"Diana Ross & The Supremes I'm Gonna Make It (I Will Wait For You)" Mono/Stereo "Classic Motown"
"Diana Ross & The Supremes I'm Gonna Make It (I Will Wait For You)" Mono/Stereo / isolated L/R channels
"The Times They Are A-Changin'," sang Bob Dylan in 1964. Songwriters Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland; Motown founder Berry Gordy; Diana Ross, Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, Cindy Birdsong; newly-signed Motown songwriter Dennis Lussier and Motown singer Debbie Dean- ALL of them may very well have had this particular song title popping up into their minds in 1967.
1967. The year that everything changed for the Supremes. They gained a new name: Diana Ross AND The Supremes. Florence Ballard ended up being removed from the group and Holland-Dozier-Holland were in the process of leaving Motown, then finally just up and left the company. This was a crucial event for H-D-H were the prime architects for The Supremes' game plan of hit songs. There was an album that was coming out, riding high on the most recent H-D-H spectacular, "Reflections." "The Times They Are A-Changin'."
When album tracks were being selected for the "Reflections" album, there was a mix of older material and newer stuff. One of the newest things was "I'm Gonna Make It (I Will Wait For You)," a song written by new Motown songwriter, Dennis Lussier. Dennis also went by his stage name, Deke Richards. Dennis arrived at Motown via his friendship with a singer who had been at Motown in the early days but had left by the middle of the decade, Debbie Dean. Debbie recommended her friend Dennis to Berry Gordy and Gordy hired him. In a roundabout way, Dennis's joining Motown facilitated Debbie Dean rejoining the company, but employing her skills more as a songwriter.
I can't say for certain, but surely "I'm Gonna Make It" had to have been one of Dennis's first songs- if not the first -for Motown. And what an assignment! To write for one of the the world's biggest and most popular singing groups. No worries, Dennis and Debbie more than rose to the occasion and in fact, turned in a production that sounded uncannily like a Holland-Dozier-Holland record. What's interesting here too is how the song opens with the same type of moody electric piano intro as "Reflections." Was this done by design or was it merely coincidence? I have to believe it was deliberate. (I also noticed right away that Deke worked VERY much like Holland-Dozier-Holland, deftly editing sections of a recording into a structure/sequence that the producer felt improved a record's flow. With "Im Gonna Make It," if you listen closely, immediately after the intro/chorus is sung, there is an edit just at the point where Diana Ross begins singing.)
The song is well-constructed and actually would have made for a very good single- that is, IF Motown and Berry weren't in such a panic about keeping the HDH Express going by releasing some of the last productions the trio did for the Supremes (oops...Diana Ross AND The Supremes). I also have to believe that if this song had been recorded by The Marvlettes or Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, the chances would have been much stronger that it would have been released as a single; this was because the insane pressure for Diana Ross & Company to release ONLY records destined for Number One (!) wasn't anywhere near as big an issue for just about everyone else at Motown.
Job well done Dennis and Debbie. Very well done. They were able to capture something of the spirit of the HDH version of The Motown Sound, probably better than just about anyone else at the company. Maybe this played into Berry's decision to bring Dennis into the gang of renegade songwriters that would later craft by committee the astonishing hit, "Love Child."
By the way, to hear Debbie Dean, the Motown songstress:
• "Debbie Dean Stay My Love" "Women of...
• "Debbie Dean Why Am I Loving You" "W...
• "Debbie Dean (Baby Baby) I'm In Love...
Song info found found at "Don't Forget The Motor City"
http://www.dftmc.info/titles/ti-13.htm
I'm Gonna Make It (I Will Wait For You) (Dennis Lussier-Debbie Dean) published Jobete
alt title: I'll Always Meet You Half Way
The Supremes; recorded Hitsville-GW, completed 21-Dec-67 ; produced by Dennis Lussier
Apr-68; LP (M): Motown M665 Reflections
Apr-68; LP (S): Motown S665 Reflections
#dianaross #dianarossandthesupremes #motown #motowndeepcuts #womenofmotown #graphicdesign #graphicarts #animation #editingvideo
