"Buttered Popcorn" is a 1961 song written by

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

executives

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), also known as Berry Gordy Jr., is an American retired record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record label and i ...

and Barney Ales, produced by Gordy, and released as a Tamla label single by Motown singing group

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...

. It was the group's second single after signing with Motown Records (and their third overall) as well as their second, and last, single for the Tamla label, before moving to the Motown label.

Recording

This is not only one of the rare singles to feature

Florence Ballard Florence Glenda Chapman (''née'' Ballard; June 30, 1943 – February 22, 1976) was an American singer and a founding member of the Motown vocal female group the Supremes. She sang on 16 top 40 singles with the group, including ten number- ...

on lead, but the only one with her as the sole lead. The song talks of a woman who's worried that her man is more concerned with eating "buttered popcorn" than anything else, as he eats it "''For breakfast, lunch and a dinner too''" as well his health "''Well it worries me so I don't know what to do''" . In the group's early days all of its members got a chance to sing lead on stage and in the recording studio, with Ballard having the role of main lead singer on stage. However Berry Gordy felt that the vocals of Diana Ross had a better chance at the targeted cross-over audience, as Ross had the most pop-sounding voice of the group. 1 line for the verse "more butter" is for the all girls from the group: ''Florence: When I asked him what was happenin' in the world today. He said... '' ''Florence: A more butter;'' ''Florence and Mary: More butter;'' ''Florence, Mary and Barbara: More butter;'' ''Florence, Mary, Barbara and Diana: More.'' Despite the fact that Ballard's leads were deemed "too soulful", Buttered Popcorn was considered by Motown's Quality Control department to be the best song to be issued as the Supremes' second Motown single. However, Berry Gordy was determined that Ross should be the group's main lead and wanted the group's cover of

The Miracles The Miracles (later known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1955. They were the first successful recording act for Motown Records and are considered one of the most ...

' " Who's Lovin' You" to be the single's A-side. In the end, Gordy and Quality Control compromised; the Ballard-led song would remain the single's A-side, but the single would be promoted as if it was a "double A-side" one.

Critical reception

Retrospectively, Stevie Chick of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', listed "Buttered Popcorn" as one of the best 10 Supremes songs. Chick expressed that Ballard was 'A bold, big-voiced belter' and described the song as 'A piece of raw, ribald soul lacking the polish that gilded their he Supremes'later hits'. Also, 'Ballard growls salaciously on Buttered Popcorn that her boyfriend "likes it greasy, and sticky, and salty, and gooey", a knowingly saucy performance that somehow escaped the interference of Motown's infamous Quality Control department.' Similarly, Bonnie Stiernberg of '' Paste'' wrote 'the innuendo-laced track is not unlike buttered popcorn—salty, fluffy, and oh so good'. Contemporary reviews of "Buttered Popcorn" include a B+ from '' Cashbox'', whilst music columnist Wayne Harada in '' The Honolulu Advertiser'' called the song 'A novelty' which 'merits attention'.

Commercial performance

Both sides of the single received a lot of airplay on local Detroit stations, but problems very quickly arose. The first version of the song was withdrawn because it was considered "too raw", and a smoother take was released. Gordy 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. "Buttered Popcorn" received much airplay in Detroit and neighbouring cities, but failed to chart—as did all of the group's singles until " Let Me Go the Right Way" charted in December 1962.

Personnel

*Lead vocals by

*Background vocals by

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

, Mary Wilson and Barbara Martin *Instrumentation by

The Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...

References

{{authority control 1961 singles The Supremes songs Songs written by Berry Gordy Tamla Records singles Song recordings produced by Berry Gordy 1961 songs