Motown 682
Producer: Motown Productions in association with George Schlatter-Ed Friendly Productions
Track listing: T.C.B. /Stop! In the Name of Love / Introduction of Diana Ross and the Supremes / You Keep Me Hangin’ On / Introduction of the Temptations: Get Ready / Introduction of Diana Ross: The Way You Do the Things You Do / Medley: A Taste of Honey / Eleanor Rigby / Do You Know the Way to San Jose / Mrs. Robinson / Respect / Somewhere / Ain’t Too Proud to Beg / Introduction to the Temptations / Hello, Young Lovers / For Once in My Life / (I Know) I’m Losing You / With a Song in My Heart / Without a Song / Medley: Come See About Me / My World Is Empty Without You / Baby Love / I Hear a Symphony / The Impossible Dream
February 8, 1969
1 week
In 1959, the vocal trio of Mary Wilson, Florence Ballard, and Betty Travis was put together by manager Milton Jenkins to back up his male singing group the Primes. The female group, which was later rounded out by Diana Ross, was known as the Primettes, but would rise to fame as the Supremes. The Primes would also change their name. They would become known as the Temptations.
Nearly a decade later, the pairing of Motown’s star male and female vocal groups was a natural. While the Temptations weren’t as successful as the Supremes, they were stars in their own right. The quintet scored several hits, including “My Girl,” which topped both the Hot 100 and R&B singles chart in 1965. On the Top LP’s chart, the Temptations’ highest-charting album was 1966’s The Temptations Greatest Hits, which peaked at number five. Ironically, it would take a reunion with their old backing vocalists to take them to the top of the album chart.
By the time the two groups joined forces for Diana Ross and the Supremes Join the Temptations in 1968, each group had gone through personnel changes following their initial breakthroughs. In July 1967, Ballard was officially dismissed from the Supremes and replaced by Cindy Birdsong, who had been filling in for Ballard during tour dates. Also in 1967, David Ruffin quit the Temptations, to be replaced by Dennis Edwards.
Diana Ross and the Supremes Join the Temptations, which showcased the combined forces of the groups, climbed to number two on January 11, 1969, but was denied the top spot by The Beatles. TCB was an NBC-TV special featuring both groups. The soundtrack album entered the chart at number 134 on December 28, 1968. Six weeks later, it temporarily dislodged The Beatles from the top spot, becoming the first album from a TV special to hit Number One.
The television special required plenty of preparation. “We had a lot of rehearsals, because we switched songs,” says Diana Ross. For example, the Supremes reworked the Temps’ “My Girl” as “My Guys” for the first “Introduction of the Temptations.”
Although the album is full of musical highlights, including Ross’s covers of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson” and the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby,” Ross recalls the TV show more fondly than the audio recording. “Visually it was more fun,” she says. “We did silly things and got to make fools of ourselves. We were dressed in these costumes and we did a lot of dancing and comedy.”
One of those comic bits did make it onto the album. In the “Introduction of Diana Ross,” in which the Temps sing “Our Girl,” the group’s members pretend they can’t remember the singer’s name. “The name is Ross,” Diana responds in her best James Bond impersonation, “Betsy Ross.”
With her solo career about to take off, it’s unlikely anyone ever had trouble remembering Ross’s name again.
THE TOP FIVE
Week of February 8, 1969
1. TCB, Diana Ross & the Supremes with the Temptations
2. The Beatles, The Beatles
3. Wichita Lineman, Glen Campbell
4. Greatest Hits, Vol. 1, The Association
5. Diana Ross & the Supremes Join the Temptations, Diana Ross & the Supremes with the Temptations