Next week will mark 56 years since the release of "Nothing But Heartaches", a notable single in the Supremes' discography for breaking the string of consecutive #1 hits. It's a favorite of mine. I love everything about it. Diana's lead is very good, but this is actually one of those songs where I feel like my attraction is less so Diana and more so Flo and Mary and the Funks. The version on the EE with the extended instrumental break knocked my socks off. The Funks were kicking butt on this one.

I stand behind QC's decision to release this as the follow up to "Back In My Arms Again", but I also get why it may have failed to meet the expectations set by the previous five singles. I personally feel like the first five #1s, while they might have some sort of similarity to the songs before it, they are all mostly very different from the one that came before it. "Baby Love" does not sound like "Where" to me, nor does "Come See" sound like "Baby Love", or "Stop" sound like "Come See", or "Back" sound like "Stop". But "Heartaches" does have a "Back In My Arms Again" knock off sound. It's possible that the first five left the public feeling like they were hearing something new, while "Heartaches" had a "been there, done that" sound. Of course the song may have also "suffered" from the fact that it was released within about a week of the More Hits album and was cannibalized by it. Why buy the single when you can get the new album with the single, plus two other huge hits, plus a bunch of new cuts? If anything, releasing the two in such close proximity was the dumb decision. Perhaps "Heartaches" should've been rushed out as soon as it was completed in May instead of sitting on it for two months.

Still, the song managed to make it to #11 on the Hot 100 and #6 R&B, which is nothing to sneeze at. And Cashbox listed the song as the #8 bestseller on their Top 100, and #3 bestseller R&B. Imagine if it hadn't had to compete with More Hits. Might it have become the sixth #1? How incredible would the group's reign have been with that feat and then the release of "Symphony", making it seven consecutive #1 hits!

"Heartaches" is also the last time that I would categorize a Supremes single as the girl group sound. After that, the sound matures a lot.

It's my understanding that "Nothing But Heartaches" is considered a fan favorite, so show your love for or share your thoughts on this noteworthy song.