Come See About Me

1964 single by The Supremes
"Come See About Me"
Single by The Supremes
from the album Where Did Our Love Go
B-side
  • "You're Gone, But Always in My Heart"
  • "Long Gone Lover"
ReleasedOctober 27, 1964
RecordedHitsville U.S.A. (Studio A); July 13, 1964
GenrePop, R&B
Length2:39
LabelMotown
M 1068
Songwriter(s)Holland–Dozier–Holland
Producer(s)
  • Brian Holland
  • Lamont Dozier
The Supremes singles chronology
""Baby Love"
(1964) 		"Come See About Me"
(1964) 		"Stop! In the Name of Love"
(1965)
Alternative cover
Denmark single
Videos
"Come See About Me" (The Ed Sullivan Show) on YouTube
"Come See About Me" (lyrics) on YouTube
"Come See About Me"
Single by Nella Dodds
from the album This Is a Girl's Life
B-side"You Don't Love Me Anymore"
ReleasedOctober 1964
Length3:01
LabelWand
Songwriter(s)Holland–Dozier–Holland
Producer(s)Dyno-dynamic
Nella Dodds singles chronology
"Come See About Me"
(1964) 		"Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers"
(1964)
"Come See About Me"
Single by Jr. Walker & the All Stars
from the album Home Cookin'
B-side"Sweet Soul"
ReleasedNovember 1967
RecordedHitsville U.S.A. (Studio A); 1967
GenreSoul
Length3:01
LabelSoul
S 35041
Songwriter(s)Holland–Dozier–Holland
Producer(s)Johnny Bristol
Jr. Walker & the All Stars singles chronology
"Shoot Your Shot"
(1967) 		"Come See About Me"
(1967) 		"Hip City, Pt. 1&2"
(1967)

"Come See About Me" is a 1964 song recorded by the Supremes for the Motown label. The track opens with a fade-in, marking one of the first times the technique had been used on a studio recording.

The song became third of five consecutively released Supremes songs to top the Billboard pop singles chart in the United States (the others being "Where Did Our Love Go", "Baby Love", "Stop! In the Name of Love" and "Back in My Arms Again"). It topped the chart twice, non-consecutively, being toppled by and later replacing the Beatles' "I Feel Fine" in December 1964 and January 1965.[1][2] The BBC ranked "Come See About Me" at #94 on The Top 100 Digital Motown Chart, which ranks Motown releases by their all time UK downloads and streams.[3]

History

Overview

"Come See About Me" was written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland.[4] It was recorded during a two-week period in which the Supremes also cut "Baby Love", after "Where Did Our Love Go" became their most successful single to date.[4] It was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two separate weeks: December 13, 1964, to December 18, 1964, and January 10, 1965, to January 16, 1965, and reached #3 on the soul chart.[4]

Billboard said the song has a "pronounced Detroit beat, steady and exacting" and that the "gals weave silky and controlled vocal through beat."[5] Cash Box described it as "a pulsating stomp-a-rhythmic… that the gals carve out in ultra-commercial manner" and in which the group was "in top-of-the-chart form."[6]

The Supremes were the first to record the song, but not the first to issue it as a single. That distinction fell to Nella Dodds: her version climbed to #74 on the Billboard Hot 100, but Motown quickly released the Supremes' version as a single, which killed Dodds' sales. Cash Box described Dodds' version as "an exciting pop-r&b, choral-backed handclap-shuffler about a gal who pleads for her ex-boyfriend to return to her," hailing the singer as "a new talent who promises to be an important wax name in the coming weeks".[6]

The Supremes made their first of 17 appearances[7] live on the popular CBS variety program The Ed Sullivan Show, performing this single on Sunday, December 27, 1964.[8]

The group also recorded a German version of the song, entitled "Johnny und Joe".

"The words had a real sad weight," observed Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke, "but the music was bouncy. Great!"[9]

Personnel

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1964–1965) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[11] 78
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[12] 20
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[13] 1
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[14] 17
New Zealand (Lever Hit Parade)[15] 2
Singapore (Billboard)[16] 1
UK Singles (OCC)[17] 27
US Billboard Hot 100[18] 1
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[19] 2
US Cashbox Top 100[20] 1
US Cashbox R&B[21] 2
US Record World 100 Top Pops[22] 1
US Record World Top 40 R&B[23] 2

Year-end charts

Chart (1965) Rank
Japan Foreign Hits (Billboard)[24] 8
US Cashbox Top 100[25] 8
US Cashbox R&B[26] 21

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom
Digital sales and streams only 		— 65,000[27]
United States — 1,000,000[28][29]

