Touch (The Supremes album)

Last updated
Touch
The Supremes - Touch.png
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 1971
Recorded1970–1971
Genre
Length32:59
Label Motown
Producer Frank Wilson
The Supremes chronology
The Return of the Magnificent 7
(1971)
Touch
(1971)
Dynamite
(with Four Tops)

(1971)
Singles from Touch
  1. "Nathan Jones"
    Released: April 15, 1971
  2. "Touch"
    Released: September 7, 1971

Touch is the twenty-third studio album by The Supremes, released in the summer of 1971 on the Motown label. It was the third and final LP under the supervision of Frank Wilson, who had been the group's main producer since 1970, when Jean Terrell joined as lead singer. The album also marked the first Motown contributions by composer-producer Leonard Caston, Jr. and writer-lyricist Kathleen Wakefield: "Nathan Jones", a hit single sung by all three members, which was later recorded by Bananarama, and "Love It Came to Me This Time".

Contents

The album included contributions by several Motown artists and staff writers: "Here Comes the Sunrise" by actor-composer Clifton Davis (who had written "Never Can Say Goodbye" for The Jackson 5); Billy Page's "Johnny Raven" (recorded by Kiki Dee in her 1970 Motown album), and "Have I Lost You" by Pam Sawyer and Gloria Jones. Wilson also recorded Jean Terrell's vocals to the backing track of a cover of Laura Nyro's "Time and Love" that Bones Howe had produced for Diana Ross, but that was shelved and remained unreleased until 2002.

The other tracks were written by Sawyer and Wilson, including the opening and closing numbers, "This Is the Story" and "It's So Hard for Me to Say Goodbye"; "Happy (Is a Bumpy Road)", released as flip side of "Nathan Jones"; and the album title track, "Touch", the first charting Supremes single to feature lead vocals by both Terrell and founding member Mary Wilson. The song missed the US top 40, peaking at #71, and it was later recorded by The Jackson 5.

After this release, producer Frank Wilson went on to work with Motown artist Eddie Kendricks. This album also contained liner notes written by Elton John.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Cashbox (Favorable) [2]
Rolling Stone (favorable) [3]

In a contemporary review Cashbox published: [2]

'What has been left unsaid about the fantastic Supremes? They make all the right moves. One great track follows another on their latest entry in the album field. If we had to pick favorites, we'd choose the smooth "Love It Came To Me This Time" and the exuberant "Here Comes The Sunrise." Among the other treats: the girls' big hit of "Nathan Jones" and a fine rendition of the Laura Nyro number, "Time And Love." Ten tunes in all get the benefit of the Supremes' touch. Should be a major chart item. '

Track listing

All lead vocals by Jean Terrell except where noted.

Side I
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."This Is the Story" Frank Wilson, Pam Sawyer 3:26
2."Nathan Jones" (lead singers: Jean Terrell, Mary Wilson, Cindy Birdsong) Leonard Caston, Kathleen Wakefield 3:02
3."Here Comes the Sunrise" Clifton Davis 2:47
4."Love It Came to Me This Time"Caston, Wakefield3:21
5."Johnny Raven"Billy Page3:19
Side II
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Have I Lost You" Gloria Jones, Sawyer2:44
7."Time and Love" Laura Nyro 4:07
8."Touch" (lead singers: Jean Terrell, Mary Wilson)Wilson, Sawyer3:49
9."Happy (Is a Bumpy Road)"Wilson, Sawyer3:08
10."It's So Hard for Me to Say Goodbye"Wilson, Sawyer3:16

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1971)Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC) [4] 40
US Billboard 200 [5] 85
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [6] 6
US Cashbox Top 100 [7] 78
US Record World [8] 66
US Record World R&B [9] 4

Related Research Articles

Someday Well Be Together 1969 single by Diana Ross and the Supremes

"Someday We'll Be Together" is a song written by Johnny Bristol, Jackey Beavers, and Harvey Fuqua. It was the last of twelve American number-one pop singles for Diana Ross & the Supremes on the Motown label. Although it was released as the final Supremes song featuring Diana Ross, who left the group for a solo career in January 1970, it was recorded as Ross' first solo single and Supremes members Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong do not sing on the recording. Both appear on the B-side, "He's My Sunny Boy".

