The Ultimate Collection (The Supremes album)
The Ultimate Collection is a compact disc by Diana Ross and the Supremes, released on Motown Records, catalogue 314530827-2, in October 1997. It is a collection of singles comprising many of the group's greatest hits, with liner notes written by Diane Marie Weathers. The collection sold around 60,000 copies in the USA, also eventually earning a bpi silver disc in 2016 for UK sales of another 60,000 copies.
Content
The disc contains every Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 enjoyed by The Supremes while Diana Ross was a member of the group. The songs "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" and "I'll Try Something New" are collaborations with and co-credited to their Motown colleagues, The Temptations. Every iconic song by the group during this period is present, and twelve of the 25 tracks here topped the chart. Historically, only Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, and Mariah Carey have had more #1 singles chart hits in the United States. The disc was part of an "Ultimate Collection" series issued that year by Motown for many of their top-selling classic artists.Starting in the late 1960s and early 1970s, standard industry practice shifted to a focus on album sales, where a single became less a separate entity and more simply an advertisement for an LP, and a lead single would be pulled off an album as a promotional tool. Prior to this, singles were concentrated upon as a profitable commodity, especially for smaller record labels, and albums were often built around already successful singles. Since Motown fixated on the hit single until the very end of its stay in Detroit, single versions of songs often featured different mixes than versions that would be later placed on albums. Singles were usually mixed "punchier" and "hotter" to sound better on car radios receiving AM broadcast. The single versions are the ones appearing here.
Personnel
- Diana Ross - lead vocals
- Mary Wilson - vocals
- Florence Ballard - vocals tracks 1-16
- Cindy Birdsong - vocals tracks 17-25
- The Funk Brothers - instruments
- Members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gordon Staples - strings
Track listing
| Track | Catalogue | Release Date | Pop Chart | R&B Chart | Song Title | Writer | Time |
| 1. | Motown 1051 | 10/31/63 | #23 | "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes | Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland Jr. | 3:09 | |
| 2. | Motown 1060 | 6/17/64 | #1 | "Where Did Our Love Go" | Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland Jr. | 2:33 | |
| 3. | Motown 1066 | 9/17/64 | #1 | "Baby Love" | Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland Jr. | 2:35 | |
| 4. | Motown 1068 | 10/27/64 | #1 | #3 | "Come See About Me" | Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland Jr. | 2:40 |
| 5. | Motown 1074 | 2/8/65 | #1 | #2 | "Stop! In the Name of Love" | Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland Jr. | 2:52 |
| 6. | Motown 1075 | 4/15/65 | #1 | #1 | "Back in My Arms Again" | Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland Jr. | 2:55 |
| 7. | Motown 1080 | 7/19/65 | #11 | #6 | "Nothing but Heartaches" | Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland Jr. | 2:42 |
| 8. | Motown 1083 | 10/6/65 | #1 | #2 | "I Hear a Symphony" | Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland Jr. | 2:42 |
| 9. | Motown 1089 | 12/29/65 | #5 | #10 | "My World Is Empty Without You" | Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland Jr. | 2:35 |
| 10. | Motown 1094 | 4/8/66 | #9 | #7 | "Love Is Like an Itching in My Heart" | Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland Jr. | 2:54 |
| 11. | Motown 1097 | 7/25/66 | #1 | #1 | "You Can't Hurry Love" | Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland Jr. | 2:52 |
| 12. | Motown 1101 | 10/12/66 | #1 | #1 | "You Keep Me Hangin' On" | Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland Jr. | 2:45 |
| 13. | Motown 1103 | 1/11/67 | #1 | #1 | "Love Is Here and Now You're Gone" | Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland Jr. | 2:47 |
| 14. | Motown 1107 | 3/20/67 | #1 | #12 | "The Happening" | Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland Jr. | 2:50 |
| 15. | Motown 1111 | 7/24/67 | #2 | #4 | "Reflections" | Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland Jr. | 2:50 |
| 16. | Motown 1116 | 10/25/67 | #9 | #16 | "In and Out of Love" | Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland Jr. | 2:40 |
| 17. | Motown 1122 | 2/29/68 | #28 | #17 | "Forever Came Today" | Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland Jr. | 3:18 |
| 18. | Motown 1126 | 5/21/68 | #30 | #43 | "Some Things You Never Get Used To" | Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson | 2:25 |
| 19. | Motown 1135 | 9/30/68 | #1 | #2 | "Love Child" | Pamela Sawyer, R. Dean Taylor, Frank Wilson, Deke Richards | 3:00 |
| 20. | Motown 1139 | 1/6/69 | #10 | #8 | "I'm Livin' in Shame" | Pamela Sawyer, R. Dean Taylor, Frank Wilson, Henry Cosby, Berry Gordy | 3:08 |
| 21. | Motown 1137 | 11/21/68 | #2 | #2 | "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" * | Kenneth Gamble and Jerry Ross | 3:07 |
| 22. | Motown 1142 | 2/20/69 | #25 | #8 | "I'll Try Something New" * | Smokey Robinson | 2:33 |
| 23. | Motown 1146 | 3/27/69 | #27 | #21 | "The Composer" | Smokey Robinson | 2:55 |
| 24. | Motown 1148 | 5/9/69 | #31 | #17 | "No Matter What Sign You Are" | Henry Cosby and Berry Gordy | 2:55 |
| 25. | Motown 1156 | 10/14/69 | #1 | #1 | "Someday We'll Be Together" | Jackey Beavers, Johnny Bristol, Harvey Fuqua | 3:32 |