Meet The Supremes

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Meet the Supremes is the debut studio album by The Supremes, released in late 1962 on Motown. The LP includes the group's earliest singles: "I Want a Guy", "Buttered Popcorn", "Your Heart Belongs to Me" and "Let Me Go the Right Way". The earliest recordings on this album, done between fall 1960 and fall 1961, feature the Supremes as a quartet composed of teenagers Diane Ross, Mary Wilson, Florence Ballard, and Barbara Martin. Martin left the group in early 1962 to start a family, and the other three girls continued as a trio. Martin is not pictured on the album because of her departure earlier in the year; although her vocals are present on the majority of the recordings on the album (as well as other recordings made during that period), she never received any royalties from album sales. She does have a spoken interlude line (as do the other group members) on the bridge of the song "(He's) Seventeen", and also sings lead on "After All", a song recorded for but not originally included on the album. Along with these songs, Ballard and Wilson are heard out front on other songs as well. Wilson sings lead on "The Tears" (another former non-album track) and "Baby Don't Go"; Ballard has leads on a handful of songs as well (see below), including "Buttered Popcorn" and the short intro line to "Let Me Go the Right Way".

None of these singles charted within the top 40 of the Billboard Pop Singles chart, leading to the group being referred to around the Motown offices as the "no-hit" Supremes. By the time of their next LP, Where Did Our Love Go, the Supremes would have two top 40 hits to their name, one of them, "Where Did Our Love Go", a number-one hit.

Meet The Supremes was originally issued only in monaural sound. A stereo remix of the album, with a new cover, was issued along with the original mono version in 1965. Additionally, a deluxe two compact disc edition was released by Hip-O Select in the spring of 2010, which included both the mono and stereo versions of the album, as well as several outtakes, non-album tracks and live performances.

The original album track order contained ten songs. Side 1: Your Heart Belongs To Me; Who's Lovin' You; Baby Don't Go; Buttered Popcorn; I Want A Guy. Side 2: The Boy That Got Away; You Bring Back Memories; Play A Sad Song; Never Again; (He's) Seventeen. This configuration was withdrawn to include the current hit, "Let Me Go The Right Way" and the B-side, "Time Changes Things". "The Boy That Got Away" was withdrawn from the line-up, giving the album 11 tracks. [Deluxe Version "Meet The Supremes" 2010].

Though the album made little to no impact on the US album charts, in 1962, when it was released in the UK in 1964 it managed to peak at #8 on the UK Albums Chart, with some versions of the UK album having a slightly different track listing which featured some songs from their next album Where Did Our Love Go.

Track listing

Side one

1. "Your Heart Belongs to Me" (Smokey Robinson)
2. "Who's Lovin' You" (Smokey Robinson)
3. "Baby Don't Go" (Berry Gordy, Jr.)
4. "Buttered Popcorn" (Gordy, Barney Ales)
5. "I Want a Guy" (Gordy, Brian Holland, Freddie Gorman)

Side two

1. "Let Me Go the Right Way" (Gordy)
2. "You Bring Back Memories" (Robinson)
3. "Time Changes Things" (B. Holland, Janie Bradford, Lamont Dozier)
4. "Play a Sad Song" (Gordy)
5. "Never Again" (Gordy)
6. "(He's) Seventeen" (Raynoma Liles, Marv Johnson)

Early Supremes tracks originally not included on album

Other tracks that were recorded along the same timeline that could have been included on the album include:

• "The Tears" (Robinson)
  • Produced Smokey Robinson, featuring Mary Wilson on lead vocals
• "Save Me a Star" (Gordy, Gwen Gordy Fuqua, Bradford)
  • Produced by Berry Gordy, Jr., featuring Florence Ballard on lead vocals
• "Heavenly Father" (Edna McGriff)
  • Produced by Berry Gordy, Jr., featuring Florence Ballard on lead vocals
• "Hey Baby" (Gordy)
  • Produced by Berry Gordy, Jr., featuring Florence Ballard on lead vocals
  • There were 4 different recordings of this song done during this period
• "After All" (Robinson)
  • Produced by Berry Gordy, Jr. & Smokey Robinson, a rare track that features all four group members - including early member Barbara Martin - taking a lead verse
• "Because I Love Him" (Gordy)
  • a cover of Eddie Holland's "Because I Love Her"
  • Produced by Berry Gordy, Jr., featuring Diana Ross on lead vocals
• "Tears Of Sorrow" (Richard Morris, Diana Ross, Florence Ballard)
  • a cover of the group's Lu Pine Records single (when they were The Primettes)
  • Produced by Berry Gordy, Jr., featuring Diana Ross on lead vocals
• "The Boy That Got Away" (Gordy)
  • Produced by Berry Gordy, Jr., featuring Diana Ross on lead vocals
  • Interestingly the second pressing of the album with the alternate artwork incorrectly lists this song as being included on side two
• "You're Gonna Come To Me" (Gordy)
  • There were 4 different recordings of this song - 3 recordings were done as the group was a quartet, 1 recording was done as the group was a trio
  • Produced by Berry Gordy, Jr. (vers. 1-3) or Brian Holland & Lamont Dozier (ver. 4), featuring Diana Ross on lead vocals
• "Those DJ Shows" (Robinson)
  • Produced Smokey Robinson, featuring Diana Ross on lead vocals
• "Too Hot" (Gordy)
  • Produced by Berry Gordy, Jr., featuring Diana Ross on lead vocals
  • There were 4 different recordings of this song done during this period
• "(You Can) Depend On Me" (Gordy, Robinson)
  • Produced by Berry Gordy, Jr., featuring Diana Ross on lead vocals

All of these recordings have been released in various Supremes/Motown compilations, and (except for "You're Gonna Come To Me" & "Tears Of Sorrow") were added to the album as bonus tracks in the 2010 CD reissue.

2010 Expanded CD bonus trackslist

1. "Your Heart Belongs To Me" (Live 1962)
2. "I Want A Guy" (Live 1962)
3. "Time Changes Things" (Live 1962)
4. "Let Me Go The Right Way" (Live 1962)
5. "After All" (Stereo Mix)
6. "(You Can) Depend On Me" (Version 2)
7. "The Boy That Got Away" (Alternate Mix)
8. "Hey Baby" (Version 2)
9. "Too Hot" (Version 1)
10. "Buttered Popcorn" (Version 3)
11. "Buttered Popcorn" (Version 4)
12. "I Want A Guy" (Version 1)
13. "Who’s Lovin’ You" (Stereo Mix w/Mono Vocal)
14. "Because I Love Him" (Version 2)
15. "Save Me A Star" (Stereo Mix)
16. "Heavenly Father" (Stereo Mix)
17. "Those DJ Shows" (Stereo Mix)
18. "The Tears" (Stereo Mix)
19. "Your Heart Belongs To Me" (Version 1)
20. "I’m Giving You Your Freedom" (Alternate Mix) (Holland-Dozier-Holland)
21. "Run, Run, Run" (Live 1964) (Holland-Dozier-Holland)
22. "Standing At The Crossroads Of Love" (Live 1964) (Holland-Dozier-Holland)
23. "Anyone Who Had A Heart" (Live 1964) (Burt Bacharach, Hal David)
24. "Time Changes Things" (Live 1964)
25. "Make Someone Happy" (Live 1964) (Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Jule Styne)
26. "Let Me Go The Right Way" (Live 1964)
27. "When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes" (Live 1964) (Holland-Dozier-Holland)

Personnel

• Diane Ross, Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson and Barbara Martin: lead and background vocals
• The Funk Brothers: instrumentation
• Berry Gordy: producer (some tracks); Album executive producer
• Smokey Robinson: producer (some tracks)
• Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier: producers on "Time Changes Things"
• Raymona Liles Gordy: musitron & ondioline instrumentation (some tracks); producer on "(He's) Seventeen"

Singles history

• "I Want a Guy" b/w "Never Again" (Tamla 54038, March 9, 1961)
• "Buttered Popcorn" b/w "Who's Lovin' You" (Tamla 54045, July 21, 1961; re-recorded version issued in August)
• "Your Heart Belongs to Me" b/w "(He's) Seventeen" (Motown 1027, May 8, 1962)
• "Let Me Go the Right Way" b/w "Time Changes Things" (Motown 1034, November 22, 1962)

Chart history

Album

Name	Chart (1964)	Peak position
Meet The Supremes	UK Albums Chart	13

Singles

Name	Chart (1961–1962)	Peak position
"Your Heart Belongs to Me"	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	95
"Let Me Go the Right Way"	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	90
	U.S. Billboard R&B Singles	26