"Nothing but Heartaches" is a 1965 song recorded by

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 ...

for the

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 ...

label. Written and produced by Motown songwriting and producing team Holland–Dozier–Holland, it was notable for breaking the first string of five consecutive number-one pop singles in the United States, peaking at number 11 from August 29, 1965, through September 4, 1965 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. Despite this, it was the sixth of seven consecutive million-selling singles released by The Supremes between 1964 and 1965.

Overview

Recording

By the spring of 1965, The Supremes had elevated from regional R&B favorites to an internationally successful pop group thanks to a series of five singles which consecutively topped the United States ''Billboard'' pop charts: " Where Did Our Love Go", " Baby Love", " Come See About Me", " Stop! In the Name of Love" and "

Back in My Arms Again "Back in My Arms Again" is a 1965 song recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, "Back in My Arms Again" was the fifth consecutive and overall number-one son ...

." Known for creating repetitive follow-ups, Motown at this time was relying on a formula to create songs with a similar sound present in records by

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

The Four Tops ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

and

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

among other recording acts. Confident that they had finally found a successful formula, Berry Gordy had Holland–Dozier–Holland created a song similar to several of their earlier hit singles. As expected, "Nothing but Heartaches" had a similar sound to "Stop! In the Name of Love" and "Back in My Arms Again." Gordy felt confident that the song would become their sixth consecutive number-one hit.

Reception

The lukewarm response to "Nothing but Heartaches" was not what Gordy had predicted, as it peaked at number eleven on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song's more modest top 20 charting prompted Gordy to circulate a memo around the Motown offices: After canceling the planned subsequent release of "

Mother Dear "Mother Dear" is a 1965 song recorded by the Supremes for the Motown label. Written and produced by Motown's main production team, Holland–Dozier–Holland, it was an unreleased single for '' More Hits by The Supremes''; it was canceled in favo ...

," Holland-Dozier-Holland produced " I Hear a Symphony." ''

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 ...

'' described the song as a "rollicking pop-blues heart-throbber about a love struck gal who can’t break away from a fella who is decidedly wrong for her."

Personnel

*Lead vocals by

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 ...

*Background vocals by Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson . *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 ...

**Baritone saxophone by

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 ...

Liner notes. ''The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 5: 1965'', Hip-O Select – B0006775-02, USA, 04 Aug 2006

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{authority control 1965 songs 1965 singles The Supremes songs Songs written by Holland–Dozier–Holland Song recordings produced by Brian Holland Song recordings produced by Lamont Dozier Motown singles Songs about heartache