she at least once puts the mic down by her side and belts...it's clear,and it's in tune. She has developed "chops"

[Ollie9]

After seeing Mary live for the first time in the mid 80's, I said Wow!...her voice definitely had more power and range than I heard on recordings...even live fan to fan bootlegs of MSC/MSS shows. She definitely honed her craft after leaving the group...and this comes from someone who chose MW for his favorite Supreme....first recording I heard that sounded anything like the live voice was Ian Levine's Motorcity track Don't Get Mad Get Even [[of course, You Danced My Heart Around The Stars was recorded almost 10 years earlier...but I hadn't heard that masterpiece yet...that's one of my all time fav MW tracks) Red Hot was breathy and sexy...the 12" mix is far superior..so was Warm Summer Night...only 2 songs I still play. I liked Partners...insert 3 MW leads, and we could have had basically the next Supremes LP...loved In The Night the most...and I Found Another Love and Scherrie's excellent ballard closer...Finally, with Walk The Line we got a Mary CD that sounded like they weren't asking her to whisper... seeing her live, she at least once puts the mic down by her side and belts...it's clear,and it's in tune. She has developed "chops"

I wholeheartedly agree with you gman. To me Mary has always sounded far better live then on many of her recordings.
The first time i ever saw her in concert was at the London Palladium in 78 when my parents bought me tickets for my birthday. Even then i was blown away at just how rich and powerful her voice was .
As you say she has honed her craft over the years and is a consummate live performer. The one thing Mary desperately needed in those early solo years was musical direction. Had she found her musical niche earlier things might have been very differerent for her.

[daviddh]

Hahaha that’s hysterical. I believe in her book she said the run at Caesar was cut short due to poor ticket sales. I wonder if they even used the dress for the short time they were there. Or if after a show or two the ditched it.


On the recording they do get relatively strong audience response from some numbers. But then others there’s barely any applause  there was none hardly after the hits medley

It’s an odd show lineup:

Everybody gets to go to moon/corner of sky
Let yourself go
60s medley
Maybe this time
People - susaye solo
What about today - scherrie solo
He’s my man
How lucky can you get - Mary solo
You’re my driving wheel
Let yourself go reprise and bows

I had this concert at some point. this concert is exactly what I didn't like about the Supremes shows.to many standards or broadway style songs. just over the top for me. I want to hear Supremes hits. with the talent in this group no excuse for this. who came up with this nonsense and no one had sense to say this isn't working. this sucks.
the 60s medley was a day at the races. total lackluster

[marv2]

You know what would really be cool? If they remixed the entire "Mary, Scherrie & Susaye" album and re-release it like a new album. I'd love to see something like that. There was too much good music on it that was not heard by many people.

[daviddh]

not a bad idea, I did hear Susaye wanted to remix LYG a while back

[gman]

I don't know if the Scherrie Payne years CD set sold out....but the Jean Terrell one did. I believe the first set had a 5000 copy printing...and the later one 3000....didn't Scherrie recut LYG with many different mixes on a CD just a few years ago? I don't want clubby electronic remixes...just some 12" mixes using as much of the original instrumentation as possible like they would have sounded at the time...[[call in Russ)

[sup_fan]

You know what would really be cool? If they remixed the entire "Mary, Scherrie & Susaye" album and re-release it like a new album. I'd love to see something like that. There was too much good music on it that was not heard by many people.

That’s a sensational idea. The hot dance tracks could easily be updated for today’s sounds. And then the more avant-garde tracks like Sweet Dream, come into and we should be closer would be very interesting to hear different interpretations

[George Solomon]

I was very happy that we got to do new, unedited mixes of "Driving Wheel," "Dream Machine," and "Love I Never Knew," on the Final Sessions box. "Let Yourself Go" was next in line but we ran out of time and space. I really wanted to get my hands on that one. There are still some other gems. From the 75 album "Where Do I Go From Here" is actually very long but it was edited for the album. The full version would have made a perfect 12". "Early Morning Love" is also much longer. Maybe if we EVER get a 70's Lost & Found... Still waiting for a green light on another expanded edition.

[smallworld]

"Early Morning Love" is also much longer.

Did Scherrie Payne record a lead vocal for "Early Morning Love"? Are there any more unissued Scherrie leads?

