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"In and Out of Love"
1967 France single
Single by Diana Ross & the Supremes
from the album Reflections
B-side	"I Guess I'll Always Love You"
Released	October 25, 1967
Recorded	Los Angeles: April 20, 1967 (instrumentation) Hitsville U.S.A. (Studio A): June 12–June 13, 1967 (Supremes); July 7, 1967 (Andantes)
Genre	Sunshine pop, psychedelic pop
Length	2:38 (album/single version)
Label	Motown M 1116
Songwriter(s)	Holland–Dozier–Holland
Producer(s)	Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland
Diana Ross & the Supremes singles chronology
"Reflections" (1967) "In and Out of Love" (1967) "Forever Came Today" (1968)
Reflections track listing
12 tracks Side one "Reflections" "I'm Gonna Make It (I Will Wait For You)" "Forever Came Today" "I Can't Make It Alone" "In and Out of Love" "Bah-Bah-Bah" Side two "What the World Needs Now Is Love" "Up, Up and Away" "Love (Makes Me Do Foolish Things)" "Then" "Misery Makes Its Home in My Heart" "Ode to Billie Joe"

"In and Out of Love" is a 1967 song recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label. It was the second single issued with the group's new billing of Diana Ross & the Supremes, the penultimate Supremes single written and produced by Motown production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, and the last single to feature the vocals of original member Florence Ballard.

Recording

By the time of the recording of "In and Out of Love," The Supremes had become the most successful American music group of all time, with ten number-one pop singles on the Billboard Hot 100 to their credit. In the midst of their success, conflicts between Supremes members Diana Ross, Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson arose. Ballard was uneasy about the group's direction and felt her role was being reduced in the group she first founded.

Motown's premier production team Holland–Dozier–Holland (H–D–H) recorded the track for "In and Out of Love" originally in Detroit with the Funk Brothers on March 2, 1967 during the same session for "The Happening" and "Reflections," but subsequently rerecorded the track six weeks later in Los Angeles. Ross added her lead vocals on June 12, 1967 with Wilson and Ballard adding their vocals the following day on June 13. It would be Ballard's final session as a Supreme.

By mid-1967, H–D–H, like Ballard, grew increasingly frustrated with their position at Motown. Lyricist Eddie Holland convinced his brother Brian Holland and their partner Lamont Dozier to stage a work slowdown, and for much of 1967 the trio turned out virtually no product. After one last Supremes single, "Forever Came Today," in early 1968, H–D–H left Motown, prompting a series of lawsuits between the label and the songwriters that lasted over a decade.

By July 1967, Motown CEO Berry Gordy had fired Ballard, replacing her with Cindy Birdsong of Patti LaBelle & the Blue Belles. One week after her dismissal, the vocals of Ballard and fellow member Mary Wilson were overdubbed by in-house session singers the Andantes and multitracked for the final single. Diana Ross & The Supremes performed "In and Out of Love" live on CBS's The Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday, November 19, 1967.

The single proved immensely popular with the fans as it was chosen by American Bandstand voters to be the song they wanted for that summer's dance contest. It remained at #1 for 4 (four) weeks on the American Bandstand chart.

Reception

The release of "In and Out of Love" was successful, peaking at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100, number 16 on the R&B Singles chart, and number 13 on the UK Singles Chart in late autumn 1967. The single also reached number 10 on the Cashbox chart. Cash Box said that it has "a witty combination of orchestration and beat a la Motor City with the sweep and splendor of a folk-country ballad."

Personnel

• Lead vocals by Diana Ross
• Background vocals by Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, and the Andantes (Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow and Louvain Demps)
• Instrumentation by Los Angeles musicians
  • Bass by Carol Kaye

Track listing

• 7" single (25 October 1967) (North America/United Kingdom/Spain)

1. "In and Out of Love" – 2:36
2. "I Guess I'll Always Love You" – 2:43

Charts

References

1. ^ Sexton, Paul (November 11, 2020). "'In And Out Of Love': Florence Ballard's Final Supremes Session". UDiscover Music. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
2. "Unsung: Florence Ballard". Unsung. Season 2. Episode 4. 28 June 2009. TV One. Archived from the original on 2017-03-08.
3. Chin, Brian and Nathan, David (2000). "Reflections Of..." The Supremes . New York: Motown Record Co./Universal Music.
4. ^ Posner, Gerald (2002). Motown: Music, Money, Sex, and Power. New York: Random House. pp. 205–206. ISBN 0-375-50062-6.
5. George, Nelson (1985). Where Did Our Love Go: The Rise and Fall of the Motown Sound. New York: St. Martin's. pp. 152–154. ISBN 0-312-01109-1.
6. Historic Music, Inc. (2006). Reflections: The Definitive Performances 1964-1969 (DVD). Santa Monica, California: Universal Music.
7. "Diana Ross & the Supremes, The Temptations, Flip Wilson". The Ed Sullivan Show. Season 21. Episode 11. New York City. 19 November 1967. CBS. WCBS.
8. "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Vol. 79, no. 49. Nielsen Company. 1967. p. 95. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
9. "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. November 4, 1967. p. 22. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
10. Wright, Brian F. (February 6, 2019). "Reconstructing the History of Motown Session Musicians: The Carol Kaye/James Jamerson Controversy". Journal of the Society for American Music. 13 (1): 78–109. doi:10.1017/S1752196318000536. S2CID 192615592.
11. "Go-Sets National Top 40". Go-Set. 27 December 1967. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
12. "Every Unique AMR Top 100 Single of the 1967". Top 100 Singles. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
13. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 100135." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
14. "Diana Ross & The Supremes - In And Out Of Love | Top 40". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
15. "Supremes: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
16. "BRITAIN'S TOP R&B SINGLES" (PDF). Record Mirror. December 9, 1967. p. 11. Retrieved October 31, 2021 – via worldradiohistory.com.
17. "The Supremes Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
18. "The Supremes Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
19. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles". Cashbox. December 16, 1967. Archived from the original on 29 October 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
20. "The CASH BOX Top 50 In R&B Locations". Cashbox. December 16, 1967. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
21. "100 TOP POPS: Week of December 16, 1967" (PDF). Record World. worldradiohistory.com. December 16, 1967. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
22. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2016-08-12. Retrieved 2016-10-01.

• 1967 singles
• The Supremes songs
• Songs written by Holland–Dozier–Holland
• Motown singles
• Psychedelic soul songs
• 1967 songs
• Song recordings produced by Brian Holland
• Song recordings produced by Lamont Dozier