the supremes vs. love unlimited

[thisoldheart]

how did barry white not get sued by berry gordy for rewriting the supremes "everyhting's good about you" as "it may be winter outside [[but in my heart it's spring)" for love unlimited.it seems to me i remember motown sued len barry for "one, two, three" that didn't sound a thing like "ask any girl". and ashford & simpson get credit for their backing track on "tears dry on ther own" but amy winehouse's melody sounds nothing like the "ain't no mountain" backing used on amy's "back to black" version especially when you hear the stripped down earlier version on her just released "lioness". that brings up the question: what is more important: melody lines orbacking tracks? because one could make a case for motown borrowing heavily from its own vast catalogue!

[motony]

1-2-3 was a BIG hit. It May Be Winter Outside was not a hit. I never thought Mashed Potato Time was that much like Postman, I thought the 81 was a direct rip off of In My Lonely Room. Like Kal Mann use to say "they don't come after you unless you have a hit, then everyone wants a piece".

[drchris]

The original version of 'It May Be Winter Outside' was by Felice Taylor [[also produced by B White, I think) and that really does sound like the Supremes - although Felice Taylor's terrific 'I Feel Love Comin' On' was a complete dead ringer for The Supremes.

[randy_russi]

It May Be Winter Outside was originally done by Felice Taylor on the Mustang label. Although Barry White said he was
trying to get a Supremes-sound, I didn't think it sounded like Everything Is Good About You.
By the way, Motown copied too!!! Mary Wells said the producers and writers would sit around a portable record
player listening to the hits of the day and trying to find ways to copy them.

[jack020]

Motony: IMBWO reached 42 on Billboard's Top 100!

[roger]

Motony: IMBWO reached 42 on Billboard's Top 100!

Yes .. the FELICE TAYLOR version of "It May Be Winter Outside" reached #42 on the Billboard Hot 100 early in 1967 [[and #44 on their R&B listings). The LOVE UNLIMITED version of "It May Be Winter Outside" got to #83 on the Hot 100 in early 1974, and #35 on the R&B listings .. it was around for a long time though on the R&B listings [[13 weeks) .. AND .. the LOVE UNLIMITED version of "It May Be Winter Outside" did well internationally .. #11 in the UK.

Wasn't BARRY WHITE present at some Motown recording sessions? [["Forever Came Today", by DIANA ROSS & THE SUPREMES comes to mind, I'm sure I heard he was at some H-D-H session.)

I'd agree that those FELICE TAYLOR records sound very "Supremish", and to me they sound more of a Rip-Off of certain Motown songs than "1,2,3" or "Mashed Potatoes Time", so maybe Mr Gordy could have sued BARRY WHITE and won.

However maybe BERRY GORDY had met Mr White and genuinely liked the guy and thought he deserved a break .. alternatively, having aspirations to move to L.A. and having heard of Mr White's past maybe Mr Gordy thought it wise to make sure his hub-caps were safe ... :)

Roger

[TMSG]

In the Barry White box set - 'Unlimited', "It may be Winter Outside" is acknowledged as a tribute to the Supremes. I always recognised the similarity to the two tracks but never begrudged Love Unlimited from have a decent sized hit [[here in the UK) out of a little known Supremes track [[again, here in the UK).