Stop! In the Name of Love



"Stop! In the Name of Love" is a 1965 song recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label.

Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, "Stop! In the Name of Love" held the number one position on the Billboard pop singles chart in the United States from March 27, 1965 through April 3, 1965, and reached the number-two position on the soul chart.

Billboard named the song #38 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.

History
The Supremes recorded "Stop! In the Name of Love" in January 1965 and released as a single on February 8. The song was included on the Supremes' sixth album, More Hits by The Supremes, and was nominated for the 1966 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Rock & Roll Group Vocal Performance, losing to "Flowers on the Wall" by the Statler Brothers. The song was also honored by inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's permanent collection of the 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

The Supremes' choreography for this song involved one hand on the hip and the other outstretched in a "stop" gesture. Paul Williams and Melvin Franklin of The Temptations taught the girls the routine backstage in London, before the Supremes' first televised performance of the single on the Ready Steady Go! special "The Sound of Motown," hosted by Motown enthusiast Dusty Springfield. They also performed the song on an episode of the ABC variety program Shindig! which aired on Wednesday, February 24, 1965.

Cover versions and other uses

 * The Jackson 5 covered this in a live performance on the Carol Burnett Show in 1975 as they were paying tributes to the Supremes, the Mills Brothers and the Andrews Sisters.
 * Cover versions were later recorded by Johnny Rivers (1965), Les Fizz (as "Stop, Tu N' As Plus Le Droit", 1966), Gene Pitney (1967), Margie Joseph (1971), Claude François (as "Stop au nom de l'amour", 1971), Joan Orleans (1980), Gloria Gaynor (1982), The Hollies (who saw their version peaked in America at No. 29 and in Canada at No. 31 in 1983), Sinitta (1993), Nicki French (1995), and Globe (2001).
 * American singer La Toya Jackson recorded the song for her 1995 album Stop in the Name of Love.
 * The song is featured in the 1979 Universal Pictures film More American Graffiti and is also included in the soundtrack.

Personnel

 * Lead vocals by Diana Ross
 * Backing vocals by Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson & The Andantes: Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow and Louvain Demps
 * All instruments by The Funk Brothers
 * Johnny Griffith – organ
 * Joe Messina – guitar
 * James Jamerson – bass guitar
 * Benny Benjamin – drums
 * Jack Ashford – percussion, vibes
 * Mike Terry – baritone saxophone