(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please refer to the bottom of this review)
The Supremes - "Back In My Arms Again"
Hit Number 1: June 12, 1965
Stay at Number 1: 1 Week
The Supremes had accomplished something that was truly remarkable in 1965. When "Back In My Arms Again" hit #1 in June of '65, it became their fifth consecutive single to make it to the top of the charts. Even more outstanding, is that it was their fifth single they ever released. In case you're not quite putting the pieces together, the Supremes' FIRST five singles were #1 hits. That's a feature that not even the Beatles can say they accomplished. I will say that whenever there's a discussion about "the best sixties bands", leaving the Supremes out would be a complete travesty. And again, this is just a friendly reminder that I believe they were the greatest girl group ever.
However, the "unsung heroes" of the Supremes' amazing run were the Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team, who had written the four songs of theirs that hit #1 before "Back In My Arms Again". They had presented themselves as Motown's head songwriting team, writing hit singles for not only the Supremes, but also were responsible for some of the Four Tops' biggest hits. (Ironically, the Four Tops will appear in this blog in the very next post) Needless to say, two of the most famous acts to be a part of the Motown label owe some of their success to these guys. They knew how to write a good song.
That's exactly what "Back In My Arms Again" is. It's a good song. It's not a great song though, when you compare it to other songs of the Supremes, and you really can't put "Back In My Arms Again" in the same boat as Supremes' masterpieces such as "Where Did Our Love Go" and "Baby Love". It's a neat little song though, which is noted for its middle eight. The middle eight is the part of a song that sounds very different from the rest of the song, and usually occurs between the verses and the chorus. For better reference, the middle eight sounds nearly identical to another Holland-Dozier-Holland production, the Isley Brothers' "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)". (That song only made it to #12. It's a 6. The Isley Brothers will not appear in this blog.)
The middle eight is only one of the things to like about "Back In My Arms Again". The song is bursting with a lot of joy, and is about love gone right instead of wrong; something the Supremes were singing a lot about at this time. The narrator of the song keeps getting told from her friends that she should break it off with this boy, cause all he's gonna do his break her heart again. This is apparently not the first time her and this boy broke up, but we're told that that time was also because of her friends' "advice". She rejects her friends' advice, being thankful that the boy even gave her a second chance, and refuses to go through heartache again. I'll admit, it's all a little strange, but it's kind of cute at the same time.
The song is, again, not the greatest work Holland-Dozier-Holland or the Supremes have ever done, but it does the trick. It's just a nice little song to add to any sixties playlist.
GRADE: 7/10
NOTE:
Sometimes these links don't work for me at all, but I want to supply them for a better experience for you readers. I will start leaving them at the bottom of my reviews, cause that seems to work best.
MY INSPIRATION / MORE INFORMATION:
SONGS MENTIONED:
"Where Did Our Love Go" - https://rmparis12.wixsite.com/website/post/the-hit-hammer-the-supremes-where-did-our-love-go
"This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_9M6kRfJes
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