Love Child (song)
Encyclopedia
"Love Child" is a 1968 song released by the Motown label for Diana Ross & the Supremes
, becoming the Supremes' 11th number-one single in the United States
.
The song became the number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100
pop chart for two weeks, from November 30, 1968 through December 14, 1968 and reached number two on the soul chart for three weeks. "Love Child" is notable for its-then controversial subject matter of illegitimacy
. It is also notable for knocking off and keeping The Beatles
' massive "Hey Jude
" off the top spot in the United States, the last of five replacements at number-one between the Beatles and Supremes, the two most popular music acts in America during the 1960s. The Supremes debuted the song on the season premiere of the CBS
variety
program The Ed Sullivan Show
on Sunday, September 29, 1968.
, acquired new member Cindy Birdsong
, added Ross' name to the billing. Following this string of changes, the Supremes had mixed success on the pop charts. "Reflections" peaked at number 2 on the Billboard pop charts and "In and out of Love
" peaked at 9, but the group's next two singles did not make the pop top twenty.
This prompted Motown label chief Berry Gordy
to hold a special meeting in a room at the Pontchartrain Hotel in Detroit, which was attended by a team of writers and producers at the label, including R. Dean Taylor
, Frank Wilson
, Pam Sawyer
, Deke Richards
, and Henry Cosby
. The group, who named themselves The Clan, set to work on a hit single for Diana Ross & the Supremes. Instead of composing another love-based song, the team decided to craft a tune about a woman who is asking her boyfriend not to pressure her into sleeping
with him, for fear they would conceive a "love child
." The woman, portrayed on the record by Diana Ross, is herself a love child, and, besides not having a father at home, had to endure wearing rags to school and growing up in an "old, cold, run-down tenement slum
." The background vocals echo this sentiment, asking the boyfriend to please "wait/wait won't you wait now/hold on/wait/just a little bit longer."
As was often the case with many of the records released under the "Diana Ross & the Supremes" name, Supremes members Mary Wilson
and Cindy Birdsong
do not appear on the record; Motown session singers The Andantes
performed the background vocals. All lead vocals were by Diana Ross, who would leave the group in a year for a solo career.
Hot 100 and outselling all of the group's previous or subsequent single
s. The feat was repeated in Canada
, where it also reached number one in the RPM 100
national singles chart. In the UK singles chart, the song peaked at number 15, and number three in Australia. "Love Child" became the title track of Diana Ross & the Supremes' Love Child album, released on November 13, 1968.
and peaked at #13 in May 1990 on the Billboard Hot 100
and later by the rock group Broadzilla
. It was also covered by Jamie Dean, La Toya Jackson
, and sampled by her sister Janet
in her 1994 single "You Want This
." It was also covered by Booker T. & The MG's on their album "The Booker T. Set".
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
, becoming the Supremes' 11th number-one single in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The song became the number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
pop chart for two weeks, from November 30, 1968 through December 14, 1968 and reached number two on the soul chart for three weeks. "Love Child" is notable for its-then controversial subject matter of illegitimacy
Legitimacy (law)
At common law, legitimacy is the status of a child who is born to parents who are legally married to one another; and of a child who is born shortly after the parents' divorce. In canon and in civil law, the offspring of putative marriages have been considered legitimate children...
. It is also notable for knocking off and keeping The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' massive "Hey Jude
Hey Jude
"Hey Jude" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The ballad evolved from "Hey Jules", a song widely accepted as being written to comfort John Lennon's son, Julian, during his parents' divorce—although this explanation is not...
" off the top spot in the United States, the last of five replacements at number-one between the Beatles and Supremes, the two most popular music acts in America during the 1960s. The Supremes debuted the song on the season premiere of the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
variety
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
program The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
on Sunday, September 29, 1968.
Recording
In 1967, Diana Ross & the Supremes, having dropped Florence BallardFlorence Ballard
Florence Glenda Ballard Chapman was an American singer and a founding member of the Motown group The Supremes. From 1963 until 1967, Ballard sang on 16 Top 40 hit Supremes' singles, ten of which hit number-one on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1967, Motown CEO Berry Gordy decided to remove Ballard from...
, acquired new member Cindy Birdsong
Cindy Birdsong
Cynthia Ann "Cindy" Birdsong , better known by her stage name, Cindy Birdsong, is an American singer, most famous for singing with the legendary soul groups Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles and The Supremes.-Early life:...
, added Ross' name to the billing. Following this string of changes, the Supremes had mixed success on the pop charts. "Reflections" peaked at number 2 on the Billboard pop charts and "In and out of Love
In and out of Love (The Supremes song)
"In and out of Love" is a 1967 song recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label. It was the second single issued with the group's new billing of Diana Ross & the Supremes, the penultimate Supremes single written and produced by Motown production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, and the last single...
" peaked at 9, but the group's next two singles did not make the pop top twenty.
This prompted Motown label chief Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy, Jr. is an American record producer, and the founder of the Motown record label, as well as its many subsidiaries.-Early years:...
to hold a special meeting in a room at the Pontchartrain Hotel in Detroit, which was attended by a team of writers and producers at the label, including R. Dean Taylor
R. Dean Taylor
R. Dean Taylor is a Canadian singer, most famous as a recording artist, songwriter and record producer for Motown Records company during the 1960s and 1970s...
