Quote Originally Posted by jobeterob View Post
Releasing Touch as a single killed them. It was almost an acknowledgement that the group ceased to exist as it was and there was some strange attempt to start again in a mysterious direction no one could figure out. I liked the song a lot but there was no way that could be a radio hit.
Except it didn't. The very next single, "Floy Joy", was their best charting single since "River Deep". If any song or album killed the Supremes, it was "I Guess I'll Miss the Man" and the JW album. "Automatically Sunshine" made quite a bit of noise in various markets, but it appears that Motown dropped the ball in failing to give a huge push to what I believe was the group's best chance at a major hit since "Stoned Love". "I Guess" failed to make the r&b chart, something the Supremes hadn't failed to do since 1963. I also don't think it's a coincidence that both "Touch" and "Guess" are slow ballads, and they failed miserably. If you look at the group's discography, they were never really known for that. Most everything was uptempo, or mid tempo. "Touch" is a great song IMO, but it was the wrong choice of single. However, it can't be charged with having "killed" the group, not when the follow up did a ton better.