Song #116 - "Where Did Our Love Go" - The Supremes

Recorded - April 8, 1964

Released - June 17, 1964

#1 for weeks of August 22 and 29, 1964. 

     Motown had become a very successful label by 1964, charting high on both the R&B and the pop charts. It was also this year that one of the label's most successful girl groups had their first #1 hit. That group of course being The Supremes. Consisting of Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, and Florence Ballard, the trio originally were known as The Primettes and worked with future members of The Temptations. As The Supremes, they released eight singles which got only between 23rd and 129th on the charts. Then suddenly in 1964, they struck gold with "Where Did Our Love Go". What is it about this song that it became such a smash hit?

     Well, you just have to hear the song's opening to know what got people's attention: Those handclaps/footstomps, (the sound was actually created via planks of wood). Then you have Diana Ross' lead vocals which are similar in style to Mary Wells, but with a bit more of a sweet soprano vocal feel. Furthermore, there's several vocal hooks such as Mary and Florence's answering backing vocals and the much repeated "Baby, baby". Put all of these hooks and tricks together and it's no surprise that this song was destined for the top of the pops.  

     "Where Did Our Love Go" was written by renowned songwriting trio Holland-Dozier-Holland, who ended up writing twenty five of Motown's number one singles. One of the trio, Eddie Holland, already had a hit on his own with "Leaving Here". "Where Did Our Love Go" wasn't the first H-D-H song given to The Supremes, in fact it was their third. I guess you can say this was a case of "Third time's the charm". 

     Aside from this song's many hooks and its exciting musical and vocal melody, did it deserve to be such a big hit? Well, I do consider one other Supremes song from 1964 to be even better (You'll find that out in review #120). Sure, this song may be another example of a pure pop song that the singer did not write themselves, but I personally feel it is a gold standard pop song, from one of the finest timeless R&B record labels. 

Final Verdict - "Where Did Our Love Go" shows off a brand new and fresh sound for The Supremes and it is this freshness that everybody, including myself, picked up on. Give it a spin and hear for yourself. 

     Coming Up Next - "The House Of The Rising Sun" by The Animals. 

                  Until Next Time - I'm Dr. Rock, baby baby -