The Supremes & Diana Tracks In The Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time

heres the recently published Rolling Stone "Best " songs list and Supremes & Diana's inclusion -

#499 The Supremes "Baby Love"

"Diana Ross wasnt the strongest vocalist in the Supremes,But as the Motown production discovered,When she sang in a lower register,her voice worked its sultry magic. Berry Gordy instructed Holland Dozier Holland songwriting team to come up with something that replicated "Where Did Our Love Go",The Supremes first number one single, He thought the result wasnt catchy enough and sent the group back into the studio.The result: the smoky "Ooooh" at the start,"Baby Love" went to number one to,The first time a Motown group had topped the charts twice.

#385 Diana Ross "Im Coming Out"

While working on the album that would become "diana",guitarist-producer-writer Nile Rodgers said,"I went out to this [[trans) club one night,the Gilded Grape,Im at the urinal,and there are three or four Diana Rosses around me,The Next day I told Bernard [[Edwards his partner) "Man you wont believe what happened last night" he said,"Great lets write that".When Ross asked the producers if the song was as pro-gay as it sounded,Rodgers said, "We denied it".

#254 The Supremes "Stop ! In The Name Of Love "


Lamont Dozier of Motown's famed Holland Dozier Holland songwriting team came up with the idea for "Stop" after his girlfriend at the time caught him cheating at a motel: "This girl was very headstrong" he recalled "So we got into an argument. She started swinging,missed me,hit the floor.And I laughed and said "Please stop! stop in the name of love." The silliness of the moment stopped the fight,And immediately struck Dozier as song material,And after fixing it to a killer Brian holland hook,It became the Supremes fourth of five straight number ones.

#234 The Supremes "You Keep Me Hangin On"

"Get out of my life,Why dont ya,baby?" is one of the nicest,nastiest ways recorded in music to tell an ex-lover to scram.HDH intended "You Keep me" to be a rock song[[check out the searing S.O.S guitar intro),but it turned into so much more :The angst of rockis married with the angelic trills of pop,The rhythm of soul,And the urgency of disco 10 years before disco existed. When "You Keep me' was released,Seven Supremes songs had seen the top of the pop chart.This became their eighth and one of their most memorable.

thoughts ?

"Baby Love" and "Stop" are so overplayed. The track on "Baby Love" is really the only reason I ever play it. Diana's lead is arguably the weakest -and at the same time the most pop- vocal on a Supremes single. Always a "pass" for me. "Stop", on the other hand, has a pretty good Diana vocal but I don't particularly care for the track. Flo and Mary hold up their ends pretty well on both.

Only in recent years has "I'm Coming Out" grown on me. I never used to like it, although I think I always preferred it to "Upside Down", which has also grown on me over the years. The track on "Coming" is very good and Diana's vocal is cool. I rarely make it a point to play it specifically, but if it comes on I can dig it...for a little while.

"You Keep Me Hangin On" is one of the Supremes hits that I play specifically. Perfect recording from beginning to end. Perfect combo of Diana's lead, Flo and Mary's backup, the Funks' track and HDH's lyrics. I hope there is never a day where I tire of hearing it. [[Little known fact: I love Kim Wilde's cover almost as much as the Supremes. I probably play it just as much.)

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Originally Posted by nomis

heres the recently published Rolling Stone "Best " songs list and Supremes & Diana's inclusion -

#499 The Supremes "Baby Love"

"Diana Ross wasnt the strongest vocalist in the Supremes,But as the Motown production discovered,When she sang in a lower register,her voice worked its sultry magic. Berry Gordy instructed Holland Dozier Holland songwriting team to come up with something that replicated "Where Did Our Love Go",The Supremes first number one single, He thought the result wasnt catchy enough and sent the group back into the studio.The result: the smoky "Ooooh" at the start,"Baby Love" went to number one to,The first time a Motown group had topped the charts twice.

#385 Diana Ross "Im Coming Out"

While working on the album that would become "diana",guitarist-producer-writer Nile Rodgers said,"I went out to this [[trans) club one night,the Gilded Grape,Im at the urinal,and there are three or four Diana Rosses around me,The Next day I told Bernard [[Edwards his partner) "Man you wont believe what happened last night" he said,"Great lets write that".When Ross asked the producers if the song was as pro-gay as it sounded,Rodgers said, "We denied it".

#254 The Supremes "Stop ! In The Name Of Love "


Lamont Dozier of Motown's famed Holland Dozier Holland songwriting team came up with the idea for "Stop" after his girlfriend at the time caught him cheating at a motel: "This girl was very headstrong" he recalled "So we got into an argument. She started swinging,missed me,hit the floor.And I laughed and said "Please stop! stop in the name of love." The silliness of the moment stopped the fight,And immediately struck Dozier as song material,And after fixing it to a killer Brian holland hook,It became the Supremes fourth of five straight number ones.

