| The Supremes | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 1975 | |||
| Recorded | 1974–75 | |||
| Genre | Soul, disco, R&B | |||
| Length | 29:14 | |||
| Label | Motown | |||
| Producer | Terry Woodford, Clayton Ivey, Brian Holland, Hal Davis, Greg Wright, Michael Lloyd, Mark Davis | |||
| The Supremes chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Supremes | ||||
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The Supremes is the twenty-seventh studio album by The Supremes, released in 1975 on Motown Records.
Because of contract disputes, nearly two and a half years passed between The Supremes and the previous Supremes LP, The Supremes Produced and Arranged by Jimmy Webb . During that time, the group's lineup had undergone another major shift. Jean Terrell and Lynda Laurence both quit the group in August 1973, and remaining member and founding Supreme Mary Wilson was forced to form a new lineup. Cindy Birdsong was ready to return to the group after her maternity leave the previous year, and following a tip from former Supremes producer Lamont Dozier, Wilson hired Scherrie Payne, the younger sister of Freda Payne as the Supremes' new co-lead singer, who maintained the role until the group officially disbanded at a concert in London at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on June 12, 1977.
Despite the long delay, The Supremes' first single, "He's My Man", became a #1 single on the Billboard Disco charts in 1975. The song "It's All Been Said Before" was originally chosen as the first single, and assigned a release number by Motown, but was withdrawn at the last minute, and replaced by "He's My Man".
For this release brothers Brian and Edward Holland, who wrote the Supremes' megahits of the 1960s, contributed the second single, "Where Do I Go from Here", and a song with Mary Wilson on lead, "Early Morning Love", that was released as a single in the United Kingdom only. Two legendary songwriters and producers from the South also worked with the trio: Alabama musician Terry Woodford, who started playing rock and roll in Muscle Shoals, and became a top producer and composer, and his colleague, Florida-born Clayton Ivey, one of the original musicians of the Muscle Shoals rhythm section, produced several songs but only four of them were released. "The Sha-La Bandit", in its original version has all three Supremes on leads (including a rare lead vocal by Cindy Birdsong), and although it was shelved, it was released in the end on the anthology The Supremes: At Their Best ; while the instrumental track of "Bend a Little" was released in 1976 in the disco collection Motown Magic Disco Machine Volume II. Producer Hal Davis (of "Don't Leave Me This Way", "Love Hangover" and "Dancing Machine" fame) produced a couple of dance tracks, but only a song with a gospel touch, "This Is Why Believe in You" was released.
Songs recorded for the album, but not used, include "I Can Never Recover", produced by the Holland brothers; "Can We Love Again", another Mary Wilson solo; a cover of Betty Everett's "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)", "Dance Fever", "Seed of Love", and "Hey, Mr. Boogieman". The entire album and those unreleased tracks finally appeared for the first time on CD on May 17, 2011 on the three-disc set Let Yourself Go: The '70s Albums, Vol 2 - 1974–1977: The Final Sessions .
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
Superscripts denote lead singers for each track: (a) Scherrie Payne, (b) Mary Wilson.
| Chart (1975) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 [2] | 152 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [3] | 25 |
| US Cashbox [4] | 183 |
| US Record World [5] | 179 |
The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful American vocal band, with 12 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100. Most of these hits were written and produced by Motown's main songwriting and production team, Holland–Dozier–Holland. It is said that their breakthrough made it possible for future African-American R&B and soul musicians to find mainstream success. Billboard ranked the Supremes as the 16th greatest Hot 100 artist of all time.
Mary Wilson was an American singer. She gained worldwide recognition as a founding member of the Supremes, the most successful Motown act of the 1960s and the best-charting female group in U.S. chart history, as well as one of the best-selling girl groups of all-time. The trio reached number one on Billboard's Hot 100 with 12 of their singles, ten of which feature Wilson on backing vocals.
Scherrie Ann Payne is an American singer. Payne is best known as a member and co-lead singer of the R&B/Soul vocal group the Supremes from 1973 until 1977. Because of her powerful voice and petite stature (5'2"), Payne is sometimes referred to as "the little lady with the big voice". Payne is the younger sister of singer Freda Payne. Payne continues to perform, both as a solo act and as a part of the "Former Ladies of the Supremes" (FLOS).
Cynthia Ann Birdsong is an American singer who became famous as a member of The Supremes in 1967, when she replaced co-founding member Florence Ballard. Birdsong had previously been a member of Patti LaBelle & The Bluebelles.
Lynda Laurence is an American singer. The youngest daughter of Louise and Ira Tucker, a gospel songwriter, producer, and singer, Laurence's siblings are Sundray Tucker and Ira Tucker Jr.
The Supremes is a 2000 box set compilation of the material by Motown's most popular act of the 1960s, The Supremes. The set covers The Supremes' entire recording history, from its first recordings as The Primettes in 1960 to its final recordings in 1976.
