A Tribute To the Girls

[RanRan79]

There was a planned album for the Supremes titled A Tribute To the Girls in 1965. "Sincerely", "Around the World In 80 Days", and "Mr. Sandman" were apparently recorded for this project. I figure that "People", "Our Day Will Come", and "I Am Woman" would have probably made it onto the album, or considered for inclusion, once There's A Place For Us was scrapped. I'm not sure if any other songs were recorded for the Girls album. Hopefully George might chime in with additional information about this project.

Anyway, if judging on the three official tracks for the album, I think we have a pretty good idea what direction the album was going to take. Undoubtedly, the girls would have turned in fine vocal performances, with some beautiful harmonies. What would your A Tribute To the Girls album look like? Any songs- from 1965 and back- that you would have loved to hear the ladies tackle?

[RanRan79]

My vision for the album would have had the girls mixing it up between some of the MOR type of songs and the more hip cuts. And of course it would be a group effort. I did a tracklist in the forum for this album once before. Can't remember what all I included, but I believe my idea has changed a bit from that point anyway. My A Tribute To the Girls album might look like this:

1) Our Day Will Come...Ruby and the Romantics [[I would leave the track as it is already recorded by the Supremes, except I would remove the Andantes and replace completely with Diana and Flo)
2) Sincerely...McGuire Sisters [[Same as above)
3) Chapel Of Love...Dixie Cups [[Group harmony)
4) Be My Baby...Ronettes [[Diana lead)
5) Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow...Shirelles [[Mary lead)
6) It's My Party...Lesley Gore [[Diana lead)


7) Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy...Andrews Sisters [[Group harmony, with Flo doing the solo part)
8) A Lover's Concerto...Toys [[I would leave the track as already recorded by the Supremes)
9) Don't You Know...Della Reese [[Diana lead)
10) Crazy...Patsy Cline [[Flo lead)
11) Heat Wave...Martha and the Vandellas [[Diana lead)
12) My Guy...Mary Wells [[Diana lead)

Production wise, I would either have the tracks completed with an even sound so as not to be jarring as the girls go from a "Sincerely" to a "Heat Wave", or I would have the girls record the more current songs with a more "traditional" arrangement, while recording the other songs with a Motown sound, sort of like what happened during the Rodgers and Hart sessions.

[sup_fan]

fun topic!

I think the album would have including more of the There's A Place For Us songs including The Boy From Ipanema and Big City Babies Don't Cry, Fancy Passes. Around the World was also part of this set

I think motown would have gone with older tunes

1. Around the world in 80 days [[originally Bing Crosby but tons of girls covered it including Brenda Lee, Connie Francis, Chordettes)
2. sincerely - McGuire Sisters
3. Cheek to cheek - Boswell Sisters
4. Will you still love me tomorrow - shirelles
5. Mr Lee - The Bobbettes
6. Our day will come - Rudy and the Romantics

7. teach me tonight - DeCastro Sisters [[also Mary Wells just did a very of it at motown)
8. boogei woogie bugle boy - Andrew Sisters
9. Mr sandman - Chordettes
10. Tonight you belong to me - Lennon Sisters
11. Tammy - Debbie Reynolds
12. Where the boys are - Connie Francis

[sup_fan]

we have more of the tracks for Broadway 2 Hollywood. Actually we have more than enough for a 12-track lp. So what do you think they would have used?

The Happening
All I Know About You - both of these were supposedly slated for the album

there are then 7 songs recorded in late 66 and early 67:
If I ruled the world
Strangers in the night
the sound of music
tender is the night
what now my love
Who can i turn to
the shadow of your smile

So that's 9 songs

there are some older Sup Hollywood songs like Dr Goldfoot, Surfer Boy and Beach Ball

And then they recorded More and Somewhere in late 66 too. Who produced these sessions?

Plus there's all of the leftovers from the There's A Place and Tribute to the Girls sets - Put on a happy face, Make Someone Happy, People, I am Woman, Around the World.

[RanRan79]

we have more of the tracks for Broadway 2 Hollywood. Actually we have more than enough for a 12-track lp. So what do you think they would have used?

The Happening
All I Know About You - both of these were supposedly slated for the album

there are then 7 songs recorded in late 66 and early 67:
If I ruled the world
Strangers in the night
the sound of music
tender is the night
what now my love
Who can i turn to
the shadow of your smile

So that's 9 songs

there are some older Sup Hollywood songs like Dr Goldfoot, Surfer Boy and Beach Ball

And then they recorded More and Somewhere in late 66 too. Who produced these sessions?