[sup_fan]

Oh I so wish there was another LYG track. That’s one of my all time fav Sup songs. Not that I wasn’t thrilled w the scherrie set. But ohhh I’m now dying for the L&F set lol

I’d even like a full unedited Love I Never Knew. I know the liner notes said it went on forever but I’m fine with that lol

[marv2]

I was very happy that we got to do new, unedited mixes of "Driving Wheel," "Dream Machine," and "Love I Never Knew," on the Final Sessions box. "Let Yourself Go" was next in line but we ran out of time and space. I really wanted to get my hands on that one. There are still some other gems. From the 75 album "Where Do I Go From Here" is actually very long but it was edited for the album. The full version would have made a perfect 12". "Early Morning Love" is also much longer. Maybe if we EVER get a 70's Lost & Found... Still waiting for a green light on another expanded edition.

George, you have to admit that some of these songs were very, very good. Also, the vocals are superior to just about anything being heard today. My frustration comes from truly believing that if these recordings were heard by more, they would have sold a huge amount and received substantial airplay. They still do not sound dated today. I've comments on you Youtube for songs like "You Are The Heart of Me" and some are amazed t hat they are just hearing it now.

[Boogiedown]

Hey everyone check this out! This is how the song was heard in New York City Discos of the song "Let Yourself Go" by the Supremes. It was created by popular DJ Larry Levan and is still played on a Saturday dance party show on WBLS in NYC. It should have been a 12" release:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FgTwdw-vEA

this is not a Larry Levan mix for several reasons. For starters, his style was nothing like this.

[marv2]

this is not a Larry Levan mix for several reasons. For starters, his style was nothing like this.

The guy that posted this is from France and he claims this is Larry's remix. I don't know. I do know they play this on the weekend for the Saturday night dance party on NYC radio station WBLS.

[marv2]

Ok Boogiedown, now here IS Larry Levan's mix from his original club mixes starting at 59:20 in this video:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39JerMg2IQE

[Boogiedown]

good find Marv , It's not a remix of LET YOURSELF GO by Levan , if that's what you mean. It's the original version that's being used within this DJ's set that's being attributed to Larry Levan. It certainly sounds like it could be Larry, but who knows. [[When this was released in 2005 , did anybody involved explain where the set suddenly came from?:confused:)

This following Levan set , for me has more credibility, because of the explanatory story presented with it , and also how it was released. It also has a lot of disco "oldies" in the mix considering it's 1979, but it was an anniversary party presentation. It includes I'M GOING TO LET MY HEART DO THE WALKING @ 21:30


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CGgiCTqnO4

As I understood it, Larry did not pre-make his own special in-house versions of any songs. He always DJ'd on-the-spot by using regularly available records between two turn tables , and did not blend in pre- tapes. I don't know if this changed in later years.

[Bluebrock]

Did Scherrie Payne record a lead vocal for "Early Morning Love"? Are there any more unissued Scherrie leads?
Scherrie would have been wonderful singing "early morning love" . Her voice was far better suited to it than Mary's ever was. We can but dream.....

[Bluebrock]

I was very happy that we got to do new, unedited mixes of "Driving Wheel," "Dream Machine," and "Love I Never Knew," on the Final Sessions box. "Let Yourself Go" was next in line but we ran out of time and space. I really wanted to get my hands on that one. There are still some other gems. From the 75 album "Where Do I Go From Here" is actually very long but it was edited for the album. The full version would have made a perfect 12". "Early Morning Love" is also much longer. Maybe if we EVER get a 70's Lost & Found... Still waiting for a green light on another expanded edition.
Maybe we should all e-mail Universal and beg them to give the greenlight for a 70's lost and found? It seems to be a very popular idea on this forum.

[Bluebrock]

I don't know if the Scherrie Payne years CD set sold out....but the Jean Terrell one did. I believe the first set had a 5000 copy printing...and the later one 3000....didn't Scherrie recut LYG with many different mixes on a CD just a few years ago? I don't want clubby electronic remixes...just some 12" mixes using as much of the original instrumentation as possible like they would have sounded at the time...[[call in Russ)
The Scherrie Payne years did not sell particularly well. It is still readily available, but the Jean Terrell set is like Gold dust.

[marv2]

good find Marv , It's not a remix of LET YOURSELF GO by Levan , if that's what you mean. It's the original version that's being used within this DJ's set that's being attributed to Larry Levan. It certainly sounds like it could be Larry, but who knows. [[When this was released in 2005 , did anybody involved explain where the set suddenly came from?:confused:)

This following Levan set , for me has more credibility, because of the explanatory story presented with it , and also how it was released. It also has a lot of disco "oldies" in the mix considering it's 1979, but it was an anniversary party presentation. It includes I'M GOING TO LET MY HEART DO THE WALKING @ 21:30


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CGgiCTqnO4

As I understood it, Larry did not pre-make his own special in-house versions of any songs. He always DJ'd on-the-spot by using regularly available records between two turn tables , and did not blend in pre- tapes. I don't know if this changed in later years.

