It was more than a record-setting chart sweep that began when "Where Did Our Love Go" made DIANA ROSS AND THE SUPREMES into household names in the summer of 1964. It was really a love affair -- between three women and the world. Along with the charmed circle of Motown singers, writers, producers and players, they re-wrote the book on pop music in the Sixties and Seventies.
"Where Did Our Love Go," written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland, established a sound and a group in one giant step, with Diana Ross's bright, insinuating lead, and hypnotic repeating counterpoint from Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard. The Supremes left Detroit in early summer on a Dick Clark tour bus at the bottom of the bill, but with excitement mounting, they returned with their first No. 1 record of five in a row.
Within a year, Diana Ross and the Supremes notched up six No. 1 pop singles, and they would post another six pop chart-toppers by the end of the decade. But the fact of that accomplishment is only one facet of the group's significance. The sound was so refreshing, the look so flawless, and the vibe so compelling that Diana Ross and the Supremes became no less than a defining reference point for America, for admiring musicians and fans worldwide, and for successive generations of female pop artists.
The Motown Sound was a powerful hybrid. Holland-Dozier-Holland and the legendary Motown rhythm players used blues, jazz, R&B, classical and pop devices to craft a run of Supremes hits that was danceable, melodic and diverse; funky and classy, all at once. When British pop-rock invaded the world and obsoleted most American teen acts, Motown's mix of ghetto soul and pop polish rocketed Detroit's talented artists onto center stage. The Supremes' "Baby Love" was the only record by an American group to top the British charts in 1964. Motown's ingenious new fusion was the new sound that no one could duplicate -- and everybody in pop and R&B tried.
Every variation on the Supremes theme was recognizably theirs, yet fresh and individual. If "Baby Love," the second Supremes No. 1, was crafted in a classic follow-up strategy, the sophisticated yet swinging "I Hear a Symphony" took the formula to the sparkling musical and emotional conclusion. In the other three No. 1's of that magic first year, "Come See About Me," "Stop! in the Name of Love," and "Back in My Arms Again," the piston-like four-four Motown beat evolved into a classic trademark sound. But each song's fierce arsenal of hooks -- in arrangement, story line, and even choreography -- made each of them a real re-invention, and an unforgettable episode in a continuing love story.
With six No. 1 records in a little over a year, Diana Ross and the Supremes all but owned the word "baby" -- and they put a unmistakable claim on the word "classic," too. The dominance of the group in the pop arena reminded the entire world how much of popular culture was rooted in America's black community. Their music was helping to redefine America as a multi-cultural society, in the eyes of the world, and in the nation's own eyes. Motown's hard work ethic, upward mobility and inclusive mentality exemplified the American dream for many. So pervasive was the Motown drive that founder Berry Gordy Jr. once issued a company memo directing that "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 release only 1 records."
This ambition has made the Motown system the avowed role model for every entrepreneur that followed in the music industry. It also made Diana Ross and the Supremes' body of work an absolute amazement of riches: it's hard, without the charts in front of you, to recall which were No. 1's and which weren't, since they all sound like No 1's in retrospect. "My World is Empty Without You," a moody introspection worthy of "Bernadette," was followed up by the locomotive "Love is Like an Itching in My Heart," all bluesy sentiment, with a Smokey-esque rhyme scheme. Put it on and see if that Supremes A Go Go album cover doesn't materialize in your mind's eye, with Diana whipping her hair back. Diana Ross and the Supremes' hits turned out to be both timely and timeless: the rhythm and drama of "You Keep Me Hangin' On" predicted disco's hyperactivity, while "Reflections" and "Love Child" responded to shifting musical and social trends, but maintained the emotional immediacy of the first Supremes hits. They forged a Tin Pan Alley-like fusion in "You Can't Hurry Love," and more pop classicism of the purest sort followed, in "Someday We'll Be Together."
The visuals of Diana Ross and the Supremes were imprinted on America's consciousness at the same time that their run of hits was mounting. The lush sound of "Love is Here and Now You're Gone," which kicked off 1967 at No. 1, was of a piece with the group's runway glamor and uptown chic. The movie theme "The Happening" was another key chart-topper for a group that had led Motown off the Motortown Revue buses and onto the stages of Vegas and the New York supper clubs. Berry Gordy's determination to groom and present Motown acts in every corner of the world, and in every entertainment medium, would lead Diana Ross and the Supremes to co-starring turns with legendary labelmates The Temptations in two top-rated television specials, Takin' Care of Business and Get It Together on Broadway, and in a top 10 single, "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me."
