UP, UP AND AWAY ~ THE 5TH DIMENSION

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Grammy Song Of the Year 1968
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"Up, Up and Away" is a 1967 song written by Jimmy Webb and recorded by The 5th Dimension, that became a major pop hit, reaching #7 on the U.S. Pop Singles chart and sold well in Canada. The single peaked at #9 on Billboard's Easy Listening Top 40. A canonical example of sunshine pop, themed around images of hot air ballooning, it cleaned up at the Grammy Awards of 1968, winning for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, Other Pop/Rock&Roll/ Contemporary Awards or Instrumental, and the big prizes of Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Al Casey was the guitarist on this recording, as was fellow "Wrecking Crew" drummer Hal Blaine. Diana Ross & the Supremes recorded a version of the song in 1967 for their album Reflections. Dionne Warwick recorded a version of the tune on her 1967 Valley Of The Dolls.

BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER ~ SIMON & GARFUNKEL

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Bluedreamer's Choice No 28

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"Bridge over Troubled Water" is the title song of Simon & Garfunkel's final album together, released January 26, 1970, though it also appears on the live album "Simon & Garfunkel, Live 1969." It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on February 28, 1970, and stayed at the top of the chart for six weeks. "Bridge over Troubled Water" also topped the adult contemporary chart in the U.S. for six weeks. Rolling Stone named it number 47 on The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The single won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Song of the Year in the Grammy Awards of 1971, with its album also winning several awards in the same year. A gospel-inspired cover version by Aretha Franklin, taken from her album Aretha Live at Fillmore West, reached number one on the U.S. R&B chart and number six on the pop chart.. and later won the Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance in the 1972 awards. Elvis Presley recorded it in Nashville on June 5, 1970, and it was released on the 1970 album That's the Way It Is. The Supremes recorded a version in 1970. The Jackson 5 covered the song on their Third Album in 1970. Roberta Flack covered the song on her album Quiet Fire in 1971. Willie Nelson covered the song on his 1982 album Always on My Mind. American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken performed this song on the Season 2 Finale.

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These Top 50 songs are based on my personal choice and are not listed in order
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I'M GONNA MAKE YOU LOVE ME ~ DIANA ROSS AND THE SUPREMES AND THE TEMPTATIONS

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Bluedreamer's Choice No 7

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"I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" is a soul song, written by Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff and Jerry Ross in 1966 which was a Top 20 R&B hit for Dee Dee Warwick in 1966-1967 and then a Top 30 Pop hit in 1968 for Madeline Bell before having its most successful incarnation as a recording by Diana Ross & the Supremes with The Temptations which reached #2 in January 1969. Ross & the Supremes and the Temptations performed several of the songs from their joint album on their headlining TCB television special which aired in December 1968 and it was originally planned that their rendition of "The Impossible Dream", the special's climactic performance, be their joint album's lead single. Indeed the Ross/Supremes & Temptations version was never to be performed live (the Temptations did perform "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" on The Ed Sullivan Show and Diana Ross performed the song on The Hollywood Palace duetting with Stevie Wonder).



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These Top 50 songs are based on my personal choice and are not listed in order

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THE SUPREMES

THE SUPREMES

The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul and disco. They were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and are, to-date, America's most successful vocal group with twelve number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100. Most of these hits were written and produced by Motown's main songwriting and production team, Holland-Dozier-Holland. At their peak in the mid-1960s, The Supremes rivaled The Beatles in worldwide popularity, and their success made it possible for future African-American R&B and soul musicians to find mainstream success.
During the mid-1960s, The Supremes achieved mainstream success with Ross as lead singer. In 1967, Motown president Berry Gordy renamed the group Diana Ross & The Supremes and replaced Ballard with Cindy Birdsong. Ross left to pursue a solo career in 1970 and was replaced by Jean Terrell, at which point the group's name returned to The Supremes. After 1972, the lineup of The Supremes changed more frequently; Lynda Laurence, Scherrie Payne and Susaye Greene all became members of the group during the mid-1970s. The Supremes disbanded in 1977 after an eighteen-year run

Between 1961 and 1963, The Supremes released eight singles, none of which charted in the Top 40 positions of the Billboard Hot 100. Jokingly referred to as the "no-hit Supremes" around Motown's Hitsville U.S.A. offices, the group attempted to compensate for their lack of hits by taking on any work available at the studio, including providing hand claps and singing backup for Motown artists such as Marvin Gaye and The Temptations. During these years, all three members took turns singing lead: Wilson favored soft ballads; Ballard favored soulful, hard-driving songs; and Ross favored mainstream pop songs. Most of their early material was written and produced by Berry Gordy or Smokey Robinson. In December 1963, the single "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes" peaked at number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Here are some of their greatest hits

"REFLECTIONS"

"WHERE DID THE LOVE GO"

"BABY LOVE"

"COME SEE ABOUT ME"

"STOP! IN THE NAME OF LOVE"

"BACK IN MY ARMS AGAIN"

see more of The Supremes here soon