Forever Came today

[marv2]

For me, all the stuff released on the Supremes after Florence and before Jean Terrell came was kinda bland, blah, etc with the exception of Love Child and Someday, We'll Be Together. I was so happy when Jean, Mary, Cindy and Frank Wilson regrouped things.

[mofreaktown]

I remember reading somewhere that Forever Came Toady was not finished when HDH left Motown and that Motown [[not sure who) finished it for release. Does anyone else recall this or know the details behind this?

[carole cucumber]

I remember reading somewhere that Forever Came Toady was not finished when HDH left Motown and that Motown [[not sure who) finished it for release. Does anyone else recall this or know the details behind this?

J. Randy Taraborrelli mentions this in 'Motown: Hot Wax, City Cool, Solid Gold'. But the book was written in 1988 and since that time, interviews with Lamont Dozier and/or the Holland Brothers indicate that the song was finished before they left. They had expected it to be a sizeable hit.

[roger]

I remember reading somewhere that Forever Came Toady was not finished when HDH left Motown and that Motown [[not sure who) finished it for release. Does anyone else recall this or know the details behind this?

According to the notes with TCMS8 the track was recorded on April 20th 1967 and assigned to THE MIRACLES, then the lead vocal was recorded on December 20th 1967 and the backing vocals [[by THE ANDANTES) on January 6th 1968 and January 23rd 1968.

Roger

[bradsupremes]

I'm pretty sure HDH were gone by the time Diana and the Andantes put their vocals on the track. The last time they appeared in the session logs was for the Four Tops' background on "I'm In A Different World" in November 1967. I could be wrong though. R. Dean Taylor oversaw Levi Stubbs' vocal session on "I'm In A Different World" which he recorded in April 1968. I wouldn't be surprised if Motown had R. Dean Taylor, who worked with HDH, oversee Diana's and the Andantes' vocal sessions for the song.

[supremester]

It seems enough peeps here can hear Cindy and/or Mary, I cannot but I'll take your word for it. Clearly it is lipped. I think they eschewed the add;l bg lyrics because they simply do not work on the record and help ruin it as you stated. Maybe it's impossible for any singers to make them work. I like the handclap thing, but I'd love to know what the lyrics are. The overhead mics weren't used when there was movement as footsteps and swishes from gowns would get picked up. What song do you think overheads were used on? On Hollywood Palace, they lipped the bgs in the gold dresses.

[captainjames]

I can not always pick Cindy Birdsong's voice out from the BG but Mary Wilson voice I can and she is not on this record or recording or even on the appearance with Ed Sullivan.

[blackguy69]

I can not always pick Cindy Birdsong's voice out from the BG but Mary Wilson voice I can and she is not on this record or recording or even on the appearance with Ed Sullivan.

we know she isnt on the recording. as for the apperance, she could be singing in a different key. and i was going to point out, if there were going to use the andantes bg vocals, all they had to do is just have diana sing over the track with the andantes vocals already in it.

[captainjames]

Maybe during this time maybe Motown was trying to give off the illusion that Mary and Cindy were on the recording. I don' think at this taping no one knew for sure that the Andantes were in the BG. So its possible Motown was trying to make it look good.

[supremester]

I never saw Diana sing live over the official track. I think they made it that way for the live experience. Usually the beat and bass were toned down for Sullivan. It never occurred to me back then that it wasn't always The Supremes in the bg. Certainly it sounded as if extra voices were there - like in 4 Tops records, but I didn't know if it was sound effects or more voices. I know I hated the bgs on In & Out and FCT, not crazy about Reflections either and supposedly that is Mary & Flo. It's definitely Mary & Cindy on Irving Berlin.

[smark21]

They also did their best ever Sullivan performance [[Fats Waller) on the same show they did Forever Came Today. And that's certainly Diana, Mary and Cindy on this.

[REDHOT]

Forever Came Today,oh well i love The Supremes,but The Jackson did a better job on Forever,then The Supremes,Yes The Jackson 5 killed it.

[supremester]

It's also Mary & Cindy on Thou Swell/Greensleeves & Funny Girl. It appears that Funny Girl is both live in parts and lipped in parts - is that possible? I'm not sure about Cole Porter - I don't hear Mary.

[stephanie]

Forever Came Today sucked! Only the Jacksons made this song brilliant. I like the lyrics but the arrangement does not make for a hit song. I think it is the Andantes back there I dont hear Mary and Cindy although I want to. Reflections was a catchy tune this song is too symphonic and it has muffled backgrounds. It reminds me of the teacher talking to the Charlie Brown kids in the classroom. I couldnt imagine Mary and Cindy singing this song live. Does not translate into a hit it does not computer. I think only Supreme diehards [[like myself) bought this. Now In and Out of Love ....Andantes and Mary and Flo and all the backgrounds were not muffled and there was a pleasant springtime sound to it. I know I am in the minority here but this is not a hit sounding song. Now Im in A Different World by the Four Tops is hitworthy but I dont think it had a hook but it was a great record.

[mowest]

Take a listen to the Commodores' version of Forever Came Today. That is "the one."

[soulballad]

Forever Came Today sucked! Only the Jacksons made this song brilliant. I like the lyrics but the arrangement does not make for a hit song. I think it is the Andantes back there I dont hear Mary and Cindy although I want to. Reflections was a catchy tune this song is too symphonic and it has muffled backgrounds. It reminds me of the teacher talking to the Charlie Brown kids in the classroom. I couldnt imagine Mary and Cindy singing this song live. Does not translate into a hit it does not computer. I think only Supreme diehards [[like myself) bought this. Now In and Out of Love ....Andantes and Mary and Flo and all the backgrounds were not muffled and there was a pleasant springtime sound to it. I know I am in the minority here but this is not a hit sounding song. Now Im in A Different World by the Four Tops is hitworthy but I dont think it had a hook but it was a great record.

Omg I always hated "In and Out of Love" I don't care who sang on it! Haha! I know we were told that Mary and Flo were erased but I can hear that the vocals were combined. It sounds like Flo and Mary on the Keep Falling in and out of love parts and the Andantes sing "Look Look, Looking for a love" again it's just too deep and muffled to my ears. I do not like that husky sounding voice on a female. The same voice is on FCT I used think it was Nick Ashford singing in Falsetto on FCT. Who knows who else might have been thrown into the mix.

[ejluther]

Man, how I love the Fats Waller number - especially the 20 or so seconds that start right here [[Miss Ross can really blow when given the chance):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...QZvgSXhs#t=222

And thanks for the tip, mowest; here's a link to the Commodores version of FCT [[also very enjoyable):

[Sotosound]

As a 13 year-old living in North London, I really liked both "Forever Came Today" and "In And Out Of Love". I had no idea about much other than that they were both great pop songs.

FCT was suitably weird to my young ears and IAOOL leapt out of my parents' AM radio as a bright and bouncy track that brought sunshine into the house.

FCT probably suffered a bit in the commercial sense because of the tempo changes etc. Even "Reflections" keeps its groove going all the way through.

All these years later I could worry about where these two tracks were recorded [[not Detroit) or who sang backing vocals but, to me, the most important thing is that I still love em both and still prefer the mono mixes in each case.