Cream of the Crop

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Cream of the Crop
Studio album by Diana Ross & the Supremes
Released	November 3, 1969
Recorded	1966 ("Blowin' in the Wind") 1968-1969 (all other tracks)
Genre	Soul
Length	31:40
Label	Motown MS 694
Producer	Johnny Bristol, Berry Gordy, Smokey Robinson
Diana Ross & the Supremes chronology
Together (1969) Cream of the Crop (1969) On Broadway (1969)

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Allmusic	[1]

Cream of the Crop is the eighteenth studio album released by Diana Ross & the Supremes for the Motown label. It was the final regular Supremes studio album to feature lead singer Diana Ross. The album was released in November 1969, after the release and rising success of the hit single "Someday We'll Be Together."

"Someday" was originally to have been released as Ross' first solo single (Ross is backed on the recording by session singers Maxine and Julia Waters, not the Supremes).^{[citation needed]} Motown chief Berry Gordy appended the Supremes billing to the single so as to create more publicity for Ross' exit from the group.^{[citation needed]}

Another selection of note is "The Young Folks", the charting B-side of "No Matter What Sign You Are" from Let the Sunshine In, later covered by The Jackson 5. Cream of the Crop also includes covers of songs by The Beatles ("Hey Jude") and Bob Dylan ("Blowin' in the Wind").

The lead #1 single, "Someday We'll Be Together" proved to be a multi-format smash. The album closer, "The Beginning of the End", features Motown artist Syreeta Wright alongside Ross and Supremes members Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong. Wright was Berry Gordy's original choice to replace Ross in the Supremes because she had a range and tone similar to Ross.^{[citation needed]} However, Gordy and Supremes manager Shelly Berger decided instead to replace Ross with Jean Terrell, after seeing Terrell perform with her brother Ernie as part of their band, Ernie Terrell & the Heavyweights.^{[citation needed]}

Its modest Billboard album chart ranking at #33^{[citation needed]} was as much a reflection on the company's forthcoming focus on Diana Ross' solo debut as it was on the album's content of "second tier" songwriters. Motown had flooded the market with at least 4 new albums in a twelve-month period. Despite sporting a platinum single, sales for Ross's final Supremes studio album were tepid.

• Diana Ross – lead vocals
• Mary Wilson & Cindy Birdsong – background vocals
• Florence Ballard – background vocals on "Blowin' In The Wind"
• Syreeta Wright – background vocals on "The Beginning of the End"
• Julia Waters Tillman, Maxine Waters Willard, & Merry Clayton – background vocals on "Someday We'll Be Together"
• Johnny Bristol – co-lead vocals on "Someday We'll Be Together
• The Andantes – background vocals
• The Funk Brothers & various Los Angeles area session musicians – instrumentation

• Chin, Brian and Nathan, David (2000). "Reflections Of..." The Supremes [CD Box Set]. New York: Motown Record Co./Universal Music.
• Wilson, Mary and Romanowski, Patricia (1986, 1990, 2000). Dreamgirl & Supreme Faith: My Life as a Supreme. New York: Cooper Square Publishers. ISBN 0-8154-1000-X.