One of the earlier compact discs I bought was The Never-Before-Released Masters by Diana Ross and the Supremes. It was definitely a mixed bag of songs from 1961 through 1969 that represented both major iterations of the group: Mary Wilson and Diana Ross with the late Florence Ballard, and after the group name change, with Cindy Birdsong.
Among other things, the album contains recordings for the unreleased album Diana Ross & The Supremes Sing Disney Classics, not my favorite section of the collection. And the cover of the Classics IV hit Stormy is unnecessary. I do enjoy some of the covers of other Motown artists.
My favorite song on the album is Am I Asking Too Much. It was written by R. Dean Taylor and Deke Richards, R Dean Taylor had an unlikely Motown hit of his own, Indiana Wants Me, #5 pop on the Billboard pop charts in 1970. Deke Richards died of esophageal cancer on March 24, 2013, at age 68.
The songwriting credits immediately suggested the Diana/Mary/Cindy period, since most of their earlier hits were by Holland/Dozier/Holland. Indeed, Taylor and Richards were co-writers on the #1 hit Love Child. Am I Asking Too Much was recorded on March 26, 1968, according to the Don’t Forget The Motor City website.
Listen to:
Am I Asking Too Much – Diana Ross and the Supremes HERE
Sweet Thing (William Robinson-Terry Johnson-Al Cleveland) – Diana Ross and the Supremes HERE or HERE
Indiana Wants Me – R. Dean Taylor HERE or HERE
Berry Gordy was devoted to that mixed-bag stuff; the Supremes, after all, cut an entire LP of Sam Cooke covers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFk7jZZ5Ybw
And there’s this unexpected Rolling Stones number:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLmevCYMqvE
“Satisfaction” was cut for the The Supremes A’ Go Go album, but remained in the vault for a few decades.
I OWNED We Remember Sam Cooke, and a Little Bit of Liverpool, and S sing Rodgers & Hart, and S Sing Country Western & Pop