"Baby Love" is a song by American music group the Supremes from their second studio album, '' Where Did Our Love Go''. It was written and produced by

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland and was released on September 17, 1964. "Baby Love" topped the ''Billboard'' pop singles chart in the United States from October 25, 1964, through November 21, 1964, 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 number-one 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 number 324 on the '' Rolling Stone'' list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It dropped to number 499 on the 2021 update of the list. The BBC ranked "Baby Love" at number 23 on ''The Top 100 Digital Motown Chart'', which ranks

releases by their all time UK downloads and streams.

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 Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

'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 consecutive Supremes songs to go to number one 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. The song also reached number one on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks before being dislodged by The Rolling Stones' " Little Red Rooster", and topped the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' magazine's R&B chart. "Baby Love" and

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...

's " It's Over" are the only American singles topped the UK charts between 1963 and 1965. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' stated that "the swinging harmony style keeps he songrolling all the way through." ''

'' described it as "a heartfelt, steady beat thumper...that the femmes deliver in ultra-commercial fashion." "Baby Love" was later included on the soundtrack to the 1975 feature film '' Cooley High''.

Personnel

* Lead vocals by

* Background and ad-lib vocals by Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson * All instruments by the Funk Brothers ** Earl Van Dyke – piano ** Eddie Willis – guitar ** James Jamerson – bass ** Richard "Pistol" Allen – drums ** Jack Ashford – vibraphone ** Henry Cosby – tenor saxophone **

Mike Terry Mike Terry may refer to: * Mike Terry (recording engineer) * Mike Terry (saxophonist) Andrew Alexander "Mike" Terry (July 18, 1940 – October 30, 2008) was an American saxophonist, songwriter, arranger, producer and musical director. His bariton ...

– baritone saxophone solo * Footstomps by Mike Valvano

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Cover versions

* In 1981, British singer and actress, Honey Bane covered the song with record label Zonophone ( EMI). The single peaked at #58 on the UK music charts.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1964 singles 1964 songs The Supremes songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Number-one singles in New Zealand UK Singles Chart number-one singles Songs written by Holland–Dozier–Holland Song recordings produced by Brian Holland Song recordings produced by Lamont Dozier Motown singles