Reflections is the twelfth studio album recorded for Motown by Diana Ross & the Supremes. Released in 1968, it was the first regular studio LP to display the new billing of the group formerly known as "The Supremes." It contains the singles "Reflections", "In and Out of Love" and "Forever Came Today". Also included are covers of songs made famous by Martha and the Vandellas and The 5th Dimension. Also present are songs written by other famous names, including "Bah-Bah-Bah" co-written by Motown singer Brenda Holloway with her younger sister, Patrice, an original Smokey Robinson composition titled "Then", and "What the World Needs Now Is Love" by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, which Motown planned to release as a single in the spring of 1968, but cancelled. It also contains a cover of Bobbie Gentry's "Ode to Billie Joe," whose original recording kept the single #2 "Reflections" from peaking at the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1967, and it hit #2 on Cashbox.
The '70s Anthology is a 2002 two compact disc set of many of the songs recorded by the 1970s groupings of The Supremes. The set features 42 tracks, of which 10 had never been released, and 6 were appearing in extended or unedited forms.
Former Ladies of the Supremes, or FLOS, is a female vocal group that was originally formed in 1986 by former Supremes members Jean Terrell, Cindy Birdsong and Scherrie Payne. It has also included former members Lynda Laurence and Susaye Greene. Though they were not Supremes members, singers Sundray Tucker, Freddi Poole and Joyce Vincent have also sung with the group following the departure of Terrell.
High Energy is the twenty-eighth studio album by American girl group the Supremes, released in 1976 on the Motown label. The album is the first to feature Susaye Greene; former member of Stevie Wonder's Wonderlove; and is notable for featuring the last Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 pop hit for the group, "I'm Gonna Let My Heart Do the Walking". Of their 1970s releases, High Energy is the second-highest charting album on the US Billboard 200, the first being Right On (1970). In Canada, High Energy is the highest-charting Supremes album since TCB (1968).
Mary, Scherrie & Susaye is the twenty-ninth and final studio album by The Supremes, released in 1976 on the Motown label. It featured the final line-up for the Supremes, composed of original Supreme Mary Wilson and latter-day members Scherrie Payne and Susaye Greene. All three Supremes take leads on the album. The album was a mixture of disco dance tracks (Hi-NRG) and R&B ballads. Payne and Greene mostly took over the dance tracks while Wilson performed the ballads. The album was released in October 1976, nine months before the trio disbanded.
"Bad Weather" is a song recorded and released as a single by Motown vocal group The Supremes in 1973. It was composed by Stevie Wonder and Lynda Laurence's brother Ira Tucker Jr., and produced by Wonder. The song was Jean Terrell's last charted single as lead singer of the Supremes and the second and last time Laurence was featured on a Supremes single.
"I'm Gonna Let My Heart Do the Walking" is a disco-styled soul single composed by the Holland brothers Eddie and Brian, members of the former Holland–Dozier–Holland team and was released as a single by Motown vocal group The Supremes in 1976 on the Motown label. It was the first single since "Your Heart Belongs to Me" in 1962 to feature four Supremes. It is also notable for being the last top forty single the group would score before they disbanded in 1977.
"High Energy" is a dance/disco song by The Supremes. Released as the album's title-track single in 1976 from their penultimate album High Energy, this energic, sound-bursting tune featured lead vocals by Susaye Greene. Greene, new to the group, was brought in to dub her vocals although Scherrie Payne had already recorded lead vocals prior to Greene's entry into the trio. As such, this was the final single to feature former member Cindy Birdsong's vocals, and the sixth and final single of the group to feature four members. Written by Harold Beatty, Brian Holland and Edward Holland, Jr., the song peaked at position nine on the dance/disco charts later that same year.
Let Yourself Go, the follow-up box set to This Is the Story: The '70s Albums, Vol. 1 – 1970–1973: The Jean Terrell Years, comprises The Supremes' albums from 1974 to 1977, featuring original member Mary Wilson, longtime member Cindy Birdsong, newest member Scherrie Payne, and final Supreme Susaye Greene. Included in this set are The Supremes' final three studio albums released in their entirety on CD for the first time. Also included are several unreleased and alternate takes.
"Where Do I Go from Here" is a single released by Motown singing group The Supremes. It is the second single released from their 1975 self-titled album, The Supremes. The single reached #93 on the US Billboard R&B chart.
"Early Morning Love" is a single released by Motown singing group The Supremes. It is the third and final single released from their 1975 self-titled album, The Supremes. This song reached #6 on the Disco Singles chart.
"Let Yourself Go" is a disco song recorded by the Supremes. It was written by Harold Beatty, Eddie Holland and Brian Holland. The song was released on January 25, 1977 as the second single from The Supremes' Mary, Scherrie & Susaye album, and the last one by the group officially released in the US, ever. The song peaked at #83 on the US R&B charts.
"He's My Man" is a single released by Motown singing group The Supremes, listed as catalog number M1358F. It is the lead single released from their 1975 self-titled album, The Supremes. The single's peak position was 69 on the US R&B charts, and number-one on the regional Disco charts.
Mary Wilson: The Motown Anthology is a two disc collection of music, spanning the career of singer Mary Wilson of the American musical group the Supremes. The compilation compiles some of Mary’s leads for the Supremes and their original group The Primettes, and includes the CD debut of her Motown solo album, with a total of seven unreleased tracks and 13 unreleased mixes or alternate takes.
