Number 1 With A Bullet: Diana Ross And The Supremes’ “Love Child”

With her name in lights, Diana Ross fronts the Supremes on "Love Child" (YouTube)

Goodbye big hair, heavy makeup, glittering gowns and, sadly, Florence Ballard. Hello Cindy Birdsong, social consciousness, a more subtle look and a new era for (Diana Ross and) the Supremes.

The #1 Motown hit, “Love Child,” marked a number of firsts for the trio known for years as the Supremes. It was the first #1 record for the trio with their new name, Diana Ross and the Supremes. It was the first #1 with former Bluebelle Cindy Birdsong as a member of the group and it was the first #1 written and produced by a team other than Holland, Dozier and Holland.

Credited as The Clan on the label, the producers of the record were Motown chief Berry Gordy along with Frank Wilson, Henry Cosby, Deke Richards and R. Dean Taylor. According to Richards, who wrote the tune with Wilson, Taylor and Pam Sawyer, the socially-conscious song came from an extended time locked in a room at the Ponchatrain Hotel in Detroit, tasked with staying quarantined until they arrived with a hit record.

They did: “Love Child” was the 11th of twelve #1 hits for the (Diana Ross and) the Supremes, climbing to the top of the chart in November 1968.

Lyrics

You think that I don't feel love
But what I feel for you is real love
In other's eyes I see reflected
A hurt, scorned, rejected
Love child, never meant to be

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