Song: Come See About Me
Artist: The Supremes
Year: 1964
Seductively kicking in with an unmistakable Motown groove, ‘Come See About Me’ became The Supremes’ third consecutive number one single and survives as one of the group’s signature tunes during a prolific spell of chart dominance during the mid-1960s. The song was written and produced by Motown Records’ formidable team of Lamont Dozier and brothers Brian and Eddie Holland; a fertile hit machine that achieved consistent brilliance, the Holland-Dozier-Holland partnership was responsible for a mammoth 35 Billboard Top Ten hits and ten of The Supremes’ twelve number one U.S singles.
Performed during the group’s first of an incredible sixteen appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show (a record number for a Motown artist), ‘Come See About Me’ left behind the syrupy pop confections of The Supremes’ earlier songs (‘Baby Love’ and ‘Where Did Our Love Go’ being the number one hits that preceded it) and marked the beginnings of a more mature and soulful approach to the group’s future output.
Such was The Supremes’ immense popularity in the mid-sixties, they were able to successfully lock horns with popular music’s most distinguished commercial force. During their unprecedented ascent towards global domination, The Beatles’ were on the receiving end as ‘Come See About Me’ topped the charts during two non-consecutive spells; having been toppled by the Fab Four’s ‘I Feel Fine’ in December ‘64, The Supremes struck back and their song returned to the number one spot in January ’65.
Scott Hammond
