By Edgar (200.46.135.202) on Wednesday, March 12, 2003 - 06:02 pm:

Hello. Forty years ago, the Supremes broke the non-hit Supremes spell when they entered the Top 40 with "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes". I am coordinating a survey at Mary Wilson's board. Go there and nominate your favorite Supremes songs. You can nominate as many as you want, any line-up, as long as they are previously tracks (and you are a MW board registered member.) Nominations end on Friday, final selection will be during the weekend. Edgar.

By SisDetroit (68.42.209.170) on Wednesday, March 12, 2003 - 06:08 pm:

I didn't know you were a Mary Wilson fan, I would have been nicer. :o)

Peace!

By Edgar (200.46.135.202) on Wednesday, March 12, 2003 - 07:10 pm:

A fan to the grave! I didn't know why I sticked to the trio up to 1977, then I realized it was because of Piscean Mary Wilson. (I like almost everybody who is/was a Pisces: Robert Altman, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Elizabeth Taylor, Paula Prentiss, Mary...) I saw her perform long ago when I lived in Puerto Rico, with The Supremes (Cindy & Scherrie). Check her page at http://rateyourmusic.com/
It's a solitary place, but you can check your favorite artists, rate and review their albums or upload album covers. I opened pages for Mary, Richard "Pistol" Allen, Uriel Jones, Earl Van Dyke, Jack Ashford and dozens of others. The pages are very simple: the albums, their ratings and reviews. I spend hours there. The site is open to everybody.

By SisDetroit (68.42.209.170) on Wednesday, March 12, 2003 - 07:19 pm:

Thanks Edgar, I shall go there.

By Edgar (200.46.132.106) on Monday, March 17, 2003 - 07:18 am:

These were the results. 22 persons from the Mary Wilson Board voted the following 20 Top Supremes songs (in alphabetical order by votes, votes in brackets):

Back In My Arms Again (14)
Reflections (14)
Stoned Love (14)
Up the Ladder To the Roof (14)
Come See About Me (12)
Love Is Here and Now You're Gone (12)
I Hear a Symphony (11)
Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart (11)
The Happening (10)
Nathan Jones (10)
Stop! In the Name of Love (10)
You Can't Hurry Love (10)
In and Out of Love (9)
You Keep Me Hangin' On (9)
Baby Love (8)
Love Child (8)
My World Is Empty Without You (8)
Where Did Our Love Go (8)
Forever Came Today (7)
He's All I Got (7)

Interesting results: 2 songs from the 60's Supremes and 2 from the 70's tied in the first place. It is curious to see "Reflections" rating so well. I am glad about it. But my biggest surprise was the inclusion of "He's All I Got" in the list. I thought that "Everything Is Good About You" was also going to make it. One thing makes me a bit sad: "Someday We'll Be Together" was not included. It is one of the most beautiful productions ever released by Motown, with wonderful arrangements by Wade Marcus, great vocals by Diana, John Bristol and... The Waters. Maybe Supremes fans cannot help rejecting it because they know that Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong are not singing there, but it's the same case with "Love Child" (and apparently "Forever Came Today", both with The Andantes), which did make the list.

I was surprised at the low score of a gem like "You Keep Me Hangin' On", a classic display of the artistry of guitar players Robert White, Eddie Willis and Joe Messina, chosen among hundreds of Motown hits for a special mix in the movie "Standing In the Shadows of Motown" (along with Four Tops' "Bernadette").

Finally these other songs had more than 2 votes:
6 votes: Good News, He's My Man, Mother Dear, Touch.
5 votes: Floy Joy, I'm Gonna Let My Heart Do the Walking, It's All Been Said Before, Nothing But Heartaches.
4 votes: Ask Any Girl, Bad Weather, Come and Get These Memories, Everything Is Good About You, Going Down for the Third Time, The Loving Country.
3 votes: Automatically Sunshine, Bend a Little, A Breath Taking Guy, 5:30 Plane, Heaven Must Have Sent You, High Energy, How Long Has That Evening Train Been Gone, I'm Livin' In Shame, It's Time To Break Down, Misery Makes Its Home In My Heart, Someday We'll Be Together, Who Could Ever Doubt My Love.

By John Lester (62.49.61.57) on Monday, March 17, 2003 - 09:30 am:

In all my years of following Supremes polls, Reflections has always been at or near the top.

And as it is my favourite record of all time, I like to think I must have good taste in music too!! lol

By john dixon (205.188.209.38) on Monday, March 17, 2003 - 09:50 am:

we all appreciate your efforts, Edgar from Panama, and the results are very interesting to peruse but I'm curious as to whether such a high ranking for "Up The Ladder.." and "Stoned Love" are a result of the poll being conducted on Mary Wilson's thread. Both are good songs, without question, but pulling in nearly twice as many votes as "You Keep Me Hangin' On"? That's hard to believe...

By Edgar (200.46.133.72) on Monday, March 17, 2003 - 04:41 pm:

I don't know if it's a matter of credibility on anybody's part. In my case, I just counted the votes. I believe that on the Mary Wilson board there are more younger members than what we think. Some even rate the Mary, Scherrie and Susaye line-up above the others. On the other hand, speaking only in my name, although I am 52, I like the 70's Supremes as much as the 60's line-up. I associate them with the good times I had at the discos. So maybe for me it's more a matter of nostalgia than music, and that's why my favorite Supremes song is "Bad Weather". But in musical terms, I believe that it is a very good Stevie Wonder tune.