Stoned Love

"Stoned Love"
Single by The Supremes
from the album New Ways but Love Stays
B-side"Shine On Me"
ReleasedOctober 15, 1970
RecordedMarch 10, April 2, and April 27, 1970; New York City studio: May 12, 1970
StudioGolden World (Studio B), Detroit
GenreSoul, pop, psychedelic soul
Length2:57 (single version)
4:07 (album version)
LabelMotown
M 1172
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Frank Wilson
The Supremes singles chronology
"Everybody's Got the Right to Love"
(1970) 		"Stoned Love"
(1970) 		"River Deep, Mountain High (with The Four Tops)"
(1970)
New Ways but Love Stays track listing
10 tracks
Side one
  1. "Together We Can Make Such Sweet Music"
  2. "Stoned Love"
  3. "It's Time to Break Down"
  4. "Bridge over Troubled Water"
  5. "I Wish I Were Your Mirror"
Side two
  2. "Come Together"
  3. "Is There a Place (In His Heart for Me)"
  4. "Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)"
  5. "Shine on Me"
  6. "Thank Him for Today"

"Stoned Love" is a 1970 hit single recorded by The Supremes for the Motown 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,[1][2] although the trio continued to score top ten hits in the UK into 1972. In the UK, it was the post-Ross Supremes' biggest hit, reaching number 3 in the singles chart. The single spent six weeks in the UK top ten and five weeks in the US top ten.[3] The BBC ranked "Stoned Love" at number 99 on The Top 100 Digital Motown Chart, which ranks Motown releases solely on their all time UK downloads and streams.[4]

History

1970 Motown advertisement in Billboard for "Stoned Love" and its parent album New Ways but Love Stays.

Song 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 the Vietnam War. Writer Kenny Thomas chose the term "stone love" to define the concept of an unchanging bond between one another. The same phrase appeared more than sixteen years later in Kool & the Gang's title "Stone Love" and in a slight variant two years later in The Stylistics' title "I'm Stone in Love with You".

Thomas was a Detroit teenager who had entered some of his songs into a local radio talent show, which record producer Frank Wilson happened to tune into. 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 The Funk Brothers and at least 30 other session musicians in Detroit at Motown Studio B (the former Golden World studio), while Jean Terrell, Mary Wilson, and Cindy Birdsong recorded their vocals in New York. The song was originally written and recorded as "Stone Love", but during the process of mixing and releasing, it was mislabeled as "Stoned Love".

Release and controversy

Many people saw 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 the RKO 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.

The Supremes' album New Ways but Love Stays, released in October 1970, spawned only "Stoned Love" as a single. The song also appears in the 1994 film Forrest Gump starring Tom Hanks. In 2004 neo soul singer Angie Stone covered the tune as the intro to her Stone Love album.

In other media

Manchester band The Stone Roses used the song as their intro track before taking to the stage for each night of their hugely successful 2012 reunion tour.[5]

Notes

  • 1 Kenny Thomas' writing credit on "Stoned Love" is listed as "Yennek Samoht"; his name spelled backwards (with an extra "e" to aid pronunciation). He did this both to emulate Stevie Wonder (who recorded an instrumental album under the name "Eivets Rednow") and because he thought "Samoht" was close to the last name of his idol Nina Simone.

Personnel

Chart performance

Certifications

Certifications for "Stoned Love"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom
Digital sales and streams only 		— 59,000[23]
United States — 1,000,000[24][25]

References

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 558.
  2. ^ "1969: The Top 100 Soul/R&B Singles". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  3. ^ "Supremes - Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  4. ^ "The Top 100 Digital Motown Chart". BBC. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  5. ^ Nme.Com (2012-07-01). "The Stone Roses smash second night at Heaton Park". Nme.com. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  6. ^ "Every Unique AMR Top 100 Single of the 1971". Top 100 Singles. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  7. ^ "The Supremes – Stoned Love" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  8. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 3733." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  9. ^ "Vísir - 56. Tölublað (09.03.1971)". Vísir (in Icelandic). 9 March 1971. p. 2. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  10. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – The Supremes". Irish Singles Chart.
  11. ^ "Billboard HITS OF THE WORLD". Billboard. 6 February 1971. p. 72.
  12. ^ "Supremes: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  13. ^ "The Supremes Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  14. ^ "The Supremes Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  15. ^ "The Supremes Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
  16. ^ "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles". Cashbox. January 16, 1971. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  17. ^ "The CASH BOX Top 50 In R&B Locations". Cashbox. January 2, 1971. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  18. ^ "THE SINGLES CHART: Week of January 16, 1971" (PDF). Record World. worldradiohistory.com. January 16, 1971. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  19. ^ "THE R&B SINGLES CHART: Week of December 26, 1970" (PDF). Record World. worldradiohistory.com. December 26, 1970. p. 67. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  20. ^ "Top 100 1970 - UK Music Charts". Uk-charts.top-source.info. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  21. ^ "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1971: TOP 100 R&B SINGLES". Cashbox. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  22. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
  23. ^ Copsey, Rob (August 26, 2019). "The Official Top 100 Motown songs of the Millennium". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  24. ^ J. Randy Taraborrelli (1986). Motown: Hot Wax, City Cool & Solid Gold. Doubleday. p. 105. ISBN 9780385197991. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  25. ^ Jay Warner (2006). American Singing Groups: A History from 1940s to Today. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 458. ISBN 0634099787. Retrieved 23 January 2020.