"Forever Came Today" is a 1967 song written and produced by the Motown collective of Holland–Dozier–Holland, and was first made into a hit as a single for Diana Ross & the Supremes in early 1968.
A disco version of the song was released as a single seven years later by Motown group The Jackson 5.
Overview[]
The release of "Forever Came Today" was the result of a work slowdown by Holland-Dozier-Holland in late 1967. The song had originally cut in April 1967 with vocals added in December 1967 and January 1968.
HDH and particularly lyricist Eddie Holland, had become dissatisfied with both their pay and the working atmosphere at Motown, and resultingly created very little music during the latter half of the year.
With no other Supremes singles ready for release, Motown had "Forever Came Today" prepared for release as a single.
The single is the first recorded release to feature Diana Ross without the Supremes members as the vocals of session singers The Andantes were recorded for the single in lieu of Mary Wilson and new member Cindy Birdsong.
The single stalled for two weeks at number twenty-eight on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in spring 1968.
It was their first American single not to reach the top 10 since "Nothing But Heartaches."
The song's lyrics feature a woman who is amazed by her boyfriend's love that she has waited 'forever' for, hence the saying "my forever came today."
In spite of its showings on the pop charts, Holland-Dozier-Holland uphold "Forever Came Today" as one of the best Motown songs they ever wrote.
By the time of the single's release in February 1968, Holland-Dozier-Holland no longer came to Motown's Hitsville U.S.A. studio.
Motown sued for breach of contract in August of 1968; HDH countersued. The trio went on to eventually start their own labels, Invictus Records and Hot Wax Records.
Meanwhile, Berry Gordy was forced to find a new songwriting team for the Supremes, since Holland-Dozier-Holland had written all of the group's hit singles since 1963.
Chart Performance[]
Chart | Peak position |
---|---|
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 28 |
U.S. Billboard R&B Singles Chart | 17 |
U.S. Cash Box Pop Singles Chart | 13 |
UK Singles Chart | 28 |