Stoned Love 1970 single by The Supremes

"Stoned Love" is a 1970 hit single recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label. It was the last Billboard Pop Top Ten hit for the group, peaking at number seven, and their last Billboard number-one R&B hit as well, although the trio continued to score top ten hits in the UK into 1972. In the UK, it was the post-Ross Supremes' biggest hit, reaching number 3 in the singles chart. The single spent six weeks in the UK top ten and five weeks in the US top ten. The BBC ranked "Stoned Love" at number 99 on The Top 100 Digital Motown Chart, which ranks Motown releases solely on their all time UK downloads and streams.

Up the Ladder to the Roof 1970 single by The Supremes

"Up the Ladder to the Roof" is a 1970 hit single recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label. It was the first Supremes single to feature new lead singer Jean Terrell in place of Diana Ross, who officially left the group for a solo career two weeks before the recording of this song in January 1970. This song also marks a number of other firsts: it is the first Supremes single since "The Happening" in 1967 to be released under the name "The Supremes" instead of "Diana Ross & The Supremes", the first Supremes single solely produced by Norman Whitfield associate Frank Wilson, and the first Supremes single to make the United Kingdom Top 10 since "Reflections" in 1967.

<i>Right On</i> (The Supremes album) 1970 studio album by The Supremes

Right On is the nineteenth studio album by The Supremes, released in 1970 for the Motown label. It was the group's first album not to feature former lead singer Diana Ross. Her replacement, Jean Terrell, began recording Right On with Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong in mid-1969, while Wilson and Birdsong were still touring with Ross.

<i>New Ways but Love Stays</i> 1970 studio album by The Supremes

New Ways But Love Stays is the second studio album by the Jean Terrell-led Supremes. Building on the foundation of the group's first LP, Right On, New Ways was produced by Frank Wilson and features The Supremes' most successful single with Terrell, "Stoned Love".

Nathan Jones (song) 1971 single by The Supremes

"Nathan Jones" is a song by American girl group the Supremes from their twenty-third studio album, Touch (1971). It was released on April 15, 1971, as the album's lead single. Produced by Frank Wilson and written by Kathy Wakefield and Leonard Caston, "Nathan Jones" was one of eight top-40 entries the Supremes recorded after its original frontwoman, Diana Ross, left the group for a solo career.

<i>The Supremes</i> (1975 album) 1975 studio album by The Supremes

The Supremes is the twenty-seventh studio album by The Supremes, released in 1975 on Motown Records.

<i>The Supremes Produced and Arranged by Jimmy Webb</i> 1972 studio album by The Supremes

The Supremes Produced and Arranged by Jimmy Webb is the twenty-sixth studio album released by the Supremes on the Motown label in 1972. It was the only Supremes LP produced by a non-Motown artist, successful songwriter and producer Jimmy Webb, and was the last album to feature early-1970s Supremes lead singer Jean Terrell. Only one single from the album was released in the United States, the ballad "I Guess I'll Miss the Man" from the musical Pippin. Other non-Webb tracks included Joni Mitchell's "All I Want", Harry Nilsson's "Paradise" and covers of hits by Bobby Lewis and Mina, respectively "Tossin' and Turnin'" and "La voce del silenzio".

<i>Floy Joy</i> (album) 1972 studio album by The Supremes

Floy Joy is the twenty-fifth studio album released by The Supremes on the Motown label. This was the only Supremes album solely produced and arranged by Smokey Robinson and included the U.S. top 20 hit, "Floy Joy" and the U.S. top 40 hit, "Automatically Sunshine", both of which were top 10 hits in the U.K.

<i>The Magnificent 7</i> (album) 1970 studio album by The Supremes and The Four Tops

The Magnificent 7 is a collaborative album combining Motown's premier vocal groups, The Supremes and The Four Tops. Issued by Motown in 1970, it followed two collaborative albums the group did with The Temptations in the late 1960s. The album featured their hit cover of Ike & Tina Turner's "River Deep – Mountain High", which reached number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. In December 1971, Billboard reported UK album sales of 30,000 copies.

