The Supremes discography

The Supremes discography
Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson and Diana Ross performing together on The Ed Sullivan Show, 1966
Studio albums	29
Live albums	4
Compilation albums	31
Singles	66
Soundtrack albums	2
No. 1 Singles	12
Other albums	8

This article presents the discography of American singing group The Supremes. It is a complete listing of all their singles and albums as released by Motown Records. 33 of their singles reached the Billboard Top 40 in the US, 23 reached either the US or UK Top 10, and 12 of them reached the number-one position on the US pop chart with "Baby Love" also topping the UK pop chart. 12 of their albums reached the Top 10 in either the US or UK, with five of them going to number-one.

Albums

Studio albums

• ¹ Peaked at number six on Billboard magazine's Top Holiday Albums chart.
• ² Diana Ross & the Supremes with The Temptations.
• ³ The Supremes with the Four Tops.

Live albums

• ¹ Japan-only; released in the US by Motown in 2004

Compilation albums

• ¹ UK-release.
• ² A compilation of previously unreleased songs including a majority of songs from the unreleased Disney Classics sessions.
• ³ A four-disc box-set.
• ⁴ A compilation of all recordings from Diana Ross & The Supremes & The Temptations made during the 1960s.
• ⁵ Originally scheduled for release in 1965 as a studio album.
• ⁶ A compilation of Greatest Hits, Greatest Hits Vol. 3 and At Their Best.
• ⁷ A compilation of Right On, New Ways but Love Stays, Touch, Floy Joy, Produced and Arranged by Jimmy Webb and the previously unreleased Promises Kept sessions, together with three non-album tracks.
• ⁸ Japanese collection containing remixes of Supremes and solo Diana Ross recordings.
• ⁹ A compilation of unreleased recordings and rarities.
• ¹⁰ A compilation of all recordings from The Supremes & the Four Tops made during the 1970s.
• ¹¹ A compilation of The Supremes, High Energy and Mary Scherrie & Susaye with several unreleased and alternate versions.

Soundtracks

• ¹ Diana Ross & the Supremes with The Temptations.

Singles

All singles released on Motown Records except for the Primettes' "Tears of Sorrow" b/w "Pretty Baby", issued on Lu Pine Records.

• ¹ The original master of this single was withdrawn shortly after its release, and a re-recorded version, also featuring Ballard on lead, was issued instead.
• ² Originally issued as "A Breath Taking, First Sight Soul Shaking, One Night Love Making, Next Day Heart Breaking Guy", quickly withdrawn and re-pressed with the shortened title.
• ³ There was no Billboard R&B singles chart from November 1963 until January 1965. Most discographies include R&B information from Cash Box magazine to fill in the gap in the R&B chart, as is done here.
• ⁴ Promotional-only single release
• ⁵ Promotional radio-only single produced by Phil Spector, for The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
• ⁶ Charted on Billboard magazine's Top Holiday Songs chart, peaking at number seven.
• ⁷ Background vocals by The Andantes, instead of The Supremes. In the case of "In and Out of Love", both The Andantes' and Supremes' backing vocal tracks were used.
• ⁸ Backing vocals by Ashford & Simpson instead of The Supremes.
• ⁹ Diana Ross & The Supremes with The Temptations.
• ¹⁰ UK-only single.
• ¹¹ Backing vocals by Maxine and Julia Waters instead of The Supremes.
• ¹² The Supremes with the Four Tops.
• ¹³ UK re-issue.

Shelved albums

The Supremes had a number of canceled albums and shelved projects during their original run. These unreleased albums include the following thirteen titles:

• ¹ The Supremes Sing Ballads & Blues was assigned a catalog number (Motown 610) in late 1963 and given a projected release date. Although it was not released, several of the tracks originally recorded for it appeared on the album The Supremes Sing Country, Western and Pop in spring 1965.
• ² Live, Live, Live!, a live concert recording, was scheduled for release on Motown 625 in early 1965. Although no official track list is available, the live set from the expanded fortieth anniversary edition of the Where Did Our Love Go album features tracks that were slated for inclusion on the album. The Where Did Our Love Go anniversary edition liner notes indicate the possibility of tracks from the Motor-Town Revue in Paris were also considered.
• ³ There's a Place for Us, an album of pop standards, was originally scheduled to be released in the summer of 1965 to tie into the Supremes' groundbreaking debut appearance at the Copacabana nightclub in New York. It was ultimately shelved in favor for a live album of their Copacabana engagement which included many songs originally on the album. The album eventually saw a release as an expanded volume in 2004, 39 years after it was completed.
• ⁴ Around the World with The Supremes was a project Motown planned in 1965 consisting of famous international songs such as "C'est si bon," ""Never on Sunday"," "La Bamba," and "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)." Although instrumental tracks were recorded, the album was never completed as the group never recorded any vocals.
• ⁵ A Tribute to the Girls was an album Motown planned for the group to record in 1965 featuring songs made famous by girl groups of the time; however it was never completed. Several tracks were featured on the expanded release of There's a Place for Us.
• ⁶ Pure Gold, an album of greatest hits-like material, was planned for release in May 1966, but was cancelled.
• ⁷ Live at the Roostertail '66, a live concert recording, was planned for release in late 1966 and was to include several outtakes from The Supremes at the Copa, but the album was scrapped. Two tracks from the album such as "You Can't Hurry Love," and "Group Introductions" were released in 2000. The complete show, recorded on September 26, 1966, was released in 2012 on the expanded edition of "I Hear A Symphony" album.
• ⁸ The Supremes and the Motown Sound: From Broadway to Hollywood was intended for release in early 1967, but no formal track listings for the album were produced. It is widely believed that the album would have been based around the group's then-current number one single, 'The Happening'. Tracks for the album were recorded in Los Angeles and featured songs made popular on Broadway or in Hollywood films. Earlier vaulted material, notably from the featured recordings from There's a Place for Us sessions were also considered for inclusion.
• ⁹ Live at the Roostertail '67, a live concert recording, was planned for a possible release in late 1967. Recorded in August 1967, it was the first live recording to feature Cindy Birdsong in the group. Two tracks from the album such as "You Keep Me Hangin' On," and "Reflections" were released in 2000.
• ¹⁰ Diana Ross & the Supremes Sing Disney Classics was an album planned for possible release in early 1968 featuring covers of songs from films produced by Walt Disney Productions. Recordings for the album began in January 1967 and continued throughout the year with additional sessions in early 1968. The album, however, was never given an assigned catalog number and was shelved after 14 tracks were completed. Songs recorded for the album, including "When You Wish upon a Star", "I've Got No Strings" and "Whistle While You Work", have appeared on several Supremes compilation albums. "Chim Chim Cher-ee", "A Spoonful of Sugar", and "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" still remain unreleased.
• ¹¹ Some Things You Never Get Used To was a 1968 album based around the single "Some Things You Never Get Used To." The album consisted of new recordings and outtakes from previous albums. Motown hoped the single would be a smash hit after their previous single "Forever Came Today" failed to crack Billboard Top 20. When the song only made it to number 30, their weakest showing since 1963, the album was scrapped. Several of the newer recordings as well as the single would later be placed on Love Child.
• ¹² Promises Kept, a 1971 set by the "New Supremes" produced by Clay McMurray, Bobby Taylor, Ashford & Simpson, and others. Despite a wealth of recordings, an official track list was never finalized and the Supremes were instead assigned to work on Floy Joy with Smokey Robinson as producer. Some of the Promises Kept songs appear on the 2000 Supremes box set and the 2002 70s Anthology. Thirteen other tracks from the sessions are also included in The Supremes box set This Is the Story: The '70s Albums, Vol. 1 – 1970–1973: The Jean Terrell Years.
• ¹³ Untitled Stevie Wonder Album was a planned 1973 album to be written and produced by Stevie Wonder. Wonder wrote and produced their single "Bad Weather" with hopes the song would return the group back to the top of the charts. However, the song failed to crack the Top 40 and peaked at number 87 on Billboard's Hot 100. With the song's poor charting the album was scrapped. Two tracks, "Soft Days" and "I'll Wait A Lifetime," were recorded for the album; however both tracks currently remain unreleased. Other songs rumored to have been planned or recorded for the album included "Superstition" and "Until You Come Back to Me."

There were discussions of an album to be written and produced by Marvin Gaye in 1975 and another album penned by Stevie Wonder in 1976, but no songs or recordings were produced out of these suggested plans.

Videography

Video albums

Note

• US chart positions below #100 were compiled from Billboard magazine's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles and Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles charts.
• The theme tune for the 1965 movie Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine was recorded by the group as a single-sided unreleased promotional single.^[8][9]

References