For supreme pros__strangers in the night

[chestersong]

other than found on the "Motown Celebrates Sinatra" CD, did this track appear on any other motown or supremes cd release? i have it on a cd i made but can't find my original source

[kenneth]

I believe that the "Celebrates Sinatra" was the first time it was released. I think it's a great track; I was surprised it had never been released before or even performed live in their shows. It would have been a great medley or pairing with "Can't Take My Eyes Off You."

[pj1]

The track was also utilized in 2004 as a bonus track for the Supremes' "There's A Place For Us" cd

[chestersong]

thanks to both of you! kenneth, i like the track very much, too. the vocals and music are really nice. my mother would have approved of this song over "love child"
and thanks, pj. right where you said it was, track #20. i'm listening right now. took me awhile to finally find that i had all the christmas songs on various cds, too. Hoping that someday they release the "Disney Classics" onto CD.
Did any of you Pros ever put together a homemade cd or list that researches tracks for the other cancelled albums like:

-supremes sing ballads and blues
-live! live! live!
-a tribute to the girls
-pure gold
-from broadway to hollywood
-any others i forgot?

[theboyfromxtown]

Yes

The Supremes - For Swingers Only.....it was announced in the British press in January/February 1970 and I would take that press clipping into the record shop at Berwick Street London [[where Elton John once worked) to try to order it.

I did try to order those other albums listed together with Barbara McNair's "Here I Am" and the Supremes "CW & Pop". I was only able to get the CW & Pop album....fortunately in stereo....us Brits only got it in mono.

[nabob]

Did any of you Pros ever put together a homemade cd or list that researches tracks for the other cancelled albums like:

-supremes sing ballads and blues . . .

Ballads & Blues about a year ago:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/2460803...ream/lightbox/ and
http://www.flickr.com/photos/2460803...ream/lightbox/

The first twelve tracks came from a post on the previous Soulful Detroit Forum as an undocumented track listing for the album. The remaining tracks were among those I liked which were recorded around that time.

[kenneth]

"Promises Kept" also was assigned a catalog number and appears on a Motown LP order form issued to retailers, though there's no cover pictured. I think Mary Wilson said this LP was planned for around 1973.

[bradsupremes]

I never understood why Motown assigned catalog numbers to projects that barely got off the ground or were never fully assembled. Look at "A Tribute To The Girls" which had like 3 songs recorded and it was assigned a catalog number. Compare that to the "Disney Classics" album which was finished with 14 songs, yet never assigned a catalog number.

[uptight]

Probably because the projects had budgets attached to them, and they had to affix a catalog number early in the process [[at least for in-house purposes). Just a guess. Maybe the producer of the Disney Classics album went less "by the book" and went ahead without an assigned number. I'm sure they never predicted the fans would fuss over the numbers.

[nomis]

Brad - on catalog numbers being assigned to unfinished projects - remember in those days things moved much more slower in communication - from pressing plants to advance orders have to be taken into account...I dont know if this will explain it but theres an old saying that goes along the lines of "the right hand seeing what the left is doing" and that is the practice in a buisness module like Motown at the time..another word springs to mind....DEPARTMENTS..everything had a department in those days and for one to communicate successfully with another I suspect catalog numbers had to be assigned very early..on Disney not being given a number it could be because Flo appears on a few then cindy on the rest..maybe Berry was moving away from any tracks that had a Flo connection after she left..i dont know or maybe the whole disney thing was just an expensive experiment in the studio..

[theboyfromxtown]

"I'm sure they never predicted the fans would fuss over the numbers"

Uptight

By 1973, they sure did know! Catalogue number collectors were in full swing during the 60's Detroit era. I was one of 'em!

[chestersong]

wasn't it mentioned somewhere, maybe Mary's books or Randy's books, that SING DISNEY CLASSICS was possibly going to be expanded into a 2 LP set? bradsupremes will have to design a cover with the girls wearing Mickey Mouse ear hats! [[hint)! It would be another fun album trying to discover which track has Flo and whick track has Cindy, etc.

