Nothing But Heartaches

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“Nothing But Heartaches”
Single by The Supremes
from the album More Hits by the Supremes
B-side "He Holds His Own"
Released July 16, 1965
Format 7" single
Recorded Hitsville USA (Studio A); May 13 and May 17, 1965
Genre Soul/pop
Length 2:59
Label Motown
M 1080
Writer(s) Holland-Dozier-Holland
Producer Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland
The Supremes singles chronology
"Back in My Arms Again"
(1965)		 "Nothing But Heartaches"
(1965)		 "I Hear a Symphony"
(1965)

"Nothing But Heartaches" is a 1965 hit song recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label. Written and produced by Motown songwriting and producing team Holland-Dozier-Holland, it was notable for breaking the string of number-one singles the group recorded consecutively during that time.

Contents

[edit] Overview

[edit] Recording

By the spring of 1965, the Supremes had elevated from regional R&B favorites to an internationally successful pop group thanks to a series of five consecutive number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100: "Where Did Our Love Go", "Baby Love", "Come See About Me", "Stop! In the Name of Love" and "Back in My Arms Again". Known for creating repetitive follow-ups, Motown at this time was relying on a formula to create songs with a similar sound present in records by The Temptations, The Four Tops and Marvin Gaye among other recording acts.

Sure that they had finally found a successful formula, Berry Gordy had Holland-Dozier-Holland create a song similar to several of their earlier hit singles. As expected, "Nothing But Heartaches" had a similar sound to "Stop! In the Name of Love" and "Back in My Arms Again". Gordy felt confident that the song would become their sixth consecutive number-one hit.

[edit] Reception

Response to "Nothing But Heartaches" was less of a success as Gordy predicted, as it peaked at number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100. The song's more modest Top 20 charting prompted Gordy to circulate a memo around the Motown offices:

"We will release nothing less than Top Ten product on any artist; and because the Supremes' world-wide acceptance is greater than the other artists, on them we will only release number-one records."

After canceling the release of "Mother Dear", which was supposed to be the next single after "Nothing But Heartaches", Holland-Dozier-Holland produced "I Hear a Symphony", which featured a very different sound. The success of "I Hear a Symphony" returned The Supremes back to the number-one spot and they eventually release twelve number-one hits in total by the end of the sixties.

[edit] Credits