Other versions

  • The Supremes recorded a German-language version of the song, titled "Jonny und Joe" as the b-side of the 1965 single "Thank You Darling" (also sung in German) in Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands.[30] "Jonny und Joe" was later included on two various Motown artists compilation albums Motown Around the World (1987, 1CD)[31] and Motown Around the World: The Classic Singles (2010, 2CD)[32] and also on Diana Ross & the Supremes compilation 50th Anniversary: The Singles Collection 1961–1969 (2011, 3CD).[33]
  • In 1967, the song was a repeat hit for Motown act Jr. Walker & the All Stars, whose version reached the top 10 on the R&B chart and the top 25 on the pop chart.[34]
  • In 1987, Welsh rock and roll singer Shakin' Stevens covered it on his album Let's Boogie, making it a hit in the UK and Ireland. Shakin' Stevens version surpassed the Supremes' original #27 chart placing by reaching #24.[citation needed]
  • In 2012, American musical dramedy Glee featured a cover of this song for its fourth season's Thanksgiving episode. The cover was recorded by Dianna Agron as her character Quinn Fabray with Naya Rivera and Heather Morris providing backup vocals.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Vol. 76, no. 51. Nielsen Company. 1964. p. 24. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
  2. ^ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Vol. 77, no. 3. Nielsen Company. 1965. p. 20. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
  3. ^ "The Top 100 Digital Motown Chart". BBC. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Hogan, Ed. "Come See About Me". Allmusic. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
  5. ^ "Singles Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. November 7, 1964. p. 16. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  6. ^ a b "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. November 7, 1964. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  7. ^ Yusuf, Nilgin (26 April 2008). "The Supremes on show". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  8. ^ "The Supremes/The Serendipity Singers/Leslie Uggams". The Ed Sullivan Show. Season 18. Episode 14. New York City. 24 December 1964. CBS. WCBS.
  9. ^ "All Back to My Place". Mojo (140): 9. July 2005.
  10. ^ Liner notes. The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 4: 1964, Hip-O Select – B0005946-02, USA, 24 Feb 2006
  11. ^ "Every Unique AMR Top 100 Single of the 1964". Top 100 Singles. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  12. ^ "The Supremes – Come See About Me" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  13. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5576." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  14. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Supremes The" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  15. ^ "flavour of new zealand - search lever". Flavour of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 2021-02-08. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  16. ^ "Billboard Magazine, March 13, 1965". Billboard. 13 March 1965.
  17. ^ "Supremes: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  18. ^ "The Supremes Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  19. ^ "The Supremes Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
  20. ^ "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles". Cashbox. December 26, 1964. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  21. ^ "The CASH BOX Top 50 In R&B Locations". Cashbox. December 26, 1964. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  22. ^ "100 TOP POPS: Week of December 26, 1964" (PDF). Record World. worldradiohistory.com. December 26, 1964. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  23. ^ "TOP 40 R&B: Week of December 26, 1964" (PDF). Record World. worldradiohistory.com. December 26, 1964. p. 34. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  24. ^ "FOREIGN HITS IN JAPAN 1960-1969". Billboard. December 19, 1970. p. J-32. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
  25. ^ "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1965". Cashbox. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  26. ^ "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1965". Cashbox. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  27. ^ Copsey, Rob (August 26, 2019). "The Official Top 100 Motown songs of the Millennium". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  28. ^ MAKE IT BIG first girl vocal trio to make million-seller record list with three consecutive hits. Vol. 20. Johnson Publishing Company. June 1965. p. 81. ISSN 0012-9011. Retrieved 23 January 2020. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  29. ^ Dafydd Rees (1991). Rock Movers & Shakers. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780874366617. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  30. ^ The Supremes - "Thank You Darling" / "Johnny und Joe" (1965) single releases & credits at Discogs
  31. ^ Various Artists - Motown Around the World: The Classic Singles (2010) album releases & credits at Discogs
  32. ^ Various Artists - Motown Around the World: The Classic Singles (2010) double CD review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, credits & releases at AllMusic
  33. ^ Diana Ross & the Supremes compilation 50th Anniversary: The Singles Collection: 1961-1969 (2011) triple CD review by Steve Leggett, credits & releases at AllMusic
  34. ^ Jr. Walker & the All Stars - "Come See About Me" / "Sweet Soul" (1967) single releases & credits at Discogs

External links

  • The Supremes - Come See About Me on YouTube
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1962
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1963
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1964
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1965
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"Darling Baby"
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1966
"(I'm a) Roadrunner"
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"My World Is Empty Without You"
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"Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)" / "Just as Long as You Need Me"
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"Who Could Ever Doubt My Love"
"I Like Everything About You"
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1967
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1969
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1975
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1976
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