"Let Me Go the Right Way" is a 1962 song written and produced by then

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 ...

president Berry Gordy and released as a 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 fourth single and their second charted record following the dismal reception of their first charted single, " Your Heart Belongs to Me".

Overview

Recording

Built on a frenetic and gritty R&B production, it featured an unpolished raw R&B vocal from Supremes lead singer

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 ...

, despite speculation that the song was led by Florence Ballard (who only led on one brief line -- "''A go-go right!''" -- at the beginning). In fact, Ballard, the high soprano in the group, was prominently featured in the background -- especially her ad-libs on the singles outro -- along with Mary Wilson while Ross sang in her natural register. Written and produced by Berry Gordy, the record talks of a woman who wants her lover to let her "go the right way" in their relationship rather than being "led astray." Featuring energetic vocals from all three ladies, it was the group's first recording and release as a trio following the departure of Barbara Martin. This single would be the last to be produced by Gordy until after the songwriting-producing team of Holland–Dozier–Holland left Motown in late 1967. A year after this release, H-D-H would become the group main producers.

Reception

Performing slightly better than "Your Heart Belongs to Me," the song peaked at number 90 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and was the first release by the group to hit the Hot R&B Sides chart, where it peaked at number 26Billboard R&B Dec. 29, 1962
/ref> helping the group to land a spot on the Motortown Revue later on that year.

Personnel

*Lead vocals by

and Florence Ballard (intro). *Background vocals by Diana Ross, Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson. *Produced and written by Berry Gordy. *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 ...

and

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

on drums.

Chart history

References

{{authority control 1962 singles 1962 songs The Supremes songs Songs written by Berry Gordy Song recordings produced by Berry Gordy Motown singles