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Baby Love

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This article is about the song recorded by the Supremes. For other uses, see Baby Love (disambiguation).
"Baby Love"
File:The Supremes - Baby Love (Netherlands 1).png
Single by The Supremes
from the album Where Did Our Love Go
B-side"Ask Any Girl"
ReleasedSeptember 17, 1964
RecordedHitsville U.S.A. (Studio A);
August 13, 1964
Genre
Length2:34
LabelMotown
M 1066
Songwriter(s)Holland–Dozier–Holland[1]
Producer(s)
The Supremes singles chronology
"Where Did Our Love Go"
(1964) 		"Baby Love"
(1964) 		"Come See About Me"
(1964)
Audio sample

"Baby Love" is a song recorded by the American music group the Supremes in 1964 for their second studio album titled, Where Did Our Love Go. It was written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland[1] and was released on 17 September 1964.

Baby Love topped the Billboard pop singles chart in the United States from October 25, 1964 through November 21, 1964,[2][3][4][5] and in the United Kingdom pop singles chart concurrently. Beginning with "Baby Love", The Supremes became the first Motown act to have more than one American #1 single, and by the end of the decade, would have more singles hitting the top slot than any other Motown act (or American pop music group) with 12, a record they continue to hold.

It was nominated for the 1965 Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording, losing to Nancy Wilson's "How Glad I Am". It is considered one of the most popular songs of the late 20th century, "Baby Love" was ranked #324 on the Rolling Stone list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[6] It dropped to #499 on the 2021 update of the list.[7] The BBC ranked "Baby Love" at #23 on The Top 100 Digital Motown Chart, which ranks Motown releases by their all time UK downloads and streams.[8]

History

At the insistence of Berry Gordy hoping for a follow-up chart-topper, Holland–Dozier–Holland produced "Baby Love" to sound like "Where Did Our Love Go". Elements were reincorporated into the single such as Diana Ross's cooing lead vocal and oohing, Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson's "baby-baby" backup, the Funk Brothers' instrumental track, and teenager Mike Valvano's footstomping. Further, both Ballard and Wilson had brief solo ad-libs towards the end of the song on the released version (after this release Ross would be the only member to have any solos on the 1960s singles).

It was the second of five Supremes songs in a row to go to #1 in the United States, reaching the top spot of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart on October 31, 1964, and staying there for four weeks.[9] The song also reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks before being dislodged by The Rolling Stones' "Little Red Rooster",[1] and topped the Cash Box magazine's R&B chart.[10]

Billboard stated that "the swinging harmony style keeps [the song] rolling all the way through."[11]

"Baby Love" was later included on the soundtrack to the 1975 feature film Cooley High.

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[38]
Digital sales and streams only 		Silver 250,000‡
United States (RIAA)[41] Gold 1,000,000[39][40]

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions

  • In 1980, British singer and actress, Honey Bane covered the song at the request of EMI.[42] The single peaked at #58 on the UK music charts.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. pp. 85–6. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
  2. ^ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. 76 (44). Nielsen Company: 18. 1964. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
  3. ^ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. 76 (45). Nielsen Company: 18. 1964. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
  4. ^ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. 76 (46). Nielsen Company: 24. 1964. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
  5. ^ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. 76 (47). Nielsen Company: 22. 1964. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
  6. ^ "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. RollingStone.com. Archived from the original on December 10, 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
  7. ^ "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 15, 2021.
  8. ^ "The Top 100 Digital Motown Chart". BBC. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  9. ^ Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits. New York: Billboard Books. p. 159. ISBN 0823076776. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  10. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 558.
  11. ^ "Singles Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. September 26, 1964. p. 18. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
  12. ^ Simpson, Dave (2014-07-15). "The Supremes: how we made Baby Love". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  13. ^ "The Supremes: how we made Baby Love". The Guardian. July 15, 2014.
  14. ^ Jones, Laurence (January 20, 2019). "The Middle Finger Of Mike Terry: 40 Tunes Beating Motown At Their Own Game".
  15. ^ "Every Unique AMR Top 100 Single of the 1964". Top 100 Singles. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  16. ^ "The Supremes – Baby Love" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  17. ^ "The Supremes – Baby Love" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  18. ^ "TOP 40 &5" (PDF). RPM. November 23, 1964. p. 9. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  19. ^ "The Supremes – Baby Love" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  20. ^ a b "The Irish Charts – Search Results – The Supremes". Irish Singles Chart.
  21. ^ "The Supremes – Baby Love" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  22. ^ "Lever hit parades: 10-Dec-1964". Flavour of New Zealand.
  23. ^ "The Supremes – Baby Love". VG-lista.
  24. ^ "Billboard HITS OF THE WORLD". Billboard. 16 January 1965. p. 19.
  25. ^ "Billboard HITS OF THE WORLD". Billboard. 23 January 1965. p. 22.
  26. ^ a b "Supremes: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  27. ^ "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles". Cashbox. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  28. ^ "The CASH BOX Top 50 In R&B Locations". Cashbox. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  29. ^ "The Supremes Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  30. ^ "The Supremes Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
  31. ^ "100 TOP POPS: Week of November 7, 1964" (PDF). Record World. worldradiohistory.com. November 7, 1964. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  32. ^ "TOP 40 R&B: Week of November 7, 1964" (PDF). Record World. worldradiohistory.com. November 7, 1964. p. 85. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  33. ^ "TOP RECORDS OF 1964". Billboard. January 2, 1965. p. 6. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  34. ^ "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1965". Cashbox Magazine. Archived from the original on 2012-10-05. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  35. ^ "Top 100 1964 - UK Music Charts". Uk-charts.top-source.info. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
  36. ^ "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1965". Cashbox. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  37. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  38. ^ "British single certifications – Supremes – Baby Love". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  39. ^ Joseph Murrells (1984). Million Selling Records from the 1900s to the 1980s: An Illustrated Directory. B.T. Batsford. p. 199. ISBN 9780713438437. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  40. ^ MAKE IT BIG first girl vocal trio to make million-seller record list with three consecutive hits. Vol. 20. Johnson Publishing Company. June 1965. p. 81. ISSN 0012-9011. Retrieved 23 January 2020. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  41. ^ "American single certifications – Diana Ross & The Supremes – Baby Love". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  42. ^ Honey Bane - "Baby Love" (1980) single releases & credits at Discogs
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