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Tamla T 54045 (B),June 1961
(reissued July 1961)
B-side of Buttered Popcorn
(Written by Smokey Robinson)
Supposedly, when Berry Gordy “became aware” of the double entendres around the Supremes’ second single, Buttered Popcorn – and for “became aware”, read: “saw his plan to get radio play by releasing a controversial record foiled after fatally misjudging his audience” – he tried to switch focus to the B-side, concentrating Motown’s promotional efforts on getting this side some radio play instead.
It didn’t work, and the single still flopped – which is hardly surprising, because this record isn’t very good at all. It’s a cover of an earlier Miracles B-side, reworked and played in a different style to the Miracles’ version so as to sound more like the Supremes’ lovely debut single I Want A Guy, complete with strings and flutes all over the backing track.
Florence Ballard had taken the lead for the unloved A-side, but for this B-side Diana Ross takes over, as she had done for I Want A Guy and its equally pretty B-side Never Again. However, where Ross had been the star of the show on that first single, her performance here is adequate at best; she has trouble hitting a few notes, and can’t quite emulate Claudette from the Miracles on the falsetto ending. (The liner notes for The Complete Motown Singles: Volume 1 settle for describing her as “nervous-sounding”).
Who’s Lovin’ You (the title picks up an extra “g” on some 45 pressings, but is corrected for its appearance on the LP Meet the Supremes, left, in 1962) works well enough rearranged for a female vocal group – Flo, Mary and Barbara provide decent support for Ross as she struggles her way through the material – but it just doesn’t suit Ross’ voice, and (as was discussed when talking about the Miracles version) I really don’t think the song is anything special to begin with, despite the critical praise that has since been lavished on it. It’s an average B-side with a quite pretty tune, and no more than that.
This was Barbara Martin’s last “official” apperance on a Supremes single, as the group contracted to the core trio of Ross, Ballard and Wilson not long after its release and failure. She would be featured, uncredited, on the Supremes’ third single, Your Heart Belongs To Me, recorded before she left the group but not released until almost a year later, in May 1962. The group themselves were also sent back to the drawing board; after two flop singles, their status as “the no-hit Supremes”, the runts of the Motown litter, was already starting to take hold.
MOTOWN JUNKIES VERDICT
(I’ve had MY say, now it’s your turn. Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment, or click the thumbs at the bottom there. Dissent is encouraged!)
COVERWATCH
Motown Junkies has reviewed other Motown versions of this song:
- The Miracles (September 1960)
- Brenda Holloway (July 1965)
You’re reading Motown Junkies, an attempt to review every Motown A- and B-side ever released. Click on the “previous” and “next” buttons below to go back and forth through the catalogue, or visit the Master Index for a full list of reviews so far.
(Or maybe you’re only interested in The Supremes? Click for more.)
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| The Supremes “Buttered Popcorn” |
The Temptations “Oh Mother Of Mine” |
Motown Junkies 
Diana Ross sounds a bit more mature on this track, one of Smokey’s most covered. One wonders if Michael Jackson didn’t list to this version when he covered the song 8 years later
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One can wonder, but some will claim (including me) that Michael was updating the mid-60s version by The Temptations (with David Ruffin on lead)… NOT this Supremes’ version.
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Off the top of my head, I’m not even sure I’ve actually listened to that. I’ll check it out when I’m back within touching distance of my records!
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Don’t forget that I sent scans of the original striped labels for both sides of this record. Feel free to remove this comment after reading it.
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Not forgotten, just haven’t had time to do any scan work recently. I’m missing scans for most upcoming singles too at the moment. On that note, has anyone heard from Gordon Frewin recently? I can’t get hold of him to check he’s OK.
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There we go, that’s better 🙂 Thanks Robb, and sorry for the delay!
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I agree this song is nothing special unless little Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 are singing it. This song dragged a little to long for The Supremes and was not the song for Miss Ross. A bad track indeed, but it proves that even super groups have to find their way in the beginning.
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Yeah Michael really nailed this one didn’t he? Brenda Holloway does a nice version as well. Of course, Smokey’s original isn’t too shabby. I will have to listen to the Supremes version again. At one point I had “Meet the Supremes”. When I played “Meet” for the first time I was shocked at how different the Supremes sounded from their later records. I got the album in 1969 in a budget bin. Foolishly I let go of the album at some point. Oh well.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. The Temptations did a pretty good version of this too.
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Yeah the Tempts version is good too and I heard that’s the one the Jackson 5’s is modeled after. There’s nothing like that last “And I wonder who’s looooove-vin yooooou, I, I, I wonder…” when lil Michael sings it.
LOL yeah I was totally shocked when I listened to “Meet The Supremes” as an album the first time too! “Where Did Our Love Go” and “Baby Love” sound so different than anything on the album. I thank Nixon for this blog because it’s one thing to read about the no-hit Supremes, but actually listening to every single sequentially is another. It’s like almost as if I am experiencing their 9 flops first hand. I love the group and have always thought that they were the best, but thanks to this blog I have a new found respect for them.
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I love this single. The ending is borrowed from The Skyliners’ Since I Don’t Have You (Diane’s idea?). My tastes often go contrary to popular tastes, so I give this one two thumbs up! On the Deluxe Meet the Supremes, someone had the good sense to remix the vocal track on the single to the stereo mix. On the original stereo mix, the vocal was botched toward the end. On the remix, you can hear Diane’s raw Gospelese style true to her Baptist roots. I wish they could have done the same thing with Standing at the Crossroads.
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