Legendary Michigan Songs

77.) Stop! In The Name Of Love - The Supremes

Artist Name: The Supremes
Year Inducted: 2013

“Stop! In The Name Of Love”  (B. Holland, L. Dozier, E. Holland) – The Supremes;  Motown label,  # 1 Billboard Hot 100, # 2 Billboard R&B – 1965.  Inducted in 2013.

“Stop! In The Name of Love” was the fourth consecutive # 1 single written and produced for The Supremes by Motown’s most successful production team, Holland-Dozier-Holland. Prior to this impressive string of hits by the Supremes during the height of Beatlemania, no other Motown artist had enjoyed more than one # 1 hit on the Hot 100. The Supremes 1966.JPGThe Supremes 1966.JPG

The Supremes' choreography for this song, with one hand on the hip and the other outstretched in a "stop" gesture, is equally legendary. Paul Williams and Melvin Franklin of The Temptations taught the girls the routine backstage in London, before the Supremes' first televised performance of the single on the Ready Steady Go! Special, The Sound of Motown, hosted by Motown enthusiast Dusty Springfield They also performed the song on an episode of the ABC variety program Shindig! that aired on Wednesday, February 25, 1965.

The song was nominated for the 1966 Grammy award for Best Contemporary Rock & Roll Group Vocal Performance but inexplicably lost out to “Flowers On The Wall” by the Statler Brothers. “Stop! In The Name Of Love” was later honored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s permanent collection of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. 

YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aax5EDQMOq4