What if No Matter What Sign You Are was a hit?

**thisoldheart** · 12-19-2013, 12:29 AM

Originally Posted by supremester

Attachment 7786 Peaked at #17 for 2 weeks. Here's a glimpse at the competition on our #1 pop station, KISN. KISN was so popular, it had, at one time, 86% of the total audience in this market. The #2 station didn't add it until they sponsored DR&TS' Aug 4 concert. It peaked at 19 I believe.

jeez, i live in portland, home then of kisn. i haven't seen one of these weekly kisn top fifty flyers in 40 years!!! i used to collect them ... but, got rid of them in my 20's. good on you for holding on to this! you made my day!

**Sotosound** · 12-19-2013, 06:59 AM

Originally Posted by stephanie

Im glad I am not the only that hates the sitar on that record. If they had started the song off with no sitar and just Capricorn OW, Scorpio yeah, taurus, Gemini and so on like the beginning of the song by the Four Tops [[Im in a Different World) I think it could have been a modest hit.

The Love Child album along with More Hits by the Supremes is one of their most consistent albums I am shocked at how good it is compared to some of their later albums. Bayou is right that album could have had more hits plucked from it. The front and the back of the album cover is beautiful and they appear on vinyl and on the record to be a group and not just Miss Ross. I wish this album would have had Someday Well be Together on it I think it would have made a great swan song like Martha and the Vandellas Black Magic. This album never gets boring.

Was the sitar opening a conscious variation on the guitar intro by Joe South to Aretha's "Chain Of Fools"?

**nathanj06** · 12-19-2013, 08:04 AM

I don't understand why so many rip this song apart. It was certainly better than The Composer and I'm Living In Shame [[talk about absurd lyrics). This was a perfect pop/r&b song for the time. Hit or not at #31, I absolutely loved it including the sitar which I don't recall hearing on any Motown record. I played that record over and over until it turned gray and eventually bought two more. That album glitch was a disappointment but we did finally get a much cleaner stereo version years later. It was new, fresh and a fun song. I would love to hear just the instrumental track as well. No Matter along with Nathan Jones were the most played records by The Supremes for me. The Composer and The Weight were the worst. Like any song you heard on the radio back then, you either like it or you don't. At least it did go top 40 but that doesn't matter. I'll always love it.

honest man · 12-19-2013, 08:14 AM

LOVE NMWSYA THE SINGLE AND ALBUM,Diana never sounded better,i don't understand the hoarse talk on here,she was growing and moving on from the Baby Love era,simple as.

honest man · 12-19-2013, 08:20 AM

Also the appearance on Ed Sullivan one of the best ever they had really peaked at their game,loved this time of their careers,they really were THE CREAM OF THE CROP,Cheers.

**Jimi LaLumia** · 12-19-2013, 09:52 AM

as a teenager, I also very much enjoyed both the Ross driven Composer, and Sign,; some records go all the way, some don't.. both made it for a few weeks each on NY's Top 40 powerhouse AM 77WABC and I was in heaven every time they got played.. if they were at least heard on 77WABC in those days, then they had their impact, compared to never being heard at all..

supremester · 12-19-2013, 02:10 PM

I love this forum: people loving what I hate, me loving what others hate, crabbing about hoarseness/loving hoarseness......LOL it's great!
Me? I wanted every record to be as big as YCHL or Love Child and I wanted to love it just as much. I wanted them to sell because I knew there would be more if they did and we'd be where we are now if they didn't. Had I Love You sold 3-4 million , there would have been a followup in '09 and another by now.
I agree that NMWSYA was a great record - but - it was not presented well to become a hit. I'm remembering more and more how damn noisy it was and what a mess it was on radio - you could barely hear the verses at all - and even if you did, no one knew what a water sign, rising sign or any of the other terms meant. Good or bad, I am fascinated by this record, however and have asked Miss Ross to add it! [[She didn't) in fact, it was their current single in Aug '69 and they didn't do it or Composer or Shame - just tepid throw-aways of Love Child and I'm Gonna Make You Love Me.

**vgalindo** · 12-19-2013, 02:50 PM

I also love this song. This one and Forever Came today are two of my favorites...

supremester · 12-19-2013, 11:07 PM

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Here's a better shot of the poster owwwwwwwwwww!

**midnightman** · 12-20-2013, 02:52 AM

Originally Posted by honest man

LOVE NMWSYA THE SINGLE AND ALBUM,Diana never sounded better,i don't understand the hoarse talk on here,she was growing and moving on from the Baby Love era,simple as.

I didn't mind Diana's vocals. Just everything else about it sucked. LOL Nah just kidding, but it was rushed lol

**motony** · 12-20-2013, 09:32 AM

a big reason why NMWSYA didn't hit as big as #31 is because of split play, many markets were playing the flip "The Young Folks" which made it to #69 on the Hot 100.

**luke** · 12-20-2013, 03:15 PM

Let's be serious. How can you take a semi-hysterical Diana Ross almost screeching about no matter what sign you are you are my guiding light?the charts declare its not my night for love or whatever. I have always loved the music and Diana's performance until near the end of the song when she goes over the top. The song just couldnt be taken seriously. Its silly and cheesy. Record buyers responded appropriately.

**bradsupremes** · 12-21-2013, 01:56 AM

Does anyone remember a Burger King commercial from either the late 90's or early 2000's which played "No Matter What Sign You Are?" I remember they emphasized the chorus and the end of the song where Diana sings "Hold me, hold me, hold me tight / Only you can make it right / You are my guiding light."