I don't know much about Larry Levan. I understood that he was a top DJ in NYC for a long time. He passed in the early 90s. I am more familiar with Frankie Knuckles and Jelly Bean Benitez among others.

[George Solomon]

If Scherrie recorded Early Morning Love it doesn't exist on the tape anymore. The same with High Energy. I'm surprised that someone didn't at least do one mix before the vocal was erased, as they often did in the 60's. No one can be a hundred percent sure it doesn't exist somewhere.
I loved this album when it came out. Maybe Marv mentioned earlier that WBLS in New York often played all the tracks and I believe that was the number one station in NY at the time. I used to keep the radio on all day. It doesn't make sense that the album didn't chart at all.

[aarondillon2011@gmail.com]

OMG now I want the "Where Do I Go From Here" and "Early Morning Love" Unedited versions. I'm beginning to think we definitely need to start a petition to get a 70's Supremes Lost and Found set out on cd. I'm guessing we would need 5,000-10,000 signatures?....LOL

[marv2]

If Scherrie recorded Early Morning Love it doesn't exist on the tape anymore. The same with High Energy. I'm surprised that someone didn't at least do one mix before the vocal was erased, as they often did in the 60's. No one can be a hundred percent sure it doesn't exist somewhere.
I loved this album when it came out. Maybe Marv mentioned earlier that WBLS in New York often played all the tracks and I believe that was the number one station in NY at the time. I used to keep the radio on all day. It doesn't make sense that the album didn't chart at all.

George, WBLS still plays "Let Yourself Go" on their Saturday Night Dance Party show. They also use to play Mary Wilson's "U" back when Frankie Crocker came back to the station and the song was new in the late 90s.

[Boogiedown]

I mentioned in an earlier post , the clubs thoroughly embraced this album, devoting playtime to three cuts simultaneously , carrying them collectively to a top five position.

Besides LET YOURSELF GO , which was the obvious club-themed cut on the LP, popular too was YOU'RE MY DRIVING WHEEL and :


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQFjBAH5YOo
LOVE I NEVER KNEW YOU COULD FEEL SO GOOD

which is maybe , imo, the best of the three, it certainly nails the feel-good aspect strived for in a disco composition and that video so successfully captures that feel-goodness, glad it has survived on YouTube over the years.

For sure , the girls in the clubs never turned their backs on their Supremes and were loyal to them to the end.

[Bluebrock]

If Scherrie recorded Early Morning Love it doesn't exist on the tape anymore. The same with High Energy. I'm surprised that someone didn't at least do one mix before the vocal was erased, as they often did in the 60's. No one can be a hundred percent sure it doesn't exist somewhere.
I loved this album when it came out. Maybe Marv mentioned earlier that WBLS in New York often played all the tracks and I believe that was the number one station in NY at the time. I used to keep the radio on all day. It doesn't make sense that the album didn't chart at all.
It flatly refused to chart here in the UK too despite lots of promotion and airplay. He;s my man was all over the radio yet it could only graze the lower end of the top 100. It seemed like the public had quite simply fallen out of love with the Supremes. They appeared to have lost their identity. When Diana and Jean took the lead they were instantly recognisable , but by 1975 most people would have had no idea that was the Supremes on the radio.

[detmotownguy]

Hi Marv. Didn’t you have a High Energy recording of both cindy and Scherrie? Thanks

[marv2]

Hi Marv. Didn’t you have a High Energy recording of both cindy and Scherrie? Thanks

No I never had that. I have heard recordings of Cindy Birdsong singing "Till The Boat Sails Away" which was on the High Energy album with Mary Wilson doing the lead. I believe Cindy's was recorded AFTER she was no longer in the group and as a demo for a recording contract.

[sup_fan]

Maybe if there was a way to pre-order an album, that would help lock it into production and release. if they offered a pre-order status on 70s Sup L&F and had 2,000 people pre order and pay, then they'd have the confirmation prior to investing.

[marv2]

Maybe if there was a way to pre-order an album, that would help lock it into production and release. if they offered a pre-order status on 70s Sup L&F and had 2,000 people pre order and pay, then they'd have the confirmation prior to investing.


That is a smart idea. Promotion of it through say social media would get the ball rolling fast.

