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April 30, 1966 - 53 Years Ago Today: The Supremes had the Hot Shot Debut at No. 62 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with their single, "Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart." The Holland-Dozier-Holland-penned single was the 17th Hot 100 entry for the trio and became their 8th Top Ten when it peaked at No. 9 on May 28, 1966.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwzocDlKATk
Do everyone's ears a favor and play the mono mix:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lIOKvRBVQs
OK. This is the musical nerd coming out in me. Upon playing the versions [[uploaded from YouTube, I would think), I noticed immediately that there was a slight tempo and pitch difference between the 2.
The version Marv shared was slightly slower [[about 129 bpm-beats per minutes) and the version that IMISSFLO93 shared was faster at about 132bpm. So of course, I went back to the Expanded Go Go album and found the same was true. The stereo version is slightly slower accounting for the slightly lower pitch.
"So what?", one says. Actually, it ain't nothing but a chicken wing, but just demonstrates just another way of adding an alternative sound to a new mix.
Like many others, I first started noticing these changes in the tempo/pitch of the mix[[where Diana sounds almost like a chipmunk on that Supremes Medley of Hits that was put out some years back.
YAAAAASSSSS!!!!! Finally, a voice not in my head confirms this. It's not as obvious between the mono and stereo on LP, but on the EE, it is crystal clear. The mono version is faster.Quote:
Originally Posted by jobucats
It's not just the speed it's that annoying kazoo in the stereo version
Oh gracious, me! I love the kazoo and wish it and some other percussion had been added more prominently. It gives the track flavor that the mono version lacks. I've always found the mono version boring and flat compared to the stereo version.Quote:
Originally Posted by IMissFlo93
The mono version is the one we heard on our little kid record player and on transistor radios at the time. I prefer the slower, stereo.
According to my ears, and according to my digital musical instruments and my Master Key pitch instrument which has the standard pitching of A-440, the stereo version is the most accurate, pitch wise. That would lead to the mono version as the one being manipulated by the engineers who were getting it ready for record release. They did this, most likely, by speeding up the tape slightly. Almost the same thing occurs on Diana's "Last Time I Saw Him" EE album. There are 2 versions of "Behind Close Doors." Although the vocal take is slightly different, the instrumental backing track on the Japanese Quad version has been slowed down slightly through some technical manipulation. My suspicion is that Diana's vocal track on that version was slowed down also. In my opinion, her voice on that Japanese quad version has such a different timbre than on the other version.
Ahhhh, that makes sense now! The mini version was the first I heard but I have grown to love the stereo version. :)
"ITCHIN' " just might be my favorite Supremes song as a memory from the day. Its sassyness vocally, lyrically, and musically with those horn punches and peppy xylophone, all just jumped from my transistor radio. And imo, this has to be one of Motown's very best lines:
"love is like an itchin' in my heart ..............and baby --- I can't scratch it!"
QUESTION :
Twelve seconds in, Diana gives a "woo" that she'll use again in the future , most famously on LOVE HANGOVER and then works it to the max on THE BOSS , which was then, I suspect, borrowed by Michael Jackson and made into a trademark sound of his own.
Back to the question:
Is Diana's first use of the "woo" heard in 1966's "ITCHIN"?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi5-CjEhllY
In this performance, Diana does a second woo as she works her way back to Flo and Mary, and shortly thereafter, Mary does a "woo" of her own.
Let's go back the year before:Quote:
Originally Posted by Boogiedown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfpBeM9ujJY
Little Richard started doing the "woo" back in the 1950s. After that, many R&B singers used it when they got "the feeling".Quote:
Originally Posted by Boogiedown
Yes and it became a staple in many a disco song in the seventies , a long list of songs....Quote:
Originally Posted by marv2
for instance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ih-0Q2sFp8w
wow ! that is really something! Never heard it before, quite a departure in style for The Supremes.Quote:
Originally Posted by IMissFlo93
And a superb early use of the "woo!" lol!
thanks IMissFlo93!
Also whenever they performed Stop in the name of love live, Flo would always throw in those "woo"s on the last chorus: Stop! [[Woo) in the name of love...
Mary Wilson and Marvin Gaye always used the "woo". "You're What's Missing In My Life" and "Let's Get it On" are two prime examples. Still, that sound goes way back before the Supremes even started.
Hi Marv: didn’t all three so that woo thing after Stop in the speeded up hits medley ??Quote:
Originally Posted by marv2
Exactly! Yes they did.Quote:
Originally Posted by detmotownguy
There have been woos and hiccups and ows in r&b and rock'n'roll probably from the beginning.
But I think just from their close personal [[and musical) relationship and history, Michael was definitely inspired by Diana. The first time I heard his Woo! [[on Don't Stop Til You Get Enough) I immediately connected it to Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart.
His later hiccups also reminded me immediately of Diana's live hiccups [[not necessarily a good thing). Made sense to me that his performance tics mirrored his idol's.
Lucky2012, you are mirroring my thoughts on this very closely .Quote:
Originally Posted by lucky2012
No, The Supremes didn't invent the "woo" , but in the mid-seventies Diana used it very well , and while Michael could've heard wooing from many sources, certainly her appealing usage would've likely not have gone unnoticed by him.
Would it be correct to say the "woo" sound is strongly associated with Michael Jackson? Are there other artists , besides Little Richard , who used it as regularly?
Marv , do you credit Little Richard as the sounds creator, or at least the first to incorporate it so prominently?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVIttmFAzek
Boogie, no one can conclusively give anyone the credit for "Woo" because it is just an expression that people used when they were "getting down" or about to get down! Hell, I've used "woo"! while dancing with a nice young lady at parties with NO thought at all about Little Richard, The Supremes, Michael Jackson or any recording artists. It's just a sound people made when they were feeling it. Do you remember during the Disco era the chant "Do it , do it". We all did it and then some artist such as Michael Zager picked up on it and made a recording using that "sound". Remember "Let's All Chant" from 1977-78?Quote:
Originally Posted by Boogiedown
sure do! ....along with this one:Quote:
Originally Posted by marv2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6lqTTyKeCs
Right! Now I had just got out of high school that summer, so I partied a LOT! I heard the "do it, do it, do it " chant on this record and just in general whenever the party got hot LOL!Quote:
Originally Posted by Boogiedown
fun times , but you weren't of age !!:pQuote:
Originally Posted by marv2
Stevie also used some nice "woos" in 1966 to close -out UPTIGHT!:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pBym6iHlBk