B-side "Ask Any Girl" Genre Pop, R&B | Released September 17, 1964 Length 2:36 | |
Format Vinyl record (7" 45 RPM) Recorded Hitsville U.S.A. (Studio A);
August 13, 1964 | ||
"Baby Love" is a 1964 song recorded by American music group the Supremes for the Motown label.
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Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland (H–D–H), the song topped the Billboard pop singles chart in the United States from October 25, 1964 through November 21, 1964, and in the United Kingdom pop singles chart concurrently. Considered one of the most popular songs of the late 20th century, "Baby Love" was ranked #324 on the Rolling Stone list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Overview
At the insistence of Berry Gordy hoping for a follow-up chart-topper, H–D–H produced "Baby Love" was produced to sound elementarily like "Where Did Our Love Go;" elements such as Diana Ross's cooing lead vocal and oohing, Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson's "baby-baby" backup, the Funk Brothers' instrumental track, and teenager Mike Valvano's footstomping were reincorporated into the single. Further, both Ballard and Wilson had brief solo ad-libs towards the end of the song on the released version (after this release Ross would be the only member to have any solos on the 1960s singles). The group made their debut television performance in the United Kingdom on the popular BBC program Top of the Pops on Thursday, October 15, 1964.
It was also the second of five Supremes songs in a row to go to number-one in the United States, reaching the top spot of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart on October 31, 1964, and staying there for four weeks. The song also reached number-one on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks before being dislodged by The Rolling Stones' "Little Red Rooster," and topped the Cash Box magazine's R&B chart. Beginning with "Baby Love," The Supremes became the first Motown act to have more than one American number-one single, and by the end of the decade, would have more number-one singles than any other Motown act (or American pop music group) with 12, a record they continue to hold; Stevie Wonder is currently in second place with ten number-one singles.
"Baby Love" was included on the Supremes' second studio album, Where Did Our Love Go, and was later included on the soundtrack to the 1975 feature film Cooley High. It was nominated for the 1965 Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording, losing to Nancy Wilson's "How Glad I Am".