Love Child – Diana Ross & The Supremes | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning

Chart Performance: Pop (#1 for 2 weeks) & R&B (#2); 1968

Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne

In the three years between the Supremes first Top 40 single, 1964’s Where Did Our Love Go, and 1967’s In And Out Of Love, the trio scored a total of 15 Top 10 pop hits, of which 10 reached #1.

All were creations of Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland. So when H-D-H left the label in 1968 over money matters, everyone wondered about the future fortunes of the Supremes.

Things didn’t look bright when Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson’s Some Things You Never Get Used To stalled at #30, the group’s worse showing in four years. Label owner Berry Gordy responded by locking Pam Sawyer, Deke Richards, R. Dean Taylor, and Frank Wilson up in the Pontchartrain Hotel until they came up with a #1 song.

On day two Pam Sawyer suggested the “love child” theme, a daring departure from H-D-H’s more traditional lyrics, and by day three the song was finished. Their gamble paid off as Love Child returned the Supremes to #1.

This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.

Produced by:

  • The Clan (R. Dean Taylor, Frank Wilson, Pam Sawyer, Deke Richards)
  • Henry Cosby

Lyrics Written by:

  • R. Dean Taylor
  • Frank Wilson
  • Pam Sawyer
  • Deke Richards

Check Out all the Song Meanings of the 60s
Top 100 Songs Of The 1960s

Ed Osborne

Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).