- Stoned Love
Single infobox |
Name = Stoned Love
Artist =The Supremes
from Album =New Ways But Love Stays
Released =October 15 ,1970
Format = 7" single
Recorded =Golden World (Studio B),Detroit :March 10 ,April 2 , andApril 27 ,1970 ;New York City studio:May 12 ,1970
Genre = Soul/pop
Length = 3:01 (single edit)
4:09 (album version)
Label =Motown
M 1172
Writer = Kenny Thomas1
Frank Wilson
Producer = Frank Wilson
Chart position =
*# 7 (US Pop Singles)
**# 1 (US R&B Singles)
*# 3 (UK Singles Chart )
Reviews =
Last single = "Everybody's Got the Right to Love"
(1970)
This single = "Stoned Love"
(1970)
Next single = "River Deep - Mountain High " (withFour Tops )
(1970)"Stoned Love" is a
1970 hit single recorded byThe Supremes for theMotown label. It was the last Billboard Pop Top Ten hit for the group, peaking at number seven, and their last Billboard number-one R&B hit as well, although the trio continued to score top ten hits in the UK into 1972. It and "Up the Ladder to the Roof " are the only Top Ten Supremes singles to featureJean Terrell on lead vocals instead ofDiana Ross , who left the group in January1970 to pursue a solo career.History
ong information
A plea for love and peace similar to those recorded by
Sly & the Family Stone in the late 1960s, the lyrics of "Stoned Love" were a plea for the people of the world to end conflict and animosity between each other, specifically theVietnam War . Thomas chose the term "stoned love" (or alternately, "stone love") to define the concept of an unchanging bond between one another."Stoned Love" was originally written by a Detroit teenager named Kenny Thomas. Thomas had entered some of his songs into a local radio talent show, which
record producer Frank Wilson happened to tune in to. Wilson arranged a meeting with the young musician at Thomas' house, where he proceeded to play a number of songs on a guitar that only had two strings. One of the songs he played was an unfinished version of "Stoned Love." Wilson was very much impressed with the song, and came back to Thomas' house a few days later with, to Thomas' delight and surprise, Supremes member Mary Wilson (no relation to Frank).After a few lines of the song were revised by the producer, "Stoned Love" was recorded during the spring of
1970 . The instrumental track was recorded with TheFunk Brothers and at least 30 other session musicians in Detroit at Motown Studio B (the formerGolden World studio), while Jean Terrell, Mary Wilson, andCindy Birdsong recorded their vocals in New York.Release and controversy
Many people saw that the song as a coded reference to drug use, and many radio station owners were at first apprehensive to play the record. Motown founder
Berry Gordy was also said to have hated the song, and label executive Barney Ales had to arrange for theRKO radio stations to agree to play "Stoned Love" before releasing the single. Fearing that the song was indeed a reference to drug use,CBS cut a live performance of the song from a November 1970 episode of "The Merv Griffin Show "."Stoned Love" was the only single from The Supremes' album, "New Ways But Love Stays", released in October
1970 . It also appears in the1994 motion picture "Forrest Gump", starringTom Hanks . In2004 ,neo soul singerAngie Stone covered the tune as the intro to her LP "Stone Love".Notes
*1 Kenny Thomas' writing credit on "Stoned Love" is listed as "Yennik Samoht"; his name spelled backwards. He did this both to emulate
Stevie Wonder (who sometimes billed himself as "Eivets Rednow"), and because he thought "Samoht" was close to the last name of his idolNina Simone .Credits
* Lead vocals by
Jean Terrell
* Background vocals by Mary Wilson andCindy Birdsong
* Instrumentation by TheFunk Brothers
* Arranged by David Van DePitteample
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.