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Stop! In the Name of Love

"Stop! In the Name of Love" is a 1965 song recorded by the Supremes for the Motown label.

Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, "Stop! In the Name of Love" held the number 1 position on the Billboard pop singles chart in the United States from March 27, 1965, through April 3, 1965, and reached the number 2 position on the soul chart.

Billboard named the song number 38 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time. The BBC ranked "Stop! In the Name of Love" at number 56 on The Top 100 Digital Motown Chart, which ranks Motown releases by their all time UK downloads and streams.

In 2001, the 1965 recording of "Stop! In the Name of Love" by The Supremes was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

In 2021, it was listed at No. 254 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

History

The song was written by Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Brian Holland. Dozier said that he got the idea after he got cheated on by his girlfriend. In the heat of the argument, he said, "Baby, please stop. In the name of love- before you break my heart."

The Supremes recorded "Stop! In the Name of Love" in January 1965 and released as a single on February 8. The song was included on the Supremes' sixth album, More Hits by The Supremes, and was nominated for the 1966 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Rock & Roll Group Vocal Performance, losing to "Flowers on the Wall" by the Statler Brothers.

Cash Box described it as "a rousing, shufflin’ pop-blues romancer about a gal who cautions her boyfriend to go a little bit slower" that should "continue in [the Supremes] fantastic chart-riding ways." Record World said "These girls can't be stopped. And so they have another one that is on its way to the top spot. Diana, Florence and Marie have the knack and so does their home base, Motown Records."

The Supremes' choreography for this song involved one hand on the hip and the other outstretched in a "stop" gesture. They performed it on an episode of the ABC variety program Shindig! which aired on Wednesday, February 24, 1965.

Personnel

Lead vocals by Diana Ross
Backing vocals by Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson and the Andantes: Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow and Louvain Demps
All instruments by the Funk Brothers
- Johnny Griffith – organ
- James Gittens – piano
- Joe Messina – guitar
- James Jamerson – bass
- Benny Benjamin – drums
- Jack Ashford – vibraphone
- Mike Terry – baritone saxophone

Charts

Certifications

Notable cