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Buttered Popcorn
Buttered popcorn

B-Side

Who's Lovin You

Released

July 21, 1961

Recorded

Hitsville, USA; 1961

Format

45 (7 in.) Single

Genre

R&B, Soul, Rock n Roll, Pop

Length

2:55

Label

Tamla 54045

Writer(s)

Berry Gordy Jr. Barney Ales

Producer

Berry Gordy Jr.

Buttered Popcorn is the second single from The Supremes' debut album "Meet The Supremes."

The first version of the song was released on July 21, 1961 and the second version was released in August of 1961.

The song was written by Berry Gordy Jr. (who also produced the song) and Barney Ales.

It was the group's last single on Tamla Records before they moved to Motown Records.

Song Background[]

This is one of the rare singles to feature Florence Ballard on lead vocals. In the early days of the group, all of the members got a chance to sing lead on stage & in the recording studio with Florence having the role as the main lead singer.

However, Berry Gordy felt that Diana Ross' vocals had a better chance at the targeted cross-over audience because Diana had the most pop-sounding voice of the group.

Despite the fact that Florence's lead vocals were deemed "too soulful," the song was considered by Motown's Quality Control department to be the best song to be issued as the Supremes' second Motown single.

However, Berry was determined that Diana should be the group’s main lead and wanted the group’s cover of The Miracles' song "Who's Lovin' You" to be the single's A-side.

In the end, Berry and Motown Quality Control compromised: "Buttered Popcorn" would remain the A-side of the single, but the single would be promoted as if it were a "double A-side" one.

Meanwhile, the fourth member of the group Barbara Martin left the group just before the release of (and after recording) the group's next single which turned them into a trio.

Song Composition[]

The song talks of a woman who’s worried that her man is more concerned with eating buttered popcorn than her as he eats it "for breakfast, lunch and a dinner too."

Song Reception[]

Both sides of the single received a lot of airplay on local Detroit stations, but problems very quickly aroused.

The first version of the song was withdrawn because it was considered "too raw" and a smoother take of the song was released.

Berry did little to promote the single’s A-side, and, some time later, the label discovered that the song could be conceived to have a scandalous "double meaning" and switch to pushing the B-side alone before ceasing promotion of the single altogether.

Neither sides of the single charted nationally, but they were smash hits on several regional charts in parts of the country.

Credits[]

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