1965 Motown Classic, Once Mocked as 'No-Hit,' Became Part of Chart History 61 Years Ago

Before they became one of the most successful groups in pop history, The Supremes had a reputation problem. While Motown’s other girl groups racked up hits, Diana Ross, Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard had earned an unflattering office nickname — the “no-hit Supremes.”

All of that changed when “Back in My Arms Again” hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on June 12, 1965, making The Supremes the first group in history to score five consecutive chart-toppers. 

But the road there wasn’t easy. Wilson later recalled the frustration to the Guardian. “It felt as if all the girl groups were having hits apart from The Supremes. We were playing shows and people were going crazy, but in the office we were beginning to be known as the ‘no-hit Supremes.'”

The turning point came when Motown boss Berry Gordy paired the trio with his premier songwriting team, Holland-Dozier-Holland, and Diana Ross as lead singer, with Wilson and Ballard as her backing. 

“We recorded ‘Where Did Our Love Go’ and it became a hit, which changed everything,” Wilson recalled. “Once H-D-H found that formula for us, we had five consecutive [US] number ones.”

That run unfolded over just 10 months. “Where Did Our Love Go” reached No. 1 on August 16, 1964. “Baby Love” followed, topping the charts from late October through November. “Come See About Me” claimed the No. 1 spot for non-consecutive weeks in December 1964 and January 1965. “Stop! In the Name of Love” kept the streak alive in late March and early April 1965.

The fifth song in the run, “Back in My Arms Again,” came out on April 15, 1965. Cash Box called it a “rollicking, pop-R&B romancer about a lucky lass who gets back with her boyfriend after quite a hiatus.” It hit No. 1 less than a month later, bumping The Beach Boys‘ “Help Me, Rhonda” from the top spot.

The streak eventually ended when “Nothing but Heartaches” fell short of the top 10 — but the group bounced right back with “I Hear a Symphony” at No. 1. 

They followed that with four more consecutive No. 1 hits in 1966 and 1967, with “You Can’t Hurry Love,” “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” “Love Is Here and Now You’re Gone” and “The Happening.” 

“Love Child” brought them back to No. 1 in 1968, and “Someday We’ll Be Together” in December 1969 gave the group their 12th and final No. 1.

Ross eventually left to pursue a solo career, though by Gordy’s own admission, the departure wasn’t entirely her choice. “Diana never wanted to leave the girls,” he recalled to 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’s feelings for Ross were no secret either. “I was madly in love with Diana Ross,” he confessed, acknowledging that his devotion shaped many of his decisions. “It was perhaps favouritism because Diana was a favourite of mine. But she had the talent to justify that favouritism.”

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