Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart

[jobeterob]

I know we've had this before. It is Midnight Johnny's Remix.

More than any other Supremes song, this is the one I think should have been an even bigger hit ~ far bigger than some #1 songs like Love Is Here and Now Your Gone and The Happening.

[Weslley Francisco]

I really love this song, this could have been another #1 hit

[supremester]

It love it, but it was a bit raucous for a lot of Supremes fans who signed on for Baby Love and I Hear A Symphony - most of my friends who like The Supremes did not like this one.. I loved it, but couldn't understand what she was singing on both lines with Love Bug in them and had to wait for the sheet music as none of my friends knew either. I had never heard of a Love Bug before.

[Jimi LaLumia]

I consider this to be the first ever 'disco' record..it was more of a groove than an actual song, and this then 14 year old couldn't get enough of this in 1966.. I was also shocked that it didn't do better, but I think radio was 'scared' of this record for whatever reasons existed in 1966..it has since become one of their most iconic sounds

[johnbell]

Sorry guys, but never liked that song, when she was singing it in live concert was a good time for me to go to the restrooms. This one and The Happening, how could that one reach #1, I don't know, for me there was far much better songs available on LP's.

[franjoy56]

Sorry guys, but never liked that song, when she was singing it in live concert was a good time for me to go to the restrooms. This one and The Happening, how could that one reach #1, I don't know, for me there was far much better songs available on LP's.

Love is like an itching in my heart was frantic it had t same groove as nothings too good for my baby by stevie wonder it was a funky groove and it won a lot of the black fan base of t group, i loved its soulfull groove, and it added another element to t group if just for a little while., it was a show stopping dance record in t clubs back then. I remember winning a tamla/motown copy of t record when i joined the canada supremes fan club, run by eric somebody

[marv2]

It love it, but it was a bit raucous for a lot of Supremes fans who signed on for Baby Love and I Hear A Symphony - most of my friends who like The Supremes did not like this one.. I loved it, but couldn't understand what she was singing on both lines with Love Bug in them and had to wait for the sheet music as none of my friends knew either. I had never heard of a Love Bug before.

Nah, what it was is that it sounded too Black, too Soulful. Let's be honest here .

[marv2]

Love is like an itching in my heart was frantic it had t same groove as nothings too good for my baby by stevie wonder it was a funky groove and it won a lot of the black fan base of t group, i loved its soulfull groove, and it added another element to t group if just for a little while., it was a show stopping dance record in t clubs back then. I remember winning a tamla/motown copy of t record when i joined the canada supremes fan club, run by eric somebody

There ya go Fran. Tell the truth!!!. I was around too. We knew what the deal was. Motown knew what the deal was...........

[jobeterob]

I think these guys might be right. What blew the Supremes out of the water was their accessibility to the white market ~ Diana's kittenish style and voice. And LILAIIMH, particularly in MJ's great remix, did take them closer to their R & B Market. Nothing But Heartaches did as well. And it didn't hit the top of the Pop Charts either.

The thing is that I don't think either record performed significantly better on the R & B charts than on the Pop Charts so airplay probably wasn't massive at either radio.

[marv2]

Love Is Like An Itching in My Heart got a lot of radio airplay on Soul stations in the sixties. I heard it a lot then. This was the type of song, of music that the Supremes wanted to record to begin with ,but got stuck with recording MOR Pop type songs that sold well with white people. Mary has said many times that she cried and cried and complained to HDH to write them more Soulful songs. Diane, being less articulate than Mary, threw tantrums and gave much attitude when asked to record shit like Where Did Our Love Go?, Baby Love, lalalalalala......... LOL!

[bobkayli]

As an out and out soul lover, Itching is the most played Supremes record in my collection. The B Side of He's All I Got is the second most played. For me it's the best Supremes 45 of them all. Not knocking any of the others but these set any room moving.

[franjoy56]

Nbh went to no. 6 on t rb charts, lilaiimh went to no 7 both records fairing better than on t pop charts

[thanxal]

I am really excited for the different versions of LILAIIMH Andy promised us on John's show. No matter what version I hear, it is my favorite Supremes recording. There is just something about that driving beat!

[BigAl]

I think the title posed a problem. While it was essential to the lyric it sounded a bit ridiculous to the average sensibility. The song itself rocks, and was something of a departure for the group. No one was used to hearing Diane growl [["…teaaaarin' it all apart…") and those who still viewed the Supremes as three little kittens could not relate to that at all.

