As they conquered all earlier than them within the mid-Sixties, the Supremes actually couldn’t be accused of missing versatilty.
Berry Gordy’s imaginative and prescient of a trio of entertainers whose attraction may traverse each style and demographic was realised in a 1964-65 blizzard of three albums in simply six months. The group addressed Beatlemania and the early British invasion (A Bit Of Liverpool), the Nashville scene (to a level, at the least, on The Supremes Sing Nation, Western & Pop), after which the current passing of a seminal soul man, on We Keep in mind Sam Cooke.
Florence shines
The nice vocal stylist and songwriter died prematurely in December 1964, prompting the Supremes to enter the studio within the new yr to chop a set of Cooke’s best-loved songs. They included the immortal “You Send Me,” “Chain Gang,” and “Wonderful World.” Amid the standard preponderance of lead vocals by Diana Ross, there was additionally an opportunity for Florence Ballard to shine, as she stepped stage centre for the closing “(Ain’t That) Good News.”
Because the group continued to be marketed to the widest doable viewers, We Keep in mind Sam Cooke entered the US album chart – at a modest No.139 – on Might 8, 1965. This was at the same time as they had been hovering up the Sizzling 100, 66-38 that very same week, with the tune that will grow to be their fifth consecutive No.1 single, “Back In Your Arms Again.” In the meantime, Sam’s music turned a part of their stay set, together with on the Copacabana in New York. The album The Supremes At The Copa was recorded there, full with a Cooke medley, in the summertime of 1965.
‘Fine interpretations of his material’
We Keep in mind Sam Cooke peaked solely at No.75 on Billboard’s pop LP chart, however hit No.5 on the R&B countdown. The journal’s assessment enthused that “the trio’s salute to Cooke results in fine interpretations of his material and displays their versatility as they segue from the raucous ‘Chain Gang’ to the smooth rhythm of ‘Only Sixteen,’ to a wild, rocking version of ‘Shake.’”
Take heed to one of the best of Diana Ross & the Supremes on Apple Music and Spotify.
The tribute was a poignant one for the group, particularly as that they had met Cooke early of their Motown profession, as they sought the success that proved initially elusive. In her autobiography Dreamgirls, Mary Wilson remembered them being launched to Sam at Detroit’s well-known Flame Bar & Grill, the place he “wished us luck and told us to keep up the good work. We were so thrilled.”
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