Plus there's all of the leftovers from the There's A Place and Tribute to the Girls sets - Put on a happy face, Make Someone Happy, People, I am Woman, Around the World.

Yeah, I'm a little surprised the project was never released, although I guess the idea was ultimately scrapped in order to do the R&H project. Honestly I would've stuck with the B&H idea and just combined some of the none Rodgers and Hart cuts with some of the other B&H tracks. Both project sessions yielded better all around sounding cuts than what was done in 1965. Of course that should be expected. It shows how great everyone involved really were, that they just kept getting better and better.

[luke]

I’m not as knowledgeable as a lot people on here per what’s left in the vaults. Is there a lot of Supremes stuff still unreleased?

[sup_fan]

I’m not as knowledgeable as a lot people on here per what’s left in the vaults. Is there a lot of Supremes stuff still unreleased?

i don't know for certain - Andy Skurow would be the best to answer that

what i've gathered is there are still things from the DRATS and later periods. As they've done the various Expanded Editions, i believe they're pulling out most of the "acceptable" content and including it. Things that would be considered unacceptable are tracks with mistakes in them, where the singer is off pitch or messes up, etc. So i'd guess that we've received most of the acceptable stuff from 1961 - 66 or so.

There could very well still be some alt version of tunes or additional mixes. I believe songs like You Keep Me Hangin' On and Love Is Like An Itchin' In My Heart had multiple mixes as they experimented. I don't believe they've released the completely unedited version of Hangin where the backgrounds are singing through the entire record, with the complete and longer bridge AND the stop ending.

There's also probably many live shows recorded and potentially the studio recordings of the tv appearances. Berry often had the acts record either with the studio orchestra/band or with a session orchestra in order to get the sound, mix and everything right for tv appearances. then the lead singer would sing live

From 67 on there's potentially quite a bit left. Several tracks from the Disney lp are still in the vault. And we've not received the Expanded Editions for Reflections, Love Child, Sunshine or Cream of Crop. I think most of the Temptations duets are released, except maybe alt versions.

There's a lot of 70s stuff, especially during the Jean years. Not sure there's much Scherrie era left as they did include a lot more alt versions and unreleased material in the Let Yourself Go cd set a few years ago

[luke]

Thanks sup_fan. Very helpful.

[sup_fan]

oh i think the R&H set is far superior to the Broadway one. of course i'm just taking about degrees of "good." B2H is quite strong but the vocals on R&H are better IMO. take The Sound of Music for instance - not terrible but not the best either. Plus i like the cohesiveness of doing a composer's songbook. I'm sure the legacy of Ella Fitzgerald's amazing songbooks influenced Berry and the motown crew

both sets are an amazing leap forward in quality. there's an endearing "amateurish" quality to the productions on There's a place and even some of the I Hear A Symphony tracks. The couple of tracks from Tribute to Girls seem a bit stronger than There's a Place. again, the producers were learning just like the girls were. all of it was an evolution

[RanRan79]

If I were going to complete B&H and leave R&H as it's own standalone project...hmmm. I would use the cuts that were intended for the B&H album first.

Strangers In the Night
What Now My Love
Shadow Of Your Smile [[Even though I don't particularly care for it)
Tender Is the Night [[Same as above)
Who Can I Turn To
If I Ruled the World
Fancy Passes 67
All Of A Sudden My Heart Sings

And then I would round the album out with:

Whistle While You Work from the Disney sessions
Davy Crockett from the Disney sessions
A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes from the Disney sessions

Which of course means I would scrap the Disney idea, although I actually like it. And then to complete the album I would add:

The Happening

[sup_fan]

While i don't know that i'd call the released 12 songs inferior, it's clear they selected the tracks the emphasized Diana more. some truly excellent cuts were left in the vault.

for a revised 1 disc R&H, i'd do

Lady is a tramp - but re-record it to give M and F some more to do with it, similar to their live act
Mountain Greenery
Lover
My Romance
Falling in love with love
This can't be love
Blue Room
Johnny One Note - with Flo on lead
little girl blue
when or where
It never entered my mind
Spring is here

[RanRan79]

I meant to say that I think the better album would've been combining tracks from the B&H sessions with that of the best from the R&H sessions. I don't know why I didn't catch that. Anyway, I wouldn't say that R&H is superior to B&H. Different, but not superior. And of course that's to be expected because it's two different producer sets. HDH were handling B&H, and I think their pop background is more present in the set. On the other hand, Gil Askey [[and Berry Gordy, but we all know it was just Gil) produced the R&H sessions and his background was jazz and MOR, so his skill set seems like it was right at home with the cuts.