Also, the intro was very, very similar to "Uptight." In fact, one afternoon I was watching The Lloyd Thaxton Show [[those of you of "a certain age will" remember it) and there was a name-that-tune feature where a song would get played and the contestants would stop the song as soon as they thought they knew what it was. "Uptight" was the mystery song and two of the contestants stopped it after the first few drumbeats and identified it as "Love is Like an Itching in My Heart," and were disqualified. A bit later, when the horns of "Uptight" came in, it then became obvious what it was, but those few few bars are almost identical in both songs.

[thanxal]

I think the title posed a problem. While it was essential to the lyric it sounded a bit ridiculous to the average sensibility.

But isn't that what our teen years are all about...ridiculing the average sensibility? I remember when I was a teenager and this dude named "Edison" had this new fangled candle. I was like whatevs, dude.

[detmotownguy]

Love Is Like An Itching in My Heart got a lot of radio airplay on Soul stations in the sixties. I heard it a lot then. This was the type of song, of music that the Supremes wanted to record to begin with ,but got stuck with recording MOR Pop type songs that sold well with white people. Mary has said many times that she cried and cried and complained to HDH to write them more Soulful songs. Diane, being less articulate than Mary, threw tantrums and gave much attitude when asked to record shit like Where Did Our Love Go?, Baby Love, lalalalalala......... LOL!

My fav Sup's song; HDH outdid themselves on this one. I have heard the extended version being used in cardio classes at the gym. At least in Detroit, both white and black kids bought the 45. I don't think it crossed over to the white adult mkt. I remember my aunts telling me they would clean and cook to the hits like Baby Love, Symphony, WDOLG, etc. They must have really been moving when Itching was being played!

[Mark Desjardines]

franjoy56, I also joined The Supremes Fan Club that was set up by a teen, Eric Pressman in Montreal, Canada. The club ran for about three years, and I remember the excitement I felt when a newsletter arrived in the mail. Sometimes being a four page booklet, well printed, it would be filled with tidbits like tour reviews, and upcoming album plans, like "Supremes Around The World, "And For the Girls" which were never realized.

I went to visit him in Montreal and became friends. I even had an Ottawa chapter of the club for a while. Eric told me before he approached Motown in 1964, he had considered starting a fan club for Martha & The Vandellas, but decided upon The Supremes. Phonodisc who distributed Tamla/Motown Records in Canada provided him with product to give away in contests.

Eric travelled to Detroit to visit the Motown Studio and as given a tour of all their facilities at the time. He showed me some photos he had taken of the Supremes at the Toronto airport which he had taken of Florence cuddling a very tired young Stevie Wonder on a sofa, with Mary Wilson in the background smoking a pipe! I believe the time frame of this was 1965 as Eric obtained an autographed 45 rpm single from the group at this time on the classic Tamla Motown Canadian label for "Nothing But Heartaches."

Eric operated the iconic "Phantasmagoria" Record Store in Montreal for many years, and even opened a branch in Vancouver. A few years back while visiting Eric to see Diana Ross perform in Toronto, he gave me copies of the complete set of Supremes Fan Club Newsletters. Today, he is doing very well as a professional dog walker in Toronto. As he told me recently, "dogs can teach us a lot as they live entirely in the moment."

[jobeterob]

There is so much more to LILAIIMH than there is to that biggest Supremes hit of all time, You Can't Hurry Love.

Itching would be an awesome song for Diana to add to the tour set list.

[franjoy56]

franjoy56, I also joined The Supremes Fan Club that was set up by a teen, Eric Pressman in Montreal, Canada. The club ran for about three years, and I remember the excitement I felt when a newsletter arrived in the mail. Sometimes being a four page booklet, well printed, it would be filled with tidbits like tour reviews, and upcoming album plans, like "Supremes Around The World, "And For the Girls" which were never realized.

I went to visit him in Montreal and became friends. I even had an Ottawa chapter of the club for a while. Eric told me before he approached Motown in 1964, he had considered starting a fan club for Martha & The Vandellas, but decided upon The Supremes. Phonodisc who distributed Tamla/Motown Records in Canada provided him with product to give away in contests.

Eric travelled to Detroit to visit the Motown Studio and as given a tour of all their facilities at the time. He showed me some photos he had taken of the Supremes at the Toronto airport which he had taken of Florence cuddling a very tired young Stevie Wonder on a sofa, with Mary Wilson in the background smoking a pipe! I believe the time frame of this was 1965 as Eric obtained an autographed 45 rpm single from the group at this time on the classic Tamla Motown Canadian label for "Nothing But Heartaches."

