"Some Things You Never Get Used To" is a song released in

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

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 ...

on the Motown label. The single stalled for three weeks at number 30 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' pop chart in July 1968. It became the lowest-charting Supremes single since 1963 and became the catalyst for

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 ...

to revamp

songwriting A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

for The Supremes since the loss of Motown's premier

production team A production team is the group of technical staff who produce a play, television show, recording, or film. Generally the term refers to all individuals responsible for the technical aspects of creating of a particular product, regardless of wher ...

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 ...

, whom Gordy had assigned as the group's sole producers after the success of "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes." '' Cash Box'' praised the "charming performance from Diana Ross, and here-and-there sound effect splashes."

Shelved LP

Motown originally created an album to capitalize on the success of the single, but when the single failed to hit the top of the charts the album was scrapped, and the single was included rather on Diana Ross and the Supremes' "Love Child" LP. The shelved LP track list was intended as follows: Side One: # Some Things You Never Get Used To # Heaven Must Have Sent You # He's My Sunny Boy # Come On And See Me # Can I Get A Witness # You've Been So Wonderful To Me Side two: # My Guy # It's Not Unusual # Just A Little Misunderstanding # Uptight (Everything's Alright) # What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted # Blowin' In The Wind

Personnel

*Lead vocals by Diana Ross *Background vocals by

Ashford & Simpson Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, ...

*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 the Detroit Symphony Orchestra

Track listing

*7" single (21 May 1968) (North America/United Kingdom) #"Some Things You Never Get Used To" – 2:23 #"You've Been So Wonderful to Me" – 2:28

Charts

Covers

The song has never had a high-profile remake. Motown singer

Frances Nero Willie Frances Nero (née Peak; March 13, 1943 – November 28, 2014) was an American soul music, soul and jazz singer. She recorded for Motown after winning their 1965 talent contest and had a UK hit single in 1991 with "Footsteps Following Me". ...

recorded a version of the song several decades after she left the company, for

Ian Levine Ian Geoffrey Levine (born 22 June 1953) is a British songwriter, producer, and DJ. A moderniser of Northern soul music in the UK, and a developer of the style of Hi-NRG, he has written and produced records with sales totalling over 40 million. ...

and his

Motorcity Records Motorcity Records is a British record label formed by producer Ian Levine in 1989. The label aimed to record new material with former Motown artists. History Levine, a Motown fan since his childhood in the 1960s, was offered a chance to recor ...

project. It should not be confused with a 1965 song (with the same title), written by

Van McCoy Van Allen Clinton McCoy (January 6, 1940 – July 6, 1979) was an American musician, record producer, arranger, songwriter, singer and orchestra conductor. He is known for his 1975 internationally successful song " The Hustle". He has approximat ...

and recorded by Cilla Black,

Irma Thomas Irma Thomas ( Lee; born February 18, 1941) is an American singer from New Orleans. She is known as the "Soul Queen of New Orleans". Thomas is a contemporary of Aretha Franklin and Etta James, but never experienced their level of commercial succ ...

, local Detroit singer Juanita Williams, and Detroit band The San Remo Strings.

References

1968 singles 1968 songs The Supremes songs Songs written by Nickolas Ashford Songs written by Valerie Simpson Song recordings produced by Ashford & Simpson Motown singles Psychedelic soul songs {{1960s-R&B-song-stub