"Everybody's Got the Right to Love" is a socially conscious–inspired pop song written by Lou Stallman, produced by Frank Wilson and released as a single in 1970 by Motown group

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successf ...

, who took the song into the top forty in mid-1970 following the release of "

Up the Ladder to the Roof "Up the Ladder to the Roof" is a 1970 hit single recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label. It was the first Supremes single to feature new lead singer Jean Terrell in place of Diana Ross, who officially left the group for a solo career two w ...

Song information

The songs features new Supremes lead singer

Jean Terrell Velma Jean Terrell (born November 26, 1944) is an American R&B and jazz singer. She replaced Diana Ross as the lead singer of The Supremes in January 1970. Biography Early life and career She is the sister of the former WBA heavyweight box ...

, with backup vocals by original Supreme Mary Wilson and more recent member Cindy Birdsong. The lyrics describe how everyone should be able to love, saying "without love you can't survive". This is the first song that showcases the group's vocals as a group, which had not been done since the late 1960s. At the start of the song the trio sings, "..Say I/Say Yeah..", in harmony. There are at least three different versions of the song. One appears on the Supremes' "70's Greatest Hits & Rare Classics" and the other on

The Supremes (2000 album) ''The Supremes'' is a 2000 box set compilation of the material by Motown's most popular act of the 1960s, The Supremes. The set covers The Supremes' entire recording history, from its first recordings as ''The Primettes'' in 1960 to its final re ...

Charts

The song became a top 30 hit for the Supremes peaking at number 21 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and reaching number 11 on the R&B chart. "Everybody's Got the Right to Love' was the second of eight top forty singles the Supremes scored after the departure of Diana Ross. It did not make the top 50 in the UK Singles Chart, interrupting an otherwise successful run of top ten hits for the group in Britain.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Personnel

*Lead vocals by

*Background vocals by Jean Terrell, Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong *Instrumentation by

The Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...

References

{{authority control 1970 singles 1970 songs The Supremes songs Songs written by Lou Stallman Motown singles