Today’s classic song of the day with a person’s name in the title is “Nathan Jones,” from the Supremes. Released in April of 1971, this Motown single peaked at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100, #10 on the Cash Box Top 100, and #8 on Billboard’s R&B chart.
“Nathan Jones” was the Supremes’ fifth hit after Diana Ross left the group, to be replaced by Jean Terrell. The group’s other post-Ross hits were “Up the Ladder to the Roof” (#10 in 1970), “Everybody’s Got the Right to Love” (#21 in 1970), “Stoned Love” (#7 in 1970), and “River Deep, Mountain High” (with the Four Tops, #14 in 1970). The group would have two more top forty hits: “Floy Joy” (#16 in 1971) and “I’m Gonna Let My Heart Do the Walking” (#40 in 1976).
Kathy Wakefield and Leonard Caston wrote “Nathan Jones” and Motown veteran Frank Wilson produced it. The song was an unusual one in the Supremes catalog in that all three singers (Jean Terrell, Mary Wilson, and Cindy Birdsong) sang the lead vocal line, all in unison. (To further beef up the song, producer Frank Wilson also had Clydie King sing along with the vocal line.)
Here’s what Supreme Cindy Birdsong remembers about recording this one:
“It was a difficult song to record. We sang off the beat and it was hard to get all three of us to come in on it at the same time. [But] whenever I heard it, it makes me want to dance.”
For those of you who grew up a little later, the British girl group Bananarama did a dance-flavored cover of “Nathan Jones” in 1988. Their version, which reached #15 on the UK Singles Chart, is our daily bonus track of the day. Enjoy!