Eric operated the iconic "Phantasmagoria" Record Store in Montreal for many years, and even opened a branch in Vancouver. A few years back while visiting Eric to see Diana Ross perform in Toronto, he gave me copies of the complete set of Supremes Fan Club Newsletters. Today, he is doing very well as a professional dog walker in Toronto. As he told me recently, "dogs can teach us a lot as they live entirely in the moment."

wow that is correct it was eric pressman does he still talk supremes, wow what memories i loved his club great up dates and newsletters i found out they
were gonna b at t copa in feb 66 thru his newsletter. Thanks f sharing

[skooldem1]

There is so much more to LILAIIMH than there is to that biggest Supremes hit of all time, You Can't Hurry Love.

Itching would be an awesome song for Diana to add to the tour set list.

"Love is like an itching"- is ok. I don't see how this was more soulful than "Come see about me", or "You can't hurry love". Jobetrob- Diana use to sing this in concert. She hasn't for a while. I prefer the way she sings the song in concert with the funky rock vibe.

[jobeterob]

Interesting comments about the songs. You Can't Hurry Love is such a pop song to me; I know it's so popular in concert and was one of her biggest hits. But I'd take Itching and Come See About Me over Baby Love and You Can't Hurry Love; and those later two were such big hits.

[supremester]

I appreciate your fervent quest for veracity, but I disagree. It is a more soulful vocal, but I believe it's fate was as I previously stated. TOO black? Please. I played it to death and last time I checked, I was still white. And you might note that it didn't exactly burn up the soul chart either - in fact, only My World is Empty and The Happening charted lower R&B under The Supremes moniker. "Shit" like Baby Love and WDOLG topped R&B charts. I believe that, right or wrong, mass hits need to be spoon fed to the listener - especially back then as there was no rewind for transistor radios. This was a bit busy for many [[of all colors, it seems) to connect with.

Nah, what it was is that it sounded too Black, too Soulful. Let's be honest here .

[jobeterob]

The Supremes and Diana Ross could not just have #1 after #1.

There might have come a time when radio programmer thought [[right about Nothing But Heartaches) that the Supremes had been overdone a bit. In about 1981, the same thing happened with Diana ~ so many hits in a row. In 1990 or so, the same thing happened with Whitney Houston, although her music stepped an awful lot MOR too and then she bought into the hype and publicly said "I'm bigger than the Beatles". God, that's a sign it was time for a break.

[supremester]

Poor, inarticulate Miss Ross begged HDH to let her record in sign language so she could get the words out better. Where do you get this stuff? According to HDH - all three complained about WDOLG, and, according to HDH, Miss Ross, with a burgeoning mega-hit on her hands, was only too happy to fly home from Dick Clark to do vocals for Baby Love and Come See About Me.
All three quit complaining when WDOLGO sold more 45's in one week than all previous Supremes 45's put together. HDH have, on many occasions, praised Miss ross for her consumate professionalism [[after WDOLG).

PS What's the difference between crying and crying and complaining and throwing a tantrum anyway?

PPSS: When I post my complete interviews with everyone from Artist Development, you'll hear from the sources themselves, what they all felt about Mary's speaking voice and articulation.

Love Is Like An Itching in My Heart got a lot of radio airplay on Soul stations in the sixties. I heard it a lot then. This was the type of song, of music that the Supremes wanted to record to begin with ,but got stuck with recording MOR Pop type songs that sold well with white people. Mary has said many times that she cried and cried and complained to HDH to write them more Soulful songs. Diane, being less articulate than Mary, threw tantrums and gave much attitude when asked to record shit like Where Did Our Love Go?, Baby Love, lalalalalala......... LOL!

[supremester]

I had a knock down, drag out with a F___er named Mike Obrien at KISN who REFUSED to play Remember Me because ANMHE was played so much [[tis true) he needed to give listeners a break. He was the PD so I went over his head to the owner, the Ahole.
I don't believe this was the case with Itching, however. Their next 5 went to #1 [[except Reflections #2 in Billboard only)

This same idiot, in 2000, was telling people not to buy tix to RTL because it was fake Supremes and then played Stoned Love by Diana Ross & the Supremes. I called him about his mistake and told him it was the 3rd Rossless Supremes single. Trapped, he informed me that Motown had Diana record a bunch of songs before she left so the sound would remain the same. His source: his good buddy Mary Wilson. I asked him when the last time he spoke with Mary and he said, "just listen closely, you'll hear Diana" and hung up.

