Always in my Heart [[A Supremes oddity)

[franjoy56]

I heard Always in My Heart for the first time when I flipped Come See About Me over in 1964 and played it I didn't care for it then. But when it came out on the Supremes Holland Dozier Holland album, I loved it it seemed it got a remastered treatment or because I heard it on a stereo mix I think I had the Stereo version. But i was always puzzeled about who did those owl like harmonies, Mary & Flo or the Andantes or both, sounds like Mary and Flo to me. Sorry to pose another Andantes/Supremes who is it question but this song has puzzeled me for years. Diana Ross sounds wonderful no complaints from her singing she was always the upfront voice of the supremes.

[mowest]

I can't tell which women are in the background but always thought a man's voice was part of the mix. Eddie Holland? Lamont Dozier?

[Methuselah2]

Franjoy - I've always wondered about the title change--on the HDH album, it turned into YOU'RE GONE [[BUT ALWAYS IN MY HEART).

Here's a great rendition on YouTube by Individuell83 sounding so much like Florence. It's terrific all on its own--but it also shows how wonderful the song might have been with Flo on lead.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diYIimacKy8&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DdiYIimacKy8&nomobile=1

[mowest]

[QUOTE=Methuselah2;187189]Franjoy - I've always wondered about the title change--on the HDH album, it turned into YOU'RE GONE [[BUT ALWAYS IN MY HEART).

Maybe to differentiate this song from the 1940's tune of the same title.

[Methuselah2]

Good answer, Mowest. Sounds reasonable. Thanks.

[mowest]

Good answer, Mowest. Sounds reasonable. Thanks.

My pleasure, Methuselah2. I think that's why Martha & The Vandellas first smash became "[[Love Is Like A) Heat Wave:" to differentiate it from the Irving Berlin classic. Of course, Berlin could have changed his to "[[We're Having A) Heat Wave but his was first [[1933)!

[franjoy56]

Franjoy - I've always wondered about the title change--on the HDH album, it turned into YOU'RE GONE [[BUT ALWAYS IN MY HEART).

Here's a great rendition on YouTube by Individuell83 sounding so much like Florence. It's terrific all on its own--but it also shows how wonderful the song might have been with Flo on lead.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diYIimacKy8&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DdiYIimacKy8&nomobile=1

That is incredible I thought that was Florence until I read the rest of the thread wow that is awesome thank you Methuselah, I still think that is Flo and Mary on backup with an echo effect.

[supremester]

I was Ok with it as a B-side in 1964, but hated it on HDH LP in 1967. The Supremes had evolved so much and this song is one of the main reasons I think the album did so poorly compared to it's predecessor. As for the bg, I thought it was Marlene Barrow, but now that it's been suggested, it could easily be a man. Maybe Marvene knows? LOL

[bradsupremes]

Marlene Barrow was not the deep voice member of the Andantes. That was Jackie Hicks. Marlene was a soprano.

[supremester]

You are correct - I always make that same mistake - it just doesn't wanna sink in. TY.

[franjoy56]

I was Ok with it as a B-side in 1964, but hated it on HDH LP in 1967. The Supremes had evolved so much and this song is one of the main reasons I think the album did so poorly compared to it's predecessor. As for the bg, I thought it was Marlene Barrow, but now that it's been suggested, it could easily be a man. Maybe Marvene knows? LOL

The album did not sell poorly it peaked at #6 hardly a poor showing, The song is heartfelt and it was a HOlland Dozier Holland composition, has anyone ever felt it could have been Mary doing the alto parts, I still think the echo oooooohs are that of Mary and Flo and maybe another soprano voice added I am not sure, but it is a nice ballad, and Diana did a wonderful job on the lead.

[supremester]

I didn't mean to imply that it sold poorly, only that it sold less than half of it's predecessor "Supremes A' Go Go"...... and that Always In My Heart was ONE of the reasons it didn't do as well [[IMHO) - there are six weak tracks on this with Love Is In Our Hearts and this being particularly cringe-worthy to those expecting a similar vein as that of the singles. Though it was released 4 months after A' Go Go, it fell off the chart well before A Go Go did - even with two #1's on it.