I am not really a fan of the original released R&H album. I personally think that most of the best cuts were kept in the vault and the inferior ones made it onto the album. I like to think this was a mistake that wasn't discovered until the album had been pressed up and sent out. But I've been faaaarrrrrr more impressed with the vaulted cuts that eventually surfaced on comps and finally the "expanded edition" than I have been with most of what made the original release.

Interestingly, R&H is the first album since We Remember that is strictly Supremes. Had B&H been released, the Andantes presence- assuming that the Andantes weren't replaced by Flo and Mary before release- would be there on some cuts. Gil apparently wanted authentic Supremes, and for that he has my eternal respect.

[sup_fan]

i don't mind the Disney project as a stand-alone. i believe the idea was to record something more for the kid market. so i see the project sort of like the Xmas album. while it's a concept album, there's a very specific audience

For B2H, i'd do

Strangers in the night
what now my love
shadow of your smile
the happening
tender is the night
who can i turn to
if i ruled the world
more
somewhere [[from the 1966 sessions)
a studio recording version of Mille/Rose/Mame medley
finish the vocals to On A Clear Day You Can see Forever

[RanRan79]

I like the idea of the Disney project on it's own, but only if it were being released at Christmas time. It's possible that the public might have viewed this kind of album as the Supremes doing way too much, and thus ignoring it, similar as to what happened with Funny Girl.

My R&H album:

Where Or When
Lover
My Heart Stood Still
Falling In Love With Love
Bewitched, Bothered, Bewildered
Manhattan

Blue Room
I Didn't Know What Time It Was
Johnny One Note
I Could Write A Book
There's A Small Hotel
It Never Entered My Mind

[sup_fan]

I like the idea of the Disney project on it's own, but only if it were being released at Christmas time. It's possible that the public might have viewed this kind of album as the Supremes doing way too much, and thus ignoring it, similar as to what happened with Funny Girl.

My R&H album:

Where Or When
Lover
My Heart Stood Still
Falling In Love With Love
Bewitched, Bothered, Bewildered
Manhattan

Blue Room
I Didn't Know What Time It Was
Johnny One Note
I Could Write A Book
There's A Small Hotel
It Never Entered My Mind

i think the Disney album would have made a fine Xmas release. sure it would never had achieved sales figures like A Go Go or the GH set. I don't know the exact timing for the release but the songs were completed in the fall of 67 so it could easily have been prepared for a holiday release.

in Aug 67 GH was released and hit #1 by the last week of October. it then spent the next 18 weeks in the top 5!!!!!!! it was so incredibly hot of a release that i think you could have gotten away with the Disney project released in Nov or so for the holidays. i bet lots of Xmas trees would have had copies of GH for the teenager in the house and then Disney for their little brother or sister.

[RanRan79]

i think the Disney album would have made a fine Xmas release. sure it would never had achieved sales figures like A Go Go or the GH set. I don't know the exact timing for the release but the songs were completed in the fall of 67 so it could easily have been prepared for a holiday release.

in Aug 67 GH was released and hit #1 by the last week of October. it then spent the next 18 weeks in the top 5!!!!!!! it was so incredibly hot of a release that i think you could have gotten away with the Disney project released in Nov or so for the holidays. i bet lots of Xmas trees would have had copies of GH for the teenager in the house and then Disney for their little brother or sister.

Actually some of the songs weren't completed until the following year, according to DFTMC, so if it were readied for Christmas it would've been Christmas 1968, and then it would've competed with TCB, although I'm sure ultimately it wouldn't have been a contest. Was Love Child album still on the charts at Christmas time 68?

But as is, I think the Disney sessions produced some great music. The instrumentation is wonderful, the vocals are beautiful. It's one of my favorite projects from the group.

Since you and I seem to be the only ones who care about this kind of topic, is there a project that never was that you would have liked to have seen the girls take on? And of course this isn't limited to the original trio, but any grouping.

[Ollie9]

But as is, I think the Disney sessions produced some great music. The instrumentation is wonderful, the vocals are beautiful. It's one of my favorite projects from the group..

I really think Diana does a fantastic job on both the R &H album and in particular the Disney songs. On Disney her vocals are warm, fun and expressive.
I think part of Diana’s ongoing appeal has been that she is rarely afraid to reveal the inner child part of her persona which lays within most of us. I think that’s why she appears so at home on appearances such as Sesame St and the Muppet Show.
With the exception of “Blue Room” which i consider one of the best songs recorded for the R &H project, i think the track listing is pretty good. Apparently even BG was taken aback at just how good this album turned out.
My only minor gripe is that Florence was not given a solo. I think she would have been great on “This Can’t Be Love”.