None of the music seemed to date itself, as Supremes songs were remade repeatedly while the originals continued to play on radio, in movies and TV. It proved this: the sound of young America spoke to the dreams of young America. The Supremes phenomenon is often documented with iconic images -- wigs and lashes; homemade teenage dresses that transformed, Cinderella-like, into designer couture; three beautiful faces in repose or in the heat of performance; and that unforgettable Stop!, gesture, to name just a few. But the significance of this success story weren't to be found in the freeze-famed past. The real ripple effects were to be seen in the world itself -- in the cultural significance of putting three beautiful black women on The Ed Sullivan Show.
---- Dissabte, 05-12-2009 Trobada de ràdios reggae i ska: Amb els Dj's de
TALKOVER (Ràdio Alcover) GANJA NIGHTS (Ràdio St Pere i St Pau - Tarragona) BLUEBEATS FM (Ràdio Rubi) BORINOT BORINOT (Ràdio Sellarès Gavà/Viladecans) RUDE TIME (Ràdio Trama -Sabadell)
Ateneu Llibertari de Sabadell Ptge/ Edardo Riccetti (50m de la plaça Marcet)
All eyes are on Canada as it prepares to host the 2010 Winter Olympics. This extra Attention will bring increased scrutiny and comes with the added responsibility of setting a positive example for the world.
To host the Olympic Games should be a Honour for every Country.
But the Olympic Games should only host Countrys who respect Animal Rights and Human Rights.
The World is watching to Canada and People all over the World are outraged over the Seal Slaughter, they will not longer accept this Massacre.
Each Year hundreds of thousands of Baby harp seals are slaughtered on the Ice Fields off Canadas East Coast for their Pelts. 95% off the Seals killed during this Hunt are just Days or Weeks old.
Baby seals stand no chance against club-wielding trappers, and they must look on as fellow pups are bludgeoned to death before meeting the same bloody fate. The anguish that a mother seal feels as she watches her baby being beaten to death just a few feet away from her is horrifying and can be heard in her desperate cries and seen in her attempts to get to her baby.
If you were to witness this Cruelty personaly your Heart would break.
Shockingly, the Hunt subsidized by the canadian Government!
The 2009 Seal Slaughter has ended. But we dont stop fighting untill the Seal Hunt ends forever.
Please give your Voice to the voiceless Baby Seals. They can not speak for themselve, we must speak for them.
No Olympics on Stolen Land
BC remains largely unceded and non-surrendered Indigenous territories. According
The Olympics are not about the human spirit & have little to do with athletic excellence; they are a multi-billion dollar industry backed by powerful elites, real estate, construction, hotel, tourism and television corporations, working hand in hand with their partners in crime: government officials & members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
1. Colonialism & Fascism
The modern Olympics have a long history of racism, from its early founding members (i.e., Pierre de Coubertin, a French Baron who advocated sports as a means of strengthening colonialism) to recent IOC presidents. The 1936 Berlin Olympics empowered Hitler%u2019s Nazi regime. Both the 1988 Seoul and 2008 Beijing Summer Games helped legitimize authoritarian regimes in Asia. The 1968 Mexico City Olympics (where over 300 student protesters were massacred by soldiers, days before the Olympics began) also helped legitimize state terror. IOC President Avery Brundage, an infamous US racist and Nazi sympathizer, didn%u2019t even acknowledge the massacre. But when two Black US athletes raised their fists in a Black power salute on the medal podium, he had them immediately stripped of their medals and ejected from the Games! Another well-known fascist IOC president was Juan Antonio Samaranch (IOC president from 1980-2001), a former government official in Franco%u2019s fascist regime in Spain.
2. No Olympics on Stolen Land
BC remains largely unceded and non-surrendered Indigenous territories. According to Canadian law, BC has neither the legal nor moral right to exist, let alone claim land and govern over Native peoples. Despite this, and a fraudulent treaty process now underway, the government continues to sell, lease and %u2018develop%u2019 Native land for the
Who's version of "What becomes of a Broken Hearted" is best. The Supremes(cover), Jimmy Ruffin(original) or Joe Cocker(cover). Go to my soul/R&B/Pop profile and vote.
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