"Nothing but Heartaches" is a 1965 song recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label.[1]
Written and produced by Motown songwriting and producing team Holland–Dozier–Holland, it was notable for breaking the first string of five consecutive number-one pop singles in the United States, peaking at number 11 from August 29, 1965, through September 4, 1965, on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[2] Despite this, it was the sixth of seven consecutive million-selling singles released by The Supremes between 1964 and 1965.[3]
Confident that they had finally found a successful formula, Berry Gordy had Holland–Dozier–Holland create a song similar to several of their earlier hit singles. As expected, "Nothing but Heartaches" had a similar sound to "Stop! In the Name of Love" and "Back in My Arms Again." Gordy felt confident that the song would become their sixth consecutive number-one hit.
The lukewarm response to "Nothing but Heartaches" was not what Gordy had predicted, as it peaked at number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100. The song's more modest top 20 charting prompted Gordy to circulate a memo around the Motown offices:
We will release nothing less than Top Ten product on any artist; and because the Supremes' world-wide acceptance is greater than the other artists, on them we will only release number-one records.
After canceling the planned subsequent release of "Mother Dear," Holland-Dozier-Holland produced "I Hear a Symphony."
Cash Box described the song as a "rollicking pop-blues heart-throbber about a love struck gal who can’t break away from a fella who is decidedly wrong for her."[4]Record World said that "The oh so sweet Diana Ross voice again wails as Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson chant along on a Detroit delight."[5]
^Joseph Murrells (1984). Million Selling Records from the 1900s to the 1980s: An Illustrated Directory. London: B.T. Batsford. p. 215. ISBN0-7134-3843-6.
Chronology(The band's name history: The Primettes 1959–1961 / The Supremes 1961–1967 / Diana Ross & The Supremes 1967–1970 / The Supremes 1970 / Diana Ross & The Supremes 1970 / The Supremes 1970–)