[RanRan79]

I really think Diana does a fantastic job on both the R &H album and in particular the Disney songs. On Disney her vocals are warm, fun and expressive.
I think part of Diana’s ongoing appeal has been that she is rarely afraid to reveal the inner child part of her persona which lays within most of us. I think that’s why she appears so at home on appearances such as Sesame St and the Muppet Show.
With the exception of “Blue Room” which i consider one of the best songs recorded for the R &H project, i think the track listing is pretty good. Apparently even BG was taken aback at just how good this album turned out.
My only minor gripe is that Florence was not given a solo. I think she would have been great on “This Can’t Be Love”.

I've never thought of Flo on "This Can't Be Love", but I have to agree with you. I think she would have done well with it.

I also agree with your thoughts on Diana's appeal. That's part of the magic of why she was so popular. The fun of it all is so apparent, even when all you have is the audio, such as the Disney recordings.

[sup_fan]

Ran!!! how could you cut Little Girl Blue?!?!? lolol

that's one of my fav songs from R&H, regardless of who sings it. just adore the emotional fiber to the tune. And Diana's solo version on Touch Me In the AM is IMO one of her most perfect vocal recordings of her entire 60+ year career.

So i'm a bit partial to the tune

i think the sup version is lovely. Also love Nina Simone's version. stunning!!

[RanRan79]

Ran!!! how could you cut Little Girl Blue?!?!? lolol

that's one of my fav songs from R&H, regardless of who sings it. just adore the emotional fiber to the tune. And Diana's solo version on Touch Me In the AM is IMO one of her most perfect vocal recordings of her entire 60+ year career.

So i'm a bit partial to the tune

i think the sup version is lovely. Also love Nina Simone's version. stunning!!

Easy: I'm not as enamored with it as you are.

Diana's version is really enjoyable. The Supremes version just doesn't "best" the cuts I included. My original list had 13 songs because I miscounted. Had to go through a painful track by track review of what I could live with cutting. In the end I had to send "This Can't Be Love" back into the vault. I wonder how often the Supremes' actual producers pulled their hair out when trying to narrow down album tracks.

[sup_fan]

Easy: I'm not as enamored with it as you are.

Diana's version is really enjoyable. The Supremes version just doesn't "best" the cuts I included. My original list had 13 songs because I miscounted. Had to go through a painful track by track review of what I could live with cutting. In the end I had to send "This Can't Be Love" back into the vault. I wonder how often the Supremes' actual producers pulled their hair out when trying to narrow down album tracks.

I'd argue to keep This Can't Be Love as part of the magic of this project was that some songs were re-imagined with a Motown style and sound. They didn't simply follow the traditional style and approach for every song but made some of them their own.

it really must have been a struggle to pick which 12 to keep. Although their job was probably easier than ours as they were looking for the 12 best that featured diana.

[sup_fan]

a few of the songs were finished in early 68. i wonder if that was sort of a last gasp for the project? most of the tracks were ready in the fall but maybe they were already thinking. as if they got most of it ready in the fall of 67 for a holiday release but weren't quite done. and then their priorities started to shift to other things and it ran out of steam

[floyjoy678]

My revised R&H album would have been...
1. Falling In Love With Love
2. Mountain Greenery
3. This Can't Be Love
4. Blue Room
5. I Didn't Know What Time It Was
6. Betwitched, Bothered and Bewildered [[version with Flo and Mary harmonizing during the verses with Diana)
7. Lover
8. Thou Swell
9. My Romance
10. Johnny One Note
11. My Heart Stood Still
12. Manhattan [[according to Bluebrock, Diana said her and Flo lobbied for this track to be on the album and were disappointed when it wasn't)

As others stated, clearly the original album tracks chosen were to highlight Diana. Which is a shame because a lot of those unreleased tracks really highlight the group as a whole.

[RanRan79]

My revised R&H album would have been...
1. Falling In Love With Love
2. Mountain Greenery
3. This Can't Be Love
4. Blue Room
5. I Didn't Know What Time It Was
6. Betwitched, Bothered and Bewildered [[version with Flo and Mary harmonizing during the verses with Diana)
7. Lover
8. Thou Swell
9. My Romance
10. Johnny One Note
11. My Heart Stood Still
12. Manhattan [[according to Bluebrock, Diana said her and Flo lobbied for this track to be on the album and were disappointed when it wasn't)

As others stated, clearly the original album tracks chosen were to highlight Diana. Which is a shame because a lot of those unreleased tracks really highlight the group as a whole.