[franjoy56]

I didn't mean to imply that it sold poorly, only that it sold less than half of it's predecessor "Supremes A' Go Go"...... and that Always In My Heart was ONE of the reasons it didn't do as well [[IMHO) - there are six weak tracks on this with Love Is In Our Hearts and this being particularly cringe-worthy to those expecting a similar vein as that of the singles. Though it was released 4 months after A' Go Go, it fell off the chart well before A Go Go did - even with two #1's on it.

We cannot figure out why some songs were put on an album years after it was recorded but the fact that [["Your Gone) But Always in My Heart retitled was put on the HDH album says something about the beauty of this song although it should have been on the WDOLG or More Hits album. We cannot predict that this song was the reason of its failure but in your opinion it was, I don't think so. HDH sold 1.5 million copies studio albums that came after that sold less including "Love Child" it appears that their albums were selling less and less as time went on except for Supremes A Go Go and the 2 68 ablums with the Tempts. and HDH sings sold more than those two. Always in my heart cannot be claimed as the reason hdh only sold 1.5 million copies in fact that is a good record for falling sales of the Supremes in the years after that.

[thommg]

I'm sorry but I totally disagree that there are six weak tracks on the HDH lp. It is one of their albums that I listen to most as I think most of the tracks are pretty good. The weakest for me is I Guess I'll Always Love You, but even that one doesn't diminish my joy of the album. Going Down for The Third Time, Remove This Doubt and I'll Turn To Stone are all terrific tracks along with the cover songs and the hits. Just don't hear the weakness you hear.

[davidh]

the Supremes sing HDH is one of my favorite lps and I think one of their strongest. my only complaints were the supremes versions of Heatwave and Same Old Song as I think they need a better mix but both of those songs were really out takes from A GO GO anyway. I think Diana does a great vocal but the mix seems watered down,imo. after the hits like Itching In My Heart and Hangin ON ,I expected more on those songs

[BayouMotownMan]

Eddie Holland is definitely on backing vocals. To be honest, I've listened to this track many times and I don't hear Mary and Flo at all. I don't hear female vocals. You can also hear Eddie prominently on I'm In Love Again [[the stereo mix)

[rrussi]

I loved this song and the male vocalists could be the Four Tops, who also worked on Run Run Run and When The Love Lights...Remove This Doubt was also on the HDH lp, which was also recorded in '63.

[smark21]

Somehow I don’t think sales of Sing HDH fell vis a vis A Go Go because consumers recoiled at seeing “Always in My Heart” on the track list. Perhaps the Supremes were beginning to slip? Or too many albums had already been released on them and the market was getting saturated with Supremes product [[though it reached peak level in 68)?

[thommg]

Somehow I don’t think sales of Sing HDH fell vis a vis A Go Go because consumers recoiled at seeing “Always in My Heart” on the track list. Perhaps the Supremes were beginning to slip? Or too many albums had already been released on them and the market was getting saturated with Supremes product [[though it reached peak level in 68)?

Truthfully, I think the title of the LP could have affected sales. Did anyone really know the names Hollad-Dozier-Holland? Also, the cover was much more austere than the two previous LP's. More Hits had those great photos of the ladies and A Go Go had that pink color and them dancing. This cover was serious and all gold. I, personally, love it but wouldn't expect a 12 - 16 year old to grab it because of that cover.

[franjoy56]

Truthfully, I think the title of the LP could have affected sales. Did anyone really know the names Hollad-Dozier-Holland? Also, the cover was much more austere than the two previous LP's. More Hits had those great photos of the ladies and A Go Go had that pink color and them dancing. This cover was serious and all gold. I, personally, love it but wouldn't expect a 12 - 16 year old to grab it because of that cover.