RossHolloway · 12-21-2013, 02:40 PM

Has this dead horse been beaten to death yet?

supremester · 12-21-2013, 06:15 PM

I had forgotten about the Burger King commercial......what could be better than a Big King, Satisfries and a Frozen Coke with the NMWSYA ad libbed ending????

**blueskies** · 12-21-2013, 11:53 PM

Originally Posted by RossHolloway

Has this dead horse been beaten to death yet?

Not quite yet.

**JohnnyB** · 12-23-2013, 03:07 PM

Originally Posted by supremester

I had forgotten about the Burger King commercial......what could be better than a Big King, Satisfries and a Frozen Coke with the NMWSYA ad libbed ending????

Quite an interesting thread! The LTSI album has always puzzled me, beginning with the decision to feature a recent cover track as the title song. Why not include the recent top 10 hit Living In Shame in the cover graphics to increase sales? Berry Gordy must have really believed in NMWSYA to plan it as the title song, but it's interesting how quickly he decided to move in a different direction hoping [[I assume) to capitalize on Diana's Like Hep performance instead. I'd love to know the decision-making process during this time...

**bradsupremes** · 12-23-2013, 05:04 PM

The LTSI album is probably the most disappointing of the DRATS albums. At least Cream of the Crop had a few standout tracks. It's not a terrible album, but certainly a huge drop-off in quality from the Love Child album. Too many producers, two dated tracks from the Flo era that should have never been on the album, and too many covers. I'd like to know who was the decision maker into putting these albums together. Why pick tracks that were three years old when there were even better tracks from that year or the year before in the vaults? Sometimes I think they were given two days to throw together an album.

**sup_fan** · 12-23-2013, 06:16 PM

i agree brad - an odd patchwork. i think the covers are attempts to drive sales. at least people will recognize the song titles and perhaps pick up the record because of that. certainly motown has not always been know for the artistic integrity of covers. many times they're just cheap ploys to cash in on a hit. similar with the various duet lineups - so many covers and an atmosphere of just churning out content for sake of making money. not for the goal of making an important or compelling artistic statement

Also this period is all about the selling of Diana Ross. not of selling the DRATS. perhaps the thinking behind LTSI is to highlight her versatility as an artist - hey she does some zodiac stuff, she's covering Sly, she's doing some ballads. isn't she wonderful

**captainjames** · 12-29-2013, 01:33 AM

The great thing about this song is music was changing and the Supremes dared to change with it. I will add only one comment..................... when I heard this song I knew Diana was not feeling it. I did not think the record buying public would know.

**captainjames** · 12-30-2013, 07:38 PM

Okay back to what if ?
How in the world and what was Berry thinking to feel NMWSYA as the swan song ? Perhaps folks were thinking...........................I thought she was going.

smark21 · 12-30-2013, 08:32 PM

Originally Posted by captainjames

Okay back to what if ?
How in the world and what was Berry thinking to feel NMWSYA as the swan song ? Perhaps folks were thinking...........................I thought she was going.

Maybe in retrospect that Berry was starting to lose his sharp touch. Not that it ever went totally away, but at a certain juncture he wasn't picking as many winners as he did in the mid 60s.

**snakepit** · 12-31-2013, 12:51 PM

there are probably some DRATS fans unfamiliar with this track......contrast and compare, just for fun

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ART1lsgaDG8

supremester · 12-31-2013, 05:05 PM

I am unfamiliar with it, but it doesn't do anything for me. That dry, LA based urban soul sound from the 70's left me behind. I don't think people pay attention to the category of the lyric as much as the quality of the overall listening experience.

supremester · 12-31-2013, 05:20 PM

My good friend and noted author Thomas Adrahtas was a late bloomer to DR&TS music. His first ownership was DR&TS Anthology and he loved NMWSYA. I think it supports my theory that the 45, as issued, was too much of an assault on the ears. His first experience with it is that mixed down, bland mx and it was instantly a favorite. Of course, not all late bloomers love it, but most of the fan I know who do, are late bloomers.

Originally Posted by smark21

Maybe in retrospect that Berry was starting to lose his sharp touch. Not that it ever went totally away, but at a certain juncture he wasn't picking as many winners as he did in the mid 60s.

supremester · 12-31-2013, 05:54 PM

I liked the idea of the musical direction, and think her vocal is brilliant. ONLY Miss Ross would have made this work so seemlessly ".....your water sign just lit my fi-ah, you filled me with such de-zi-I love you boy........." To me, if there was one vocal she felt between Love Child and Someday, it's this. I think it's perfect.

As a swan song, hit or miss, it's not so hot. But - Motown ONLY cared about money. If Marvin & Tami had hit #1 with The Onion Song, the follow up would have been [[ "You're hot, so,,) Be my tomato."

Originally Posted by captainjames

The great thing about this song is music was changing and the Supremes dared to change with it. I will add only one comment..................... when I heard this song I knew Diana was not feeling it. I did not think the record buying public would know.

**stephanie** · 12-31-2013, 06:09 PM

I agree with Supremester, Miss Ross has a strong vocal here although the public didnt buy it. I only think of Diana doing weak vocals when it came to some of her RCA material there are few and far between vocals on the Motown label where she is weak. Love Marvin and Tammi but the only song of theirs I cant stand is the Onion Song.