"Forever Came Today" is a 1967 song written and produced by the Motown collective 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 ...

, and was first made into a hit as a single for

Diana Ross & 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 successful ...

in early 1968. A disco version of the song was released as a single seven years later by Motown group

the Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

Overview

The Supremes version

The release of "Forever Came Today" was the result of a work slowdown by Holland-Dozier-Holland in late 1967. The song was originally cut in April 1967 with vocals added in December, 1967 and January, 1968. HDH, and particularly lyricist

Eddie Holland Edward Holland Jr. (born October 30, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Holland was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Although he was an early Motown artist who recorded minor hit singles such as "Jamie", he ...

, had become dissatisfied with both their pay and the working atmosphere at Motown, and resultantly created very little music during the latter half of the year. With no other Supremes singles ready for release, Motown had "Forever Came Today" prepared for release as a single. Mary Wilson, in her autobiography ''Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme'', reported that "Forever Came Today" was the first of a series of Supremes singles she did not sing on. Motown used their in-house session singers,

The Andantes The Andantes were an American female session group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by Ma ...

, to provide background vocal instead. The single stalled for two weeks at number twenty-eight on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 pop singles chart in spring 1968. It was their first American single not to reach the top 10 since " Nothing but Heartaches". The song's lyrics feature a woman who is amazed by her boyfriend's love that she has waited 'forever' for, hence the saying "my forever came today." In spite of its showings on the pop charts, Holland-Dozier-Holland uphold "Forever Came Today" as one of the best Motown songs they ever wrote.Chin, Brian and Nathan, David (2000). "Reflections Of..." The Supremes D boxed set liner notes New York: Motown Record Co./Universal Music. '' Cash Box'' praised "the stunning vocal sound of Diana Ross" and "superlative orchestral tension," saying the song had "fine dance appeal and lyrical attraction." By the time of the single's release in early 1968, Holland-Dozier-Holland had staged a work slowdown and eventually no longer came to Motown's Hitsville U.S.A. studio. Motown sued for breach of contract in August 1968; HDH countersued. The trio went on to eventually start their own labels,

Invictus Records Invictus Records was an American record label based in Detroit, Michigan. It was created by former top Motown producers Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Edward Holland, Jr. (known collectively as Holland–Dozier–Holland). It was the sister l ...

and

Hot Wax Records Hot Wax Records was a Detroit, Michigan-based record label, created by producers/songwriters Holland–Dozier–Holland (Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland) in 1968 when they left Motown. History Until 1967, Holland, Dozier, and Holl ...

. Meanwhile,

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 ...

was forced to find a new songwriting team for the Supremes, since Holland-Dozier-Holland had written all of the group's hit singles since 1963.

Track listing

*7" single (29 February 1968) (North America/United Kingdom/Germany) #"Forever Came Today" – 2:59 #"Time Changes Things" – 2:22

Chart history

The Jackson 5 version

The single was revived eight years later in a disco version by another Motown group,

. The Jacksons had replaced the Supremes as the label's top-selling act during the early 1970s and by 1975 were going through problems with Motown and making plans to leave the company. Released in June 1975, the Jackson 5's version peaked at number six on the soul chart and at number sixty on the pop chart. On the ''Billboard'' dance chart, it was the first of two releases by the Jacksons to hit number one. The single's B-side, "

All I Do Is Think of You "All I Do Is Think of You" is a song released by the Jackson 5 on the Motown label in 1975. It was initially released as the B-side to the group's single "Forever Came Today" before being released as an A-side single months later. The song is the ...

", was later extensively covered and sampled by

contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop, and electronic music. The genre features a distinctive record production style, drum machine-backed rhy ...

and hip hop artists.

Chart positions

References

{{authority control 1967 songs 1968 singles 1975 singles The Supremes songs The Jackson 5 songs Songs written by Holland–Dozier–Holland Song recordings produced by Brian Holland Song recordings produced by Lamont Dozier Motown singles Disco songs