Bad Weather
| "Bad Weather" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by The Supremes | ||||
| Released | March 22, 1973 | |||
| Format | Vinyl single | |||
| Recorded | 1973 | |||
| Genre | Soul, Funk, R&B | |||
| Length | 3:02 | |||
| Label |
Motown M 1225 | |||
| Writer(s) |
Stevie Wonder Ira Tucker, Jr. | |||
| Producer(s) | Stevie Wonder | |||
| The Supremes singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Bad Weather" is a song recorded and released as a single by Motown vocal group The Supremes in 1973. It was composed and produced by Stevie Wonder[1] The song was then-lead singer Jean Terrell's last charted single as a member of the Supremes and the second and last time brief group member Lynda Laurence was featured on a Supremes single.
Overview
Recording
By 1973, the Supremes' recording career was starting to decline. At that point, the lineup of Jean Terrell, Cindy Birdsong and Mary Wilson had splintered because of Birdsong's pregnancy. When recording for the group's 1972 album, Floy Joy wrapped up, Birdsong left on maternity leave and was temporarily replaced by former Wonderlove background singer, Lynda Laurence. Although it was Birdsong featured on every track, Laurence was featured on the cover of the album. This lineup of the group set on recording The Supremes Produced and Arranged by Jimmy Webb, but that album sold poorly. Undaunted, Laurence counted on her former mentor Stevie Wonder to help the group find a new sound. Wonder composed and produced the single "Bad Weather" under a funkier sound that the group had not been accustomed to.[1]
Reception
When the song was first issued to radio in the summer of 1973, the song caught some initial positive buzz mainly from the Supremes' R&B fan base. The group performed it to a receptive audience on Soul Train. But the buzz wore down as, according to Mary Wilson years later, it wasn't a favorite of Terrell's or Laurence's. The song charted on the Billboard charts peaking at number 87 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 74 on the R&B singles chart. The song only peaked at the Top 40 of the UK singles chart at number 37. Shortly after this single was released, Terrell and Laurence left the Supremes. Cindy Birdsong returned from her maternity leave, and Mary Wilson hired Scherrie Payne as the new co-lead singer. The next Supremes project would take two more years to come out. In 1975, the group released the disco single "He's My Man" with Wilson and Payne on lead.
Personnel
- Lead vocals by Jean Terrell
- Background vocals by Jean Terrell and Mary Wilson and Lynda Laurence (also ad-lib solo on outro)
- Produced, written and arranged by Stevie Wonder