[danman869]

I know it’s not the focus here, but since the track has been discussed [[vilified?!), I love “You’re My Driving Wheel.” BUT! Yes, its’ biggest problem is the dumb title and often weak lyrics. The Hollands [[as producers) may have thought the title and concept was different enough to catch people’s ears, but...clearly it wasn’t. IMO, the TRACK is great! Danceable and catchy with musical hooks galore. The lyrics stink. Instead of “You’re my driving wheel, you take me farther than I’ve been before...!” Perhaps they could’ve built on “HOW YOU MAKE ME FEEL, you take me farther...” it still could’ve been a sensuous and sexy song. We’re they thinking people would’ve been boogie-ing out to this on the dance floor while moving their hands like holding an imaginary car steering wheel [[like the girls did in their choreography)? Dumb. I think YMDW, with proper promotion and a change in lyrics, would’ve continued taking the Supremes higher than they’d been in years. Alas...

Oh! And as for “Let Yourself Go,” it’s not a favorite of mine. I don’t skip it if it plays, but I can understand why it sank without a trace. I think the lyrics are almost TOO simple [[and sometimes unintelligible, IMO) and the bpm is a tad high. The record was as though the Supremes were spinning out of control and about to explode. I guess in a way, they did. I think there were other songs on the MSS album that would’ve been better suited for single release.

[sup_fan]

i certainly don't hate Wheel. but i don't think it was the best choice to 1) follow up Walking and 2) be the lead single from the LP. it's a hot track though and i don't hate the lyrics. sure they're a bit simplistic and silly. but they're certainly better than baking bread wearing a dirty rag dress or the potential lethal effect of making homemade jam lololol

it was fascinating to hear the unedited version on the Scherrie Payne set. it might have helped to build the production at bit more. the track starts and barrels out the gate. maybe they could have had a little less for the first chorus and verse and then add in more. but overall i think the song is fun and great to dance to.

let yourself go IMO was the obvious choice for lead single. i like that they amped up the beat and track beyond Walking. some fans have clamored about released You're What's MIssing and i just find that song too blah. it just doesn't make me want to jump up and dance. Walking was just so strong on the HE lp and just screams hit. given that song, i understand if they wanted to just move ahead with a new set of songs.

[marv2]

I know it’s not the focus here, but since the track has been discussed [[vilified?!), I love “You’re My Driving Wheel.” BUT! Yes, its’ biggest problem is the dumb title and often weak lyrics. The Hollands [[as producers) may have thought the title and concept was different enough to catch people’s ears, but...clearly it wasn’t. IMO, the TRACK is great! Danceable and catchy with musical hooks galore. The lyrics stink. Instead of “You’re my driving wheel, you take me farther than I’ve been before...!” Perhaps they could’ve built on “HOW YOU MAKE ME FEEL, you take me farther...” it still could’ve been a sensuous and sexy song. We’re they thinking people would’ve been boogie-ing out to this on the dance floor while moving their hands like holding an imaginary car steering wheel [[like the girls did in their choreography)? Dumb. I think YMDW, with proper promotion and a change in lyrics, would’ve continued taking the Supremes higher than they’d been in years. Alas...

Oh! And as for “Let Yourself Go,” it’s not a favorite of mine. I don’t skip it if it plays, but I can understand why it sank without a trace. I think the lyrics are almost TOO simple [[and sometimes unintelligible, IMO) and the bpm is a tad high. The record was as though the Supremes were spinning out of control and about to explode. I guess in a way, they did. I think there were other songs on the MSS album that would’ve been better suited for single release.

I call You're My Driving Wheel hardcore call and response! LOL! It's one of those rare songs where the background singers [[aka chanters) are leading the lead singer [[aka the caller).

[Circa 1824]

By the time this album came out, I had no information on the Supremes.

When I saw the title, "Mary, Suzzzzie, and Sherrrrrie," I thought, "Wow, Cindy flew the coop, and who the hell are those other 2 gals? " I cannot be the only one with this reaction, and this led one to appropriately think the Supremes no longer existed. Thus, zero interest.

[daviddh]

with the success of Dianas last 2 dance hits and the new remix of The Boss, why not let Eric Kupper remix some Supremes songs to mark the 60th. i vote on Let Yourself Go and Your Wonderful Sweet Sweet Love,.or the entire MSS lp

[sup_fan]

^ i love that idea. although the Diana tracks were already well known and so there's familiarity there to help them rechart. But LYG could be amazing.