I definetly grabbed it, because it jumped out at you, and I loved the cover especial with the pose of Flo in that mae west [[come on and see me) her phot was striking, ironically it was her last studio lp photo and she went out with a bang with that one..

[supremester]

That's why I love this forum - everyone's experiences are unique. The Supremes album I play the most is Meet The Supremes [[sans I Want A Guy and usually Lover Of Mi-Yine) but that doesn't mean I think it's the most commercial. Regardless of what anyone likes, normal people expecting an album of songs like You Keep Me Hangin On and Love Is Here would be very disappointed. A Go Go pretty much gave you what you expected. Love Child? I HATED it. I wanted 12 tracks as dynamic as Love Child, not those toss-aways where she was often hoarse and doing a good job given the circumstances. That's why Supremes albums began to sink - they were crap. Yes, there were good cuts, but for normal folk, they had little interest. The Tempts albums got better and were strong on their own. Most Motown albums sold on the strength of the act and the singles featured. Most people think Cream Of The Crop was a fairly decent album, but it sold poorly as it's predecessors taught the public not to be lured by a hit and ten fillers. Also, the cover of HDH was a factor, I believe.
I'm sorry but I totally disagree that there are six weak tracks on the HDH lp. It is one of their albums that I listen to most as I think most of the tracks are pretty good. The weakest for me is I Guess I'll Always Love You, but even that one doesn't diminish my joy of the album. Going Down for The Third Time, Remove This Doubt and I'll Turn To Stone are all terrific tracks along with the cover songs and the hits. Just don't hear the weakness you hear.

[supremester]

Not just Always In My Heart, but a slew of not YKMHO worthy tracks. Remember that HDH fell off the chart months before Ago Go did - it had to be content or A Go Go, with four months on it already, would have dropped first. Now, nut cases like me bought everything, but I know lots of fans who couldn't or wouldn't buy all of those LPs in 68 [[Talk Of The Town, Funny Girl, TCB, Love Child< Join) all from late August to early Dec. Albums were a major investment back then - THAT was a glut. Personally, I only loved TCB and liked a lot Talk - the others? I never played them much then and they never grew on me except a few tracks. Yes, The Supremes had begun to slip also. Some never accepted Cindy [[or the lack of Flo) the new glam look wasn't for everyone, but mostly, their material, save for a few tracks, were def not Supreme. [[
Somehow I don’t think sales of Sing HDH fell vis a vis A Go Go because consumers recoiled at seeing “Always in My Heart” on the track list. Perhaps the Supremes were beginning to slip? Or too many albums had already been released on them and the market was getting saturated with Supremes product [[though it reached peak level in 68)?

[davidh]

Supremes Sing HDH did sell well,....about million plus which was good for them, yes , WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO and GO GO were there best sellers, but MORE HITS,SYMPHONY and HDH did well.
loved LOVE CHILD lp.
CREAM OF THE CROP sold poorly[[at the time) because Motown flooded the market with supremes out put, which made the group compete with themselves......CREAM lp was released in dec while HITS3 was released jan 70, a month later,...so of course the HITS LP took off and sold 1.5 million

[davidh]

not counting the greatest hits lps , both cert platinum , here r some of the biggest hit lps
GREATEST HITS 67....5,975.000
SUPREMES A GO GO 3,469.000
WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO3,225.000
MERRY CHRISTMAS 3,000.000
I HEAR A SYMPHONY 1,894.000
SING HDH 1,518.000
COPA 1,316.000
MORE HITS 839.000
REFLECTIONS 724.000
LOVE CHILD 683.000
CREAM OF THE CROP 566.000

[jobeterob]

not counting the greatest hits lps , both cert platinum , here r some of the biggest hit lps
GREATEST HITS 67....5,975.000
SUPREMES A GO GO 3,469.000
WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO3,225.000
MERRY CHRISTMAS 3,000.000
I HEAR A SYMPHONY 1,894.000
SING HDH 1,518.000
COPA 1,316.000
MORE HITS 839.000
REFLECTIONS 724.000
LOVE CHILD 683.000
CREAM OF THE CROP 566.000

One of the Supremes biggest sellers was Diana Ross & the Supremes Join the Temptations, which outsold TCB and which is documented in the Expanded Edition.

