Love Hangover According to LaMonte McLemore of the 5th Dimension

[BayouMotownMan]

I hadn't heard of that unreleased LP Bobby! Isn't it odd how labels will sometimes decide an LP is less an expenditure if remained unreleased....you'd think it would be practically over the finish line by that point. [[ what have you got to lose?)

So here's what I find interesting ........if the Fifth Dimension 'stole' the song from a furious Diana Ross ..... how/why was it that Motown decided their response would then be to reward the thieves [[the 'enemies') with a recording contract?

I've written about this before. Motown signed the 5th as punishment.

Diana Ross was Berry's star; he was obsessed with her. Many artists were signed to Motown if Gordy felt they were a threat to Ross, and their recording careers compromised. Also, Marc Gordon was the 5th's manager and Florence LaRue's husband. Marc worked for Motown in the 60s. After ABC cut the group loose, Gordon had nowhere to turn except Motown. Gordy took the group on and cut two lps and as many singles which got no promotion. When they were dropped from the label in 1979, Gordy had effectively destroyed them. They could never threaten Ross again.

[midnightman]

Berry was good with things like that. He could be PRETTY cunning.

[monicarivers]

I heard the 5th Dimension's version before Diane's.

Diane Renay?

[RanRan79]

Please bite me! Look nobody cares that Diana Ross was mad. She's still mad that no one but Mr. Gordy ever cared. That record was not a masterpiece. She only got paid based on a small percentage of units sold. The songwriters are the ones that made the real money. I didn't clearly know shit at the time. I was in high school and not buying "Diana Ross" albums.

That record was a humongous hit, still being played today almost as new. Why would Diana be mad about that? "Love Hangover" is iconic, regardless of whether you like the record or not. I hate "Theme From Mahogany" but there's no arguing it's place in music.

[RanRan79]

Exactly. I was at my local record shop at the time of the release of both versions. At this shop they would actually play the records for you. And people were choosing to buy the Diana Ross version over the 5th Dimensions.

For the record, that post you've quoted is fantasy, not fact. Diana Ross didn't have the "foresight and determinism" to release anything. Gordy and company made those decisions. There's a lot to celebrate regarding the lady, but her decisions regarding Motown singles is something that never happened. Even her insistence that "Reach Out and Touch" be her first single was nothing more than begging. Gordy obliged. Had he been bothered to tell her to shut up and worry about something else, we might be having discussions about "These Things" being her debut single.

[RanRan79]

Just because she didn't write the lyrics as printed on the song doesn't mean she wasn't creative. Those extra adlibs once the song went from a sultry soul/quiet storm ballad to a disco/funk vamp were not from its writers. I know that for a fact.

Diana gave the song its definition. Even hearing it now in its alternate version, I get chills and the background singers are WORKING IT!

There's often a tendency among people to downplay the artistry of vocalists who are not also songwriters. "Love Hangover" is an excellent example of how Diana put her own stamp on the song. While my favorite part of the song is the slow, sexy portion, Diana's ad libs on the up tempo part adds a lot of color and gives the song an extra portion of memorability.

[BobbyC]

Bayou--thank you. That is sort of what I was getting at. I usually hate conspiracy theories but sometimes they turn out to be true. I can totally see Berry promising Marc Gordon the stars and the moon for his group, when it was really about pushing aside barriers, real or imagined, for DR. Man the music industry is a nasty world. Fortunately I am talentless in terms of music so thank GOD I was never tempted.