Originally Posted by
RanRan79
It does depend on who we are talking about. Different artists can mean different expectations. The fact of the matter is that, as of 1970, Gordy had spent the last few years preparing Diana to emerge from the Supremes as this huge star who was good enough to make it on her own. There isn't anybody in this thread or on the moon who believes for one minute that when "Reach Out and Touch" stalled at #20 on the pop chart, that Gordy went "Yes! We have a winner!". Dude didn't even want to release the song as a single, certainly not the debut, but gave in to Diana's desire. I'm sure everyone involved with the record was glad to cash whatever checks came with those chart positions, but they had all, I'm sure, hoped for more. After all the time and effort that was put into Diana, those chart positions were not the pay off anyone was looking for.
On the other hand, by the time "Floy Joy" was released, the 70s Supremes had two back to back flops in "You Gotta Have Love" and "Touch". To then rebound with a top 20 pop charting, yes, that was success. In the long run, considering the group wouldn't score that high again on either the pop or r&b chart, makes the song noteworthy in the group's catalog.
Both songs were hits. Both songs were modest hits on one chart, big on another. But perspective definitely influences the way one would discuss the songs the way we dissect them. In the long run "Reach Out and Touch" has continued to endure, while I'm pretty sure the general public has all but forgotten "Floy Joy". One has to wonder, though, if "Reach Out" would have been forgotten also if Diana hadn't attached herself to it, making it a cornerstone of her performances for decades, ensuring that it left a lasting impression on the public. There's a chance had she left the song in 1970, the way that she left "Someday We'll Be Together" in 1969 [[yeah, yeah, she performed it for the Farewell show in Jan 1970, but y'all know what I mean), it too might have gone the way of "Floy Joy" in the public's memory.
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