*The Supremes made Billboard history on June 12, 1965, when “Back in My Arms Again” became their fifth straight No. 1 single. The record marked a major reversal for Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, and Florence Ballard. Before that run, the group had struggled to match the success of other Motown acts, even as audiences responded strongly to their live shows.
“It felt as if all the girl groups were having hits apart from The Supremes,” Wilson recalled in an interview with the Guardian. “We were playing shows and people were going crazy, but in the office we were beginning to be known as the ‘no-hit Supremes.’”
Motown founder Berry Gordy changed the group’s direction by pairing them with the hitmaking writing team Holland-Dozier-Holland. He also placed Ross at the center vocally, with Wilson and Ballard supporting her leads.
The move quickly paid off. “Where Did Our Love Go” became the group’s breakthrough and launched a chart run that included “Baby Love,” “Come See About Me,” and “Stop! In the Name of Love.”
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“We recorded ‘Where Did Our Love Go’ and it became a hit, which changed everything,” Wilson said. “Once H-D-H found that formula for us, we had five consecutive [US] number ones.”
As PARADE reports, the streak ended when “Nothing but Heartaches” missed the Top 10. The Supremes soon rebounded with “I Hear a Symphony” and continued adding No. 1 hits through the decade.
Their later chart-toppers included “You Can’t Hurry Love,” “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” “Love Is Here and Now You’re Gone,” “The Happening,” “Love Child” and “Someday We’ll Be Together.” By the end of 1969, they had collected 12 No. 1 singles.
Ross eventually left for a solo career, though Gordy said the transition carried more tension than fans may have realized.
“Diana never wanted to leave the girls,” Gordy told Rolling Stone. “She was more or less pushed out. But that’s what happens when a person is up front and people are telling the background singers that she’s stealing the show.”
Gordy also acknowledged that his feelings for Ross affected his leadership decisions.
“I was madly in love with Diana Ross,” he said. “It was perhaps favouritism because Diana was a favourite of mine. But she had the talent to justify that favouritism.”
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