, Frank Wilson
Frank Wilson (musician)
Frank Wilson is an African American former songwriter and record producer for Motown Records.-Biography:He was born to James Wilson and Samantha Gibbs...
, Pam Sawyer
Pam Sawyer
Pamela Sawyer, an American-based songwriter from Romford, East London.Sawyer worked with artists at Motown Records from 1967 to 1977. Before Motown she had been involved in hit records for the Young Rascals and Lulu, and wrote with Lori Burton with whom she also recorded as the Whyte Boots.Sawyer...
, Deke Richards
Deke Richards
Deke Richards, also known as Dennis Lussier and Deke Lussier, is a songwriter and record producer, one of many white musicians/songwriters who were affiliated with Motown...
, and Henry Cosby
Henry Cosby
Henry "Hank" R. Cosby was an African American songwriter and record producer for Motown Records...
. The group, who named themselves The Clan, set to work on a hit single for Diana Ross & the Supremes. Instead of composing another love-based song, the team decided to craft a tune about a woman who is asking her boyfriend not to pressure her into sleeping
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
with him, for fear they would conceive a "love child
Love child
"Love child" is a euphemism for a child born out of wedlock. See Legitimacy .Love child may also refer to:In music:* Lovechild , an indie rock band from Belfast, Northern Ireland...
." The woman, portrayed on the record by Diana Ross, is herself a love child, and, besides not having a father at home, had to endure wearing rags to school and growing up in an "old, cold, run-down tenement slum
Slum
A slum, as defined by United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security. According to the United Nations, the percentage of urban dwellers living in slums decreased from 47 percent to 37 percent in the...
." The background vocals echo this sentiment, asking the boyfriend to please "wait/wait won't you wait now/hold on/wait/just a little bit longer."
As was often the case with many of the records released under the "Diana Ross & the Supremes" name, Supremes members Mary Wilson
Mary Wilson (singer)
Mary Wilson is an American singer, formerlymember of the Motown female singing group The Supremes during the 1960s and 1970s. Wilson was the only singer to be a consistent member of the group in its eighteen-year tenure...
and Cindy Birdsong
Cindy Birdsong
Cynthia Ann "Cindy" Birdsong , better known by her stage name, Cindy Birdsong, is an American singer, most famous for singing with the legendary soul groups Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles and The Supremes.-Early life:...
do not appear on the record; Motown session singers The Andantes
The Andantes
The Andantes were a prolific female sessions 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 Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, The Temptations, Stevie...
performed the background vocals. All lead vocals were by Diana Ross, who would leave the group in a year for a solo career.
Reaction and response
The public responded immediately to "Love Child" when it was released as a single on September 30, 1968, rising to number one on the BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot 100 and outselling all of the group's previous or subsequent single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
s. The feat was repeated in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, where it also reached number one in the RPM 100
RPM (magazine)
RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...
national singles chart. In the UK singles chart, the song peaked at number 15, and number three in Australia. "Love Child" became the title track of Diana Ross & the Supremes' Love Child album, released on November 13, 1968.
Personnel
- Lead vocals by Diana RossDiana RossDiana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
- Background vocals by The AndantesThe AndantesThe Andantes were a prolific female sessions 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 Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, The Temptations, Stevie...
: Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps - Instrumentation by The Funk BrothersThe Funk BrothersThe Funk Brothers was the nickname of Detroit, Michigan, session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown Records recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972...
- Arranged by Paul Riser
Chart history
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
1 |
| U.S. Billboard R&B Singles Chart Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
2 |
| Canadian RPM 100 RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
1 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
15 |
| MegaCharts MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
19 |
Track listing
- 7" single (30 September 1968) (North America/United Kingdom)
- "Love Child" – 2:59
- "Will This Be the Day" – 2:50
- 7" single (1968) (Netherlands)
- "Love Child" – 2:59
- "Misery Makes Its Home in My Heart " – 2:52
Cover versions
The song was covered by Sweet SensationSweet Sensation
Sweet Sensation was a Puerto Rican female freestyle-dance music trio from The Bronx, New York.-History:Formed in 1986, In The Bronx . The original group members were Betty LeBron and sisters Margie and Mari Fernandez. Originally on Next Plateau Records, in 1988 they were picked up by Atco and...
and peaked at #13 in May 1990 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and later by the rock group Broadzilla
Broadzilla
Broadzilla are a heavy rock band from Detroit, Michigan. They have released two CDs, two EPs, and have won six Detroit Music Awards. The band consists of Rachel May, Kim Essiambre, and Angie Manly.- Biography :...
. It was also covered by Jamie Dean, La Toya Jackson
La Toya Jackson
La Toya Yvonne Jackson is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, television personality, actress, businesswoman, philanthropist, activist and former model. She is the fifth child of the Jackson family...
, and sampled by her sister Janet
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
in her 1994 single "You Want This
You Want This
"You Want This" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson from her fifth studio album, janet. . Released as the album's seventh single in August 1994, the track was written and produced by Jackson and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.-Song information:Based on samples from Diana Ross & the Supremes'...
." It was also covered by Booker T. & The MG's on their album "The Booker T. Set".
See also
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1968 (U.S.)
- Illegitimacy in fiction