The Supremes and Diana Ross could not just have #1 after #1.

There might have come a time when radio programmer thought [[right about Nothing But Heartaches) that the Supremes had been overdone a bit. In about 1981, the same thing happened with Diana ~ so many hits in a row. In 1990 or so, the same thing happened with Whitney Houston, although her music stepped an awful lot MOR too and then she bought into the hype and publicly said "I'm bigger than the Beatles". God, that's a sign it was time for a break.

[franjoy56]

The Supremes and Diana Ross could not just have #1 after #1.

There might have come a time when radio programmer thought [[right about Nothing But Heartaches) that the Supremes had been overdone a bit. In about 1981, the same thing happened with Diana ~ so many hits in a row. In 1990 or so, the same thing happened with Whitney Houston, although her music stepped an awful lot MOR too and then she bought into the hype and publicly said "I'm bigger than the Beatles". God, that's a sign it was time for a break.

Not big deal lilaiimh was a number 9 record and a much better record thsn in and out of love which was also no. 9. At least itching was a top,10 record. We cant always predict what a record will do if it is not fed to t rotation radio playlist continuously. Shoo i thought no matter what sign u are was going to be big it had that let the sunshine feel,to it and berry wrote it but it stopped at 31.

[RobertZ]

Poor, inarticulate Miss Ross begged HDH to let her record in sign language so she could get the words out better. Where do you get this stuff? According to HDH - all three complained about WDOLG, and, according to HDH, Miss Ross, with a burgeoning mega-hit on her hands, was only too happy to fly home from Dick Clark to do vocals for Baby Love and Come See About Me.
All three quit complaining when WDOLGO sold more 45's in one week than all previous Supremes 45's put together. HDH have, on many occasions, praised Miss ross for her consumate professionalism [[after WDOLG).

PS What's the difference between crying and crying and complaining and throwing a tantrum anyway?

PPSS: When I post my complete interviews with everyone from Artist Development, you'll hear from the sources themselves, what they all felt about Mary's speaking voice and articulation.

HAHAHA! PERFECT reply, Supremester! You know, "that guy" also has evidence proving Diana was on the grassy knoll in Dallas!

[copley]

It completely bombed in the UK as did 'MWIEWY' before it.

I'm not a fan of remixes but I do love this one. Shake it girls!

[Mark Desjardines]

Copley, many thanks for posting the link to this this youtube video which is new to my ears. Purists may not appreciate this radical departure, but I do! Forgive me if I am wrong, but during John Perrone's "Nightflight" radio program airing of digital only release Diana Ross & The Supremes Sing & Perform Funny Girl," I believe a comment was made about the future release of 'The Supremes A- Go-Go."

I seem to remember Andy Skurow in a "round table" discussion with George Soloman and Kevin Reeves commenting about no live version of LILAIIMH turning up in the vaults. However, they did play a fantastic re-worked version putting together elements from various takes of the song and suggesting that it would be part of a future "expanded edition." Does anyone else recall this?

[carole cucumber]

" I believe a comment was made about the future release of 'The Supremes A- Go-Go."

I seem to remember Andy Skurow in a "round table" discussion with George Soloman and Kevin Reeves commenting about no live version of LILAIIMH turning up in the vaults. However, they did play a fantastic re-worked version putting together elements from various takes of the song and suggesting that it would be part of a future "expanded edition." Does anyone else recall this?

Sho do.......

[jobeterob]

I missed that show but that alone would make A Go Go a prize!

[jobeterob]

John's remix is the best remix I've heard.

[carole cucumber]

Poor, inarticulate Miss Ross begged HDH to let her record in sign language so she could get the words out better.

Touche! But wasn't it commonly known that Flo was the expert at sign language ; she could communicate well using hand gestures and even 1 finger!!

[grapevine]

...quite like The Pepper Pots reggae / ska version...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69X5La536fE

[midnight johnny]

John's remix is the best remix I've heard.

Thank you very much, Rob! John

[thanxal]

John's remix is the best remix I've heard.

You are right it really is. An his UTLTTR is also amazing.

[motony]

Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart is one of my fave Supremes records. The track is dynamite!

[rovereab]

I'm not a fan of remixes but I do love this one. Shake it girls!

This is fantastic!

LILAIIMH meets the remix of Bob Marley's Sun Is Shining