Baby Love



"Baby Love" is a song recorded by the American music group the Supremes in 1964 for their second studio album titled, Where Did Our Love Go. It was written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland. It was released on 17th September 1964.

Baby Love 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. 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.

It was nominated for the 1965 Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording, losing to Nancy Wilson's "How Glad I Am". It is 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.

History
At the insistence of Berry Gordy hoping for a follow-up chart-topper, Holland–Dozier–Holland produced "Baby Love" to sound like "Where Did Our Love Go". Elements were reincorporated into the single 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. 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).

It was 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.

"Baby Love" was later included on the soundtrack to the 1975 feature film Cooley High.

Personnel

 * Lead vocals by Diana Ross
 * Background and ad-lib vocals by Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson
 * All instruments by the Funk Brothers
 * Andrew "Mike" Terry: baritone saxophone solo
 * Footstomps by Mike Valvano

Cover versions

 * In 1980, British singer and actress, Honey Bane covered the song at the request of EMI. The single peaked at No. 58 on the UK music charts.
 * In 1989, a singer named Martina covered the song as well.
 * In 2000, Erasure recorded an acoustic cover of "Baby Love" that was included in the various artists compilation album, Motown Mania, but was also re-released on their own EP Moon & the Sky.