   #copyright

Where Did Our Love Go

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Musical Recordings and
compositions

   "Where Did Our Love Go"
   "Where Did Our Love Go" cover
   Single by The Supremes
   from the album Where Did Our Love Go
   Released June 17, 1964
   Format 7" single
   Recorded Hitsville USA (Studio A); April 8, 1964
   Genre Soul/ pop
   Length 2:33
   Label Motown
   M 1060
   Writer(s) Holland-Dozier-Holland
   Producer(s) Brian Holland
   Lamont Dozier
   Chart positions
     * #1 ( US Pop Singles)
     * #3 ( UK Singles Chart)

   The Supremes singles chronology
   "Run Run Run"
   (1964) "Where Did Our Love Go"
   (1964) " Baby Love"
   (1964)

   "Where Did Our Love Go" is a 1964 hit song recorded by The Supremes for
   the Motown label. Written and produced by Motown's main production team
   Holland-Dozier-Holland, "Where Did Our Love Go" was the first single by
   the Supremes to go to the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100
   singles chart, a position it held for two weeks, from August 16 to
   August 29, 1964. It was also the first of five Supremes songs in a row
   to reach number one (the others are " Baby Love", " Come See About Me",
   " Stop! In the Name of Love", and " Back in My Arms Again").

History

Overview

   Holland-Dozier-Holland had originally composed the song and prepared
   the instrumental track for The Marvelettes to record it. The
   Marvelettes rejected the song, thinking it childish, and H-D-H offered
   it to the Supremes, who by early 1964 had only one top-forty hit, "When
   the Lovelights Starts Shining Through His Eyes", and eight failed
   singles. Although the Supremes were apprehensive at first about the
   song, they decided that they really didn't have a choice in the matter.

   Upon learning the Supremes had chosen to record "Where Did Our Love
   Go", the Marvelettes warned the girls to stand up for themselves and
   not just take anything H-D-H would give them. As a result, when the
   song was recorded on April 8, 1964, there was a bit of animosity on the
   part of the Supremes towards singing the song. Lamont Dozier was forced
   at one point to redo the arrangement of the background vocals,
   replacing the original, more complex backing with simple repetitions of
   the word "baby".

   One of the most famous aspects of "Where Did Our Love Go" was its
   rhythm section, comprised primarily of footstomps. The sound effect was
   performed by an Italian-American teenager named Mike Valvano, who
   stomped down upon two wooden boards suspended by strings, to create the
   aural illusion of a group of foot-stompers. Handclaps were overdubbed
   for the 45 RPM single mix of the song.

   Since the lead vocal was originally written to be sung by the
   Marvelettes' lead singer Gladys Horton, it was arranged in a register
   lower than the Supremes' lead singer Diana Ross' natural register. The
   resulting vocal track had a sensual appeal not present in Ross'
   earlier, more juvenile-sounding work, and she elatedly rushed to Motown
   chief Berry Gordy's office, and dragged him to the basement studio at
   Hitsville U.S.A. to hear it. Upon hearing the finished song, Gordy
   remarked that the song had potential, possibly enough to make it to the
   top ten.

Release and reaction

   "Where Did Our Love Go" was released as a single on June 17, 1964, and
   entered the Hot 100 at number seventy-seven. Six weeks later, while the
   Supremes were on tour as part of Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars, the
   song made it to number one for two weeks. The girls began the tour at
   the bottom of the bill; by the conclusion of the tour, they were at the
   top.

   The song became the focal point and title track of the group's second
   album, Where Did Our Love Go, released later that year. A German
   language version of the song was recorded by the Supremes for
   German-speaking markets overseas.

Cover versions

   Several significant covers of "Where Did Our Love Go" have been
   released over the years, including a 1971 version by Donnie Elbert. The
   J. Geils Band covered the song on their live 1976 album Blow Your Face
   Out, and also charted at #68 with it. Soft Cell combined their cover of
   "Where Did Our Love Go" with a cover of Gloria Jones' " Tainted Love".
   In 1998, The Spice Girls included "Where Did Our Love Go" in their 1998
   Spiceworld Tour, where Baby Spice Emma Bunton performed a solo version
   of the song. 2000s pop group The Pussycat Dolls also recorded a joint
   cover of "Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go."

Credits

     * Lead vocals by Diana Ross
     * Background vocals by Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson
     * All instruments by the Funk Brothers
     * Footstomps by Mike Valvano

   Preceded by:
   " Everybody Loves Somebody" by Dean Martin Billboard Hot 100 number one
   single
   August 22, 1964 Succeeded by:
   " The House of the Rising Sun" by The Animals
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_Did_Our_Love_Go"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
