Showing posts with label Stop! In the Name of Love. Show all posts

Sunday, March 26, 2017

Diana Ross/The Supremes: Top 50 Songs

image from washingtonblade.com

Diana Ross was born in Detroit, Michigan on March 26, 1944. As a member of the Supremes, she topped the Billboard charts twelve times and helped establish them as the top female group of all time. She left the group in 1970, but launched straight into a successful solo career. In celebration of her birthday, here are her top 50 songs of all time, with and without the Supremes. #1 songs are noted as follows: #1 US (Billboard pop chart), #1 AC (Billboard adult contemporary chart), #1 RB (Billboard R&B chart), and #1 UK (the UK charts).

The Top 50 Diana Ross/Supremes Songs

Where Did Our Love Go

1. Endless Love (with Lionel Richie, 1981) #1 US, #1 RB, #1 AC
2. Stop! In the Name of Love (The Supremes, 1965) #1 US
3. Where Did Our Love Go (The Supremes, 1964) #1 US, #1 RB
4. Baby Love (The Supremes, 1964) #1 US, #1 RB, #1 UK
5. You Can’t Hurry Love (The Supremes, 1966) #1 US, #1 RB
6. Upside Down (1980) #1 US, #1 RB
7. Ain’t No Mountain High Enough (1970) #1 US, #1 RB
8. You Keep Me Hangin’ On (The Supremes, 1966) #1 US, #1 RB
9. Love Child (The Supremes, 1968) #1 US
10. Someday We’ll Be Together (The Supremes, 1969) #1 US, #1 RB

Stop! In the Name of Love

11. Love Hangover (1976) #1 US, #1 RB
12. Touch Me in the Morning (1973) #1 US, #1 AC
13. Do You Know Where You’re Going To (Theme from ‘Mahogany’) (1975) #1 US, #1 AC
14. Come See About Me (The Supremes, 1964) #1 US
15. I’m Gonna Make You Love Me (The Supremes with the Temptations, 1968)
16. I Hear a Symphony (The Supremes, 1965) #1 US
17. I’m Coming Out (1980)
18. Back in My Arms Again (The Supremes, 1965) #1 US, #1 RB
19. Reflections (The Supremes, 1967)
20. Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1981)

21. The Happening (The Supremes, 1967) #1 US
22. The Last Time I Saw Him (1973) #1 AC
23. Muscles (1982)
24. Love Is Here and Now You’re Gone (The Supremes, 1967) #1 US, #1 RB
25. Missing You (1984) #1 RB
26. Mirror, Mirror (1982)
27. All of You (with Julio Iglesias, 1984)
28. Remember Me (1970)
29. Reach Out and Touch Somebody’s Hand (1970)
30. It’s My Turn (1980)

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough

31. Love Is Like an Itching in My Heart (The Supremes, 1966)
32. Chain Reaction (1985) #1 UK
33. Ease on Down the Road (with Michael Jackson, 1978)
34. I’m Livin’ in Shame (The Supremes, 1969)
35. In and Out of Love (The Supremes, 1967)
36. When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes (The Supremes, 1974)
37. My Mistake Was to Love You (with Marvin Gaye, 1974)
38. My World Is Empty Without You (The Supremes, 1965)
39. The Boss (1979)
40. Gettin’ Ready for Love (1977)

Upside Down

41. Swept Away (1984)
42. Forever Came Today (The Supremes, 1968)
43. Nothing But Heartaches (The Supremes, 1965)
44. Pieces of Ice (1983)
45. You’re a Special Part of Me (with Marvin Gaye, 1973)
46. Some Things You Never Get Used To (The Supremes, 1968)
47. I’m Still Waiting (1971) #1 UK
48. I’ll Try Something New (The Supremes with the Temptations, 1969)
49. Good Morning Heartache (1973)
50. The Composer (The Supremes, 1969)

Endless Love

Awards:

Resources and Related Links:

Friday, March 27, 2015

50 years ago: The Supremes hit #1 with “Stop! In the Name of Love”

Stop! In the Name of Love

The Supremes

Writer(s): Brian Holland/Lamont Dozier/Eddie Holland (see lyrics here)

Released: February 8, 1965

First Charted: February 20, 1965

Peak: 1² US, 1¹ CB, 1¹ GR, 1¹ HR, 2 RB, 7 UK, 3 CN, 42 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.)

Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.12 UK, 1.12 world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 2.0 radio, 10.9 video, 104.52 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

This song grew out of an argument between Lamont Dozier – one of the songwriters – and his girlfriend. She was about to head out the door when he yelled “stop, in the name of love!,” a slight variation of the phrase “stop, in the name of the law.” ^TB It broke the tension and they both starting laughing over the silliness of the line. ^TC

Of course, Dozier was one-third of the famed Holland-Dozier-Holland writing team at Motown. They crafted many of Motown’s biggest hits, but were more associated with the Supremes than any other act. “’Stop!’ moves with the grace of HDH’s greatest productions.” ^DM Initially, the Supremes – Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, and Florence Ballad – thought the song was “insufficiently feminine, too forthright.” ^TC Once in the studio, however, they had fun with it. ^TC

As for the signature choreography, they were making a live appearance before having the moves for the song worked out. Moments before they went on stage, they worked with Motown head honcho Berry Gordy and a couple of the members of the Temptations to come up with the moves – in the mens’ room! ^SJ

The song became the trio’s fourth #1 out of five consecutive chart-toppers. In fact, they amassed a dozen #1 songs from 1964 through the end of the decade, giving them more trips to the top than any other American act in the 1960s. It also made them the most successful Motown act of the decade. ^TB

Resources:

^TC Toby Creswell (2005). 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time. Thunder’s Mouth Press: New York, NY. Page 570.
^DM Dave Marsh (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. New American Library: New York, NY. Pages 496-7.
^SJ Bob Shannon and John Javna (1986). Behind the Hits: Inside Stories of Classic Pop and Rock and Roll. Warner Brothers, Inc.: New York, NY. Pages 126-7.
^TB Thunder Bay Press. (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 76.

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