The Supremes Sing Rodgers & Hart

The Supremes Sing Rodgers & Hart
Studio album by The Supremes
Released	May 22, 1967
Recorded	1966-1967
Genre	Pop, R&B, show tunes
Label	Motown MS 659
Producer	Berry Gordy Gil Askey
The Supremes chronology
The Supremes Sing Holland–Dozier–Holland (1967)The Supremes Sing Holland–Dozier–Holland1967 The Supremes Sing Rodgers & Hart (1967) Greatest Hits (1967)Greatest Hits1967

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

The Supremes Sing Rodgers & Hart is the eleventh studio album released by The Supremes for Motown in 1967. The album is wholly composed of covers of show tunes written by the songwriting duo of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. The album was the final album released before The Supremes' name was changed to "Diana Ross & the Supremes," and member Florence Ballard was replaced by Cindy Birdsong. It reached #20 in the USA and ultimately sold around 500,000 copies.^[2]

Originally intended as a double album, The Supremes Sing Rodgers & Hart was halved before Motown issued it in May 1967. In 1986, two unreleased tracks from the Rodgers & Hart sessions were included in the Diana Ross & the Supremes' 25th Anniversary collection. Several more were included alongside the original twelve LP tracks on The Rodgers & Hart Collection, an expanded compact disc collection released by Motown in 1987. All of the sessions, including a bonus live recording, were included on the 2002 Motown/Universal release The Supremes Sing Rodgers & Hart: The Complete Recordings.

Track listing

All tracks written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, produced by Berry Gordy and Gil Askey.

Side one

1. "The Lady Is a Tramp"
2. "Mountain Greenery"
3. "This Can't Be Love"
4. "Where or When"
5. "Lover"
6. "My Funny Valentine"

Side two

1. "My Romance"
2. "My Heart Stood Still"
3. "Falling in Love with Love"
4. "Thou Swell"
5. "Dancing on the Ceiling"
6. "Blue Moon"

Known outtakes

The following Rodgers/Hart compositions were also recorded by the Supremes for this album:

1. "Manhattan"
2. "The Blue Room"
3. "With a Song in My Heart"
4. "Spring is Here"
5. "Little Girl Blue"
6. "It Never Entered My Mind"
7. "There's a Small Hotel"
8. "You Took Advantage of Me"
9. "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered"
10. "Wait Till You See Him"
11. "I Didn't Know What Time It Was"
12. "Johnny One Note"
13. "I Could Write a Book"

Numbers 1 and 2 were first issued on the compilation Diana Ross & the Supremes' 25th Anniversary in 1986, while 3 through 12 were first issued on The Rodgers & Hart Collection in 1987. This collection sequenced the songs in order from slowest tempo to fastest, concluding with "Johnny One Note", and all the tracks were given new stereo mixes. All of these songs, plus a live medley of "The Lady is a Tramp/Let's Get Away from It All" recorded at the Copacabana in May 1967, were included in the collection The Supremes Sing Rodgers & Hart: The Complete Recordings in 2002. The versions of "You Took Advantage of Me" and "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" included on the 2002 collection are alternate recordings to those previously issued. "I Could Write A Book" was previously unreleased and included on the 2002 collection. "Manhattan" was done as a duet with Florence Ballard and Diana Ross.

They promoted the album as special guest stars in an hour-long tribute to Rodgers & Hart on a network television special. The album reached the Top 20 of the Billboard Top 200 and a peak of #3 on the Billboard R&B Album chart.

Personnel

• Diana Ross – lead vocals
• Mary Wilson – background vocals, co-lead vocal on "Falling in Love with Love"
• Florence Ballard – background vocals, co-lead harmony vocal on "Manhattan"

Charts

References