<i>The Return of the Magnificent Seven</i> 1971 studio album by The Supremes and The Four Tops

The Return of the Magnificent Seven is the second collaborative album between Motown label-mates The Supremes and Four Tops, released in 1971. The production only featured two covers compared to their first album together, The Magnificent 7, that included more than eight. Although the three albums the Supremes recorded with the Four Tops did not match the commercial success of the Supremes/Temptations duet albums, what they did have instead were original tunes, soulful lead vocals by Jean Terrell and Levi Stubbs and high production values in terms of arrangements and orchestration.

Floy Joy (song) 1971 single by The Supremes

"Floy Joy" is a song written by Smokey Robinson and released as a single in December 1971 by popular Motown female singing group The Supremes.

Automatically Sunshine 1972 single by The Supremes

"Automatically Sunshine" is a song written by Smokey Robinson and released as a single by Motown singing group The Supremes as the second single from their popular album Floy Joy in 1972.

Bad Weather 1973 single by The Supremes

"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 then-lead singer Jean Terrell's last charted single as a member of the Supremes and the second and last time Laurence was featured on a Supremes single.

Everybodys Got the Right to Love 1970 single by The Supremes

"Everybody's Got the Right to Love" is a socially conscious–inspired pop song written by Lou Stallman, produced by Frank Wilson and released as a single in 1970 by Motown group The Supremes, who took the song into the top forty in mid-1970 following the release of "Up the Ladder to the Roof".

Touch (The Supremes song) 1971 single by The Supremes

"Touch" is a soft ballad written by Pamela Sawyer and Frank Wilson, who also produced it as a single for Motown recording group The Supremes, who issued it as a single in 1971.

You Gotta Have Love in Your Heart 1971 single by The Supremes & The Four Tops

“You Gotta Have Love in Your Heart” is a duet single between Motown singing groups The Supremes and the Four Tops, released as a single from their The Return of the Magnificent 7 album in 1971. The single became a modest charter peaking at #55 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and #41 on the U.S. Billboard R&B Singles Chart. The single fared better in the UK, where it reached #25 in the official top 50 single chart. Lead vocals were by the groups' respective lead singers Jean Terrell and Levi Stubbs.

Promises Kept is an unreleased album by The Supremes, recorded during the latter half of 1971 with multiple producers. Ultimately, the project was shelved by Motown in favor of a different set, Floy Joy, produced entirely by Smokey Robinson the following year. The idea for the title came from Supreme Mary Wilson who said that "I'd heard the phrase and loved it. I wanted to use it on the next album."

Your Wonderful, Sweet Sweet Love 1972 single by The Supremes

"Your Wonderful, Sweet Sweet Love" is a song written by Smokey Robinson, recorded in October 1966 by Kim Weston. Her recording was not issued at the time as she left the label over a dispute over royalties in 1967. Weston's original version was first released in 2005.

I Guess Ill Miss the Man 1972 single by The Supremes

"I Guess I'll Miss the Man" is a song written by Stephen Schwartz and released as a single by Motown singing group The Supremes in 1972 from their album The Supremes Produced and Arranged by Jimmy Webb. Contrary to the album's title, the song was produced by Sherlie Matthews and Deke Richards. It peaked at 17 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart and 85 on the Hot 100.

References

  1. Lowe, John. Touch. at Allmusic. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  2. 1 2 "Pop Picks" (PDF). Cashbox . June 12, 1971. p. 31. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  3. "20 R&B Albums We Loved in the Seventies That You Never Heard". RollingStone.
  4. "The Supremes | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  5. "The Supremes Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  6. "The Supremes Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  7. "TOP 100 ALBUMS" (PDF). Cashbox . July 24, 1971. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  8. "THE ALBUM CHART: Week of August 7, 1971" (PDF). Record World . worldradiohistory.com. August 7, 1971. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  9. "THE R&B ALBUM CHART: Week of July 24, 1971" (PDF). Record World . worldradiohistory.com. July 24, 1971. p. 258. Retrieved 29 January 2021.