[chestersong]

thank you for the list on "Ballads & Blues", nabob. i put it to good use!

[Ramone Verona]

The cancelled album PURE GOLD sounds interesting. It was so early on in their career; what did the "Gold" represent?
Gold records from them? Gold records from other Motown artists? Gold records from outside the label?
Gold gowns?

[marv2]

The cancelled album PURE GOLD sounds interesting. It was so early on in their career; what did the "Gold" represent?
Gold records from them? Gold records from other Motown artists? Gold records from outside the label?
Gold gowns?

It think it referred to their talent and overall popularity.

[bradsupremes]

"Pure Gold" was an early version of the Greatest Hits collection. It was intended to be released in 1966. Motown knew they would get more hits out of the girls so they waited until they had enough to expand into a bigger collection.

As for the Disney album, I never heard anything about it being expanding into a 2-LP set. I know they recorded 14 songs for the project with a few tracks that never received vocals. The Florence tracks and Cindy tracks are pretty even. The only track that no one has heard is "Chim Chim Cheree" which still remains unreleased. I know they added those additional background singers to several of the tracks.

Florence appears on:
- Whistle While You Work
- Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
- The Ballad of Davy Crockett
- When You Wish Upon A Star
- I've Got No Strings

Cindy appears on:
- A Spoonful of Sugar
- The Land of Make Believe
- Heigh-Ho
- Someday My Prince Will Come
- Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious [[maybe? Could be Florence?)

Diana only tracks:
- Toyland
- A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes
- It Won't Be Long Til Christmas

[uptight]

It was Supremes Sing Rodgers & Hart that was originally conceived as a two-LP set.

[chestersong]

thank you for the FANtastic list, bradsupremes. you are right; i have all those songs on various CDs. the fact that the various songs have been released might sour any future project. although Disney items remain popular cross-collectibles.

[bradsupremes]

I don't think with most of the recordings already released would sour a future project on the album. With several of the recordings on various releases and haven't been available for nearly 25 years, I would think it would increase the chances of a future release. Plus, all of the songs need remastering and remixing. Also, we don't know a full story about the project. It would be fun to find about how the project came to be, the recording process, shelving of the project, and recording dates.

[uptight]

Ok, now "Strangers In The Night" has been in my head all day... I love their rendition. [[I know it's the Andantes in the background.)

When it was placed on the Motown Celebrates Sinatra CD among some remixed recordings, the tape seemed to be damaged and over-saturated and needed to be remixed to fit in better. I figured budgetary reasons wouldn't allow remixing another tune at that time. When it was utilized for the 2004 CD There's A Place For Us, we got the same thing [[with tape dropouts in the same spots and everything).

Could this stereo mixdown be all that exists? Are all the vocal elements and backing track intact for possible remixing?

[Ramone Verona]

Count me in on a Disney project for the girls!
"Strangers" is a very enjoyable track on them. I enjoy big strings.

[chestersong]

I don't think with most of the recordings already released would sour a future project on the album. With several of the recordings on various releases and haven't been available for nearly 25 years, I would think it would increase the chances of a future release. Plus, all of the songs need remastering and remixing. Also, we don't know a full story about the project. It would be fun to find about how the project came to be, the recording process, shelving of the project, and recording dates.

good to know. i will enjoy any upcoming release as long as they keep doing unreleased stuff first or expanded editions on what they have done in the past. even when a vaulted song turns up on a greatest hits or like "cellarful"; that's fun, too.

[Ramone Verona]

Did the supremes in the seventies ever record or plan "special project" albums? Or was this just a fad of the sixties?

[chestersong]

"Rock Gospel-Key To The Kingdom" was along those lines but the supremes only received one track on the vinyl. that we know of, anyway. hopefully more tracks by the supremes were recorded for rock gospel as well as the other artists and an expanded or deluxe CD could be done someday. wink!