Yesterday’s classic song of the day was all about being “stone in love,” so it makes sense for today’s classic song of the day to be “Stoned Love.” This was a track by the post-Diana Ross Supremes, with Jean Terrell singing lead.
“Stoned Love” was released on the Motown label in October of 1970. It peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #5 on the Cash Box Top 100; it went all the way to #1 on both the Billboard Hot R&B and Cash Box R&B charts.
The song was written by a kid named Kenny Thomas, along with established Motown producer Frank Wilson, who also produced it. Kenny Thomas was a teenager at the time who had entered some of his songs into a local radio talent show, which got Frank Wilson’s attention. Frank met up with Kenny to listen to some of his songs, one of which was an early version of “Stoned Love.” Frank liked the song so much he came back to Kenny’s house a few days later with Supreme Mary Wilson in tow. She liked the song, too, and they decided to record it as the group’s next single.
The recording session for the instrumental tracks took place in Detroit at Motown’s Studio B, with members of the Funk Brothers and a studio orchestra. Supremes Jean Terrell, Mary Wilson, and Cindy Birdsong recorded their vocals a few weeks later in New York City.
“Stoned Love” was originally titled “Stone Love” (as in Sly and the Family Stone) but it was mislabeled as “Stoned Love” and that’s the name that stuck. Unfortunately, some radio stations were reticent to play the single, thinking it was a reference to drug use. (It wasn’t.) Still, “Stoned Love” overcame that initial hesitation and became the Supremes’ final top ten single.
And here’s your daily bonus video of the day, the Supremes singing “Stoned Love” live on the March 5, 1973 episode of The Mike Douglas Show. Those ladies could really sing!
