"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 Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

group

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

, who took the song into the top forty in mid-1970 following the release of " Up the Ladder to the Roof".

Song information

The songs features new Supremes lead singer

Jean Terrell Velma Jean Terrell (born November 26, 1945) is an American R&B and jazz singer. She replaced Diana Ross as the lead singer of The Supremes in 1970. Biography Early life and career Terrell was born on 26 November 1945 in Belzoni, Mississippi. S ...

, with backup vocals by original Supreme Mary Wilson and more recent member

Cindy Birdsong Cynthia Ann Birdsong (born December 15, 1939) is an American singer who became famous as a member of The Supremes in 1967, when she replaced co-founding member Florence Ballard. Birdsong had previously been a member of Patti LaBelle & The Blue ...

. 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).

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 Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

. 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

*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