Personally, I no longer accept for the gospel the figures that were published in Randy Tarraborelli's first book; THAT is why they were deleted from his second edition ~ because he no longer considers them reliable. Why else delete them?

I think some of the songs that were rumoured to have not sold so much did in fact sell a lot. And some of the big hits didn't sell the most ~ as an example TCB went to #1 but did not outsell Join the Tempts.

Another example is Baby Love ~ for all the world except the USA, Baby Love blew the lid off Motown and the Supremes. In the USA, it was Where Did Our Love Go. For my money, I suspect Baby Love, Stop in the Name of Love and Reflections are amongst the million sellers.

[davidh]

yes TCB [[ 1,426.000) and JOIN [[1,397.000) both sold well and were very close in sales.
BABY LOVE was there biggest hit over a period of years but not at first as WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO was the lead seller for a long time.
BABY LOVE 3,496,000
WDOLG 2,720,000
YCHL 2,424,000
LOVE CHILD 2,899,000
SOMEDAY 3077,000
COME SEE 1,870,000
STOP! 2,154,000
SYMPHONY 1,604,000
HANGIN ON 1,758,000
REFLECTIONS 1277,000
MAKE U LOVE 1557,000........................JUST FOR FYI

[davidh]

more.....
BACK IN MY ARMS..........1,029,000
MY WORLD IS EMPTY......1,371,000
STONED LOVE ..................2,000.000

[davidh]

funny I did read somewhere JOIN out sold TCB. have to go back a read the deluxe liner notes

[Motown Andy]

A few thoughts on this:
Bayou Man - interesting regarding Eddie Holland. I never thought he was in the background of this song until you suggested it. I always thought it was Mary. But now that you mention it... hmmmm. Looks like I'll need to check out the vocal tracks sometime.

Rrussi - definitely not the Four Tops as once thought. That's Brian and Lamont trying to create a signature gruff "Ahhh" on Run Run Run, Lovelight and Penny Pincher. They confirmed that in a 2004 interview [[see Where Did Our Love Go - 40th Anniversary timeline).

An interesting thing happens when we listen to the multi tracks with no music, no reverb. You hear everything, and it is very revealing. Would be great to do a Supremes masterclass and discuss it. Will you all attend?

[franjoy56]

A few thoughts on this:
Bayou Man - interesting regarding Eddie Holland. I never thought he was in the background of this song until you suggested it. I always thought it was Mary. But now that you mention it... hmmmm. Looks like I'll need to check out the vocal tracks sometime.

Rrussi - definitely not the Four Tops as once thought. That's Brian and Lamont trying to create a signature gruff "Ahhh" on Run Run Run, Lovelight and Penny Pincher. They confirmed that in a 2004 interview [[see Where Did Our Love Go - 40th Anniversary timeline).

An interesting thing happens when we listen to the multi tracks with no music, no reverb. You hear everything, and it is very revealing. Would be great to do a Supremes masterclass and discuss it. Will you all attend?I would love to attend please lets update everyone if it happens.

[Kamasu_Jr]

BayouMotownMan knows his Motown. Eddie and Brian Holland often sang background on some of the the early Supremes and Vandellas songs. Martha Reeves said so in notes to one of her collections of hits. Always In My Heart sounds like a creepy funeral dirge to me with all that drum beating. And I can't figure out if the guy Diana is mourning is just gone or REALLY gone, LIKE DEAD. I guess this is one element that makes it a classic, huh?

[RossHolloway]

Bayoumotownman knows his Motown. Eddie and Brian Holland often sang background on some of the the early Supremes and Vandellas sonds. Martha Reeves said so in notes to one of her collections of hits. Always In My Heart sounds like a funeral dirge to me. I can't figure out if the guy is dead or just gone. I guess this is one element that makes it a classic.

Too funny.