"Let Me Go the Right Way" is a 1962 song written and produced by then Motown president

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record l ...

and released as a single by Motown singing 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 ...

. It was the group's fourth single and their second charted record following the dismal reception of their first charted single, "

Your Heart Belongs to Me "Your Heart Belongs to Me" is a 1962 song written and composed by The Miracles' William "Smokey" Robinson and released as a single by Motown singing group The Supremes during their early years with the label. The song is about a woman whose lov ...

Overview

Recording

Built on a frenetic and gritty R&B production, it featured an unpolished raw R&B vocal from Supremes lead singer Diana Ross, despite speculation that the song was led by

Florence Ballard Florence Glenda Chapman (''née'' Ballard; June 30, 1943 – February 22, 1976) was an American singer and a founding member of the Motown vocal female group the Supremes. She sang on 16 top 40 singles with the group, including ten number-o ...

(who only led on one brief line - "''A go-go right!''" - at the beginning). In fact, Ballard, the high soprano in the group, was prominently featured in the background - especially her

ad-libs In music and other performing arts, the phrase (; from Latin for 'at one's pleasure' or 'as you desire'), often shortened to "ad lib" (as an adjective or adverb) or "ad-lib" (as a verb or noun), refers to various forms of improvisation. The r ...

on the singles outro - along with Mary Wilson while Ross sung in her natural register. Written and produced by Berry Gordy, the record talks of a woman who wants her lover to let her "go the right way" in their relationship rather than being "led astray". Featuring energetic vocals from all three ladies, it was the group's first recording and release as a trio following the departure of Barbara Martin. This single would be the last to be produced by Gordy until after the songwriting-producing team of

Holland–Dozier–Holland Holland–Dozier–Holland was a songwriting and production team consisting of Lamont Dozier and brothers Brian and Eddie Holland. The trio wrote, arranged and produced many songs that helped define the Motown sound in the 1960s. Du ...

left Motown in late 1967; a year after this release, H-D-H would become the group main producers.

Reception

Performing slightly better than "Your Heart Belongs to Me", the song peaked at number 90 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and was the first release by the group to hit the Hot R&B Sides chart, where it peaked at number 26Billboard R&B Dec. 29, 1962
/ref> helping the group to land a spot on the

Motortown Revue The Motortown Revue was the name given to the package concert tours of Motown artists in the 1960s. Early tours featured Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Mary Wells, The Marvelettes, Barrett Strong, and The Contours as headlining acts, and gave then ...

later on that year.

Personnel

*Lead vocals by Diana Ross and

(intro) *Background vocals by Diana Ross, Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson *Produced and written by

*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 ...

and Marvin Gaye on drums

Chart history

References

{{authority control 1962 singles 1962 songs The Supremes songs Songs written by Berry Gordy Song recordings produced by Berry Gordy Motown singles