I never realized it before, but those of you who mentioned it in this thread are probably right. Perhaps that why I prefer more of the vaulted cuts than the ones that made the album.

[RanRan79]

Sup I gotta run, but I'll come back with my thoughts!

[sup_fan]

the girls' Manhattan would have worked better with lines being traded off too. the duet with the girls doubling much of the vocals doesn't really add much. I've wondered if it was originally meant to be a Flo lead. or they recorded both girls in full and then were going to splice them together so that they're trading off lines.

Still i don't know that this is the song out of the 25 they recorded that i'd think to give to Flo. it's too cutesy for her bigger vocals. more in line with Diana's kittenish girly approach

[RanRan79]

Sup, I'm still compiling my list of songs I can hear Flo and Mary leading on. Need a little more time.

[sup_fan]

C&W definitely displays more 3 part harmony work. but obviously the song choice, and on some tracks the song production, is inferior. You Didn't Care has great vocals but is a weak and meandering song when compared to A Small Hotel or Bewitched.

Also the musicality of the girls had grown considerably by R&H. their vocals are more controlled, better lyric interpretation.

it's fascinating though to listen to these and compare and enjoy their development and growth

[RanRan79]

C&W definitely displays more 3 part harmony work. but obviously the song choice, and on some tracks the song production, is inferior. You Didn't Care has great vocals but is a weak and meandering song when compared to A Small Hotel or Bewitched.

Also the musicality of the girls had grown considerably by R&H. their vocals are more controlled, better lyric interpretation.

it's fascinating though to listen to these and compare and enjoy their development and growth

I was responding to Ollie's comment about the group never sounding as cohesive as they did on R&H. Song ingredients aside, vocally I think the Supremes were as lock step with one another on those earlier projects as they would be on R&H, which I agree displays some of their best overall work. Actually I'd say they sounded more together on those earlier projects than even R&H. To me, the combo of Flo on top, Mary on the bottom, and Diana in the middle, couldn't be beat. Nor that of just Flo on top, Mary on bottom. During the R&H sessions there are times when Flo is almost as low as Mary, and I'm not as fond of that.

[Ollie9]

Also the musicality of the girls had grown considerably by R&H. their vocals are more controlled, better lyric interpretation

That is what makes the R & H album the best group effort for me. Their vocals had never sounded quite so polished, mature and assured as on this project.

[benross]

My Funny Valentine is an absolutely essential element for both the Rodgers & Hart collection and career retrospectives; it is one of Diana's all-time best performances!

[RanRan79]

Alright Sup, here I go with songs I think either Flo or Mary were as good an option or better than Diana [[and in a couple cases, each other):


Meet sessions= I think Flo was a better option for "Too Hot". I think she could've brought a necessary sizzle to the song that Diana either didn't or was incapable of doing. But honestly, that's the only song that I feel Flo was a superior option for during that first year or so of recordings. Now, other songs that I think Flo would've sounded good on are "Let Me Go the Right Way", "Never Again", "Those DJ Shows", "You Bring Back Memories", and the first two versions of "You're Gonna Come To Me".


Regarding Mary, I actually think she was as good of an option or an even better option than Diana on most of those early songs, with the notable exception of "Those DJ Shows". I also think Mary was a better fit for "Save Me A Star" and "Heavenly Father".


WDOLG sessions= I think Flo could've handled versions 3&4 of "You're Gonna Come To Me", "Run, Run, Run", "Lovelight", "Everyday I'll Love You More", "My Imagination", "Honey Babe", "Don't Take It Away", "Long Gone Lover" and "He Means the World To Me". Of these I feel like Flo was the superior option for "My Imagination". I also think it's possible Flo would have done a good job on "Let Me Hear You Say I Love You".


Mary: "Where Did Our Love Go", "Come On Boy", "A Breath Taking Guy".


Liverpool sessions= Surprisingly, I find some of these songs might have been up Flo's alley. I could hear her doing the lead on "Hard Days Night", "Can't Buy Me Love", "House Of the Rising Sun", "Do You Love Me", "You Can't Do That". On the latter, I LOVE Diana's lead for some reason. It's not like it's a standout in her vocal work, but it just does something to me. Yet, I think Flo might have been a better option because the sass in telling someone they can't do something, might have made for an even more entertaining performance.


For Mary, "Because", and maybe "World Without Love".


I'll return with Supremes Sing CWP, We Remember, More Hits and Merry Christmas tomorrow. Or the next day. Or...

[sup_fan]

good list ran! eager to see the rest