#234 The Supremes "You Keep Me Hangin On"

"Get out of my life,Why dont ya,baby?" is one of the nicest,nastiest ways recorded in music to tell an ex-lover to scram.HDH intended "You Keep me" to be a rock song[[check out the searing S.O.S guitar intro),but it turned into so much more :The angst of rockis married with the angelic trills of pop,The rhythm of soul,And the urgency of disco 10 years before disco existed. When "You Keep me' was released,Seven Supremes songs had seen the top of the pop chart.This became their eighth and one of their most memorable.

thoughts ?

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I find it funny that baby but his number 499 because of its significance in the history of Motown and the Supremes…… it was the first block buster record Motown had. Today at sounds like not very much, but at the time, it was the quintessential 45. It was the Supremes signature record for a couple decades. It no longer has the effect on me did, I don’t know why it doesn’t but it doesn’t. There used to be a burger joint and in 1969 they still had baby love on their jukebox. I remember how good it sounded on that jukebox. So because of its cultural significance I would think it would be higher but because of it’s entertainment value as of today, I could see why it wouldn’t be.

I understand I’m coming out making it because it has become iconic and people of all generations are familiar with the song and it amazes me that it has eclipsed upside down, which, like baby love, was her biggest solo hit.

And I understand why stop is on the list, it would not be on mine if I had to pick four diana ross songs. It’s a great record and I especially like the mix on the ultimate collection, I actually prefer all the mixes on that CD. It was my least favorite of the early 45s even when it came out. I liked it of course but I much preferred baby love, come see about me, back in my arms again, symphony and even nothing but heartaches.

you keep me hanging on, to me, is a pretty perfect 45. I love the devil tracking of Rosses voice I love the underscoring at points at Florence I love Mary’s background I love the filter they have in front of Diana‘s voice and, like its predecessor, it is exquisitely crafted.

i’m surprised that I love child, you can’t hurry love, ain’t no mountain high enough, and, perhaps, someday will be together didn’t make the list. But I don’t know what the criteria was.

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Originally Posted by RanRan79

"Baby Love" and "Stop" are so overplayed. The track on "Baby Love" is really the only reason I ever play it. Diana's lead is arguably the weakest -and at the same time the most pop- vocal on a Supremes single. Always a "pass" for me. "Stop", on the other hand, has a pretty good Diana vocal but I don't particularly care for the track. Flo and Mary hold up their ends pretty well on both.

Only in recent years has "I'm Coming Out" grown on me. I never used to like it, although I think I always preferred it to "Upside Down", which has also grown on me over the years. The track on "Coming" is very good and Diana's vocal is cool. I rarely make it a point to play it specifically, but if it comes on I can dig it...for a little while.

"You Keep Me Hangin On" is one of the Supremes hits that I play specifically. Perfect recording from beginning to end. Perfect combo of Diana's lead, Flo and Mary's backup, the Funks' track and HDH's lyrics. I hope there is never a day where I tire of hearing it. [[Little known fact: I love Kim Wilde's cover almost as much as the Supremes. I probably play it just as much.)

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I love Kim Wildes version as well..its so evocative and moody..i love the opening with the solo synth then the beat kicks in,also good synth programing thru out [[and killer drum beats)..its so different from the original.
Fun fact : Michael Jackson was so impressed by kim's version he gave her the opening slot on his 87/88 "Bad" world tour.

Well it’s a rock magazine and they didn’t really discover the Supremes until 1970 - so not too bad

Baby Love, Stop! In The Name of Love and I'm Coming Out deserved way higher positions. They were singles that changed the music industry.

Rolling Stone was always a "Rock" mag, and like Rock music, is no longer relevant and not the force it was decades ago. So I'm not surprised at the three Supremes and one Diana Ross songs chosen for "500 Greatest" [[of All Time, no less) :rolleyes: RS always valued Marvin & Stevie over the Supremes, The Supremes over Diana Ross, and the likes of the Ronettes, Shirelles and Martha & the Vandellas over the Supremes.

I would definitely include You Can't Hurry Love and Where Did Our Love Go and possibly Love Child and Reflections. I'm Coming Out has the Nile Rodgers "Rock" credibility factor.

this is really indicative of RS's dismissive nature towards the Sups. of course they're looking at things from a more 'rock' lens so i get it to some degree. but they're really undervaluing the importance of the songs. and are over valuing other tunes simply because they were written and/or produced by the rock artist.

it's like in classical music people think that the mega pieces like Overture of 1812 or the big Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto are the definitive examples of excellence. and that a little 'ole simple Mozart concerto is less - since it doesn't contain the pyrotechnics of those mega pieces. but many would argue that Mozart is HARDER to play RIGHT than Tchaikovsky. it's deceptive simple

Baby Love might not be my fav tune or one i play often. but it's mega global success, the absolute perfection in it simplicity shows it's quite frankly one of the most perfect pop tunes of the 60s.

and i don't have to or need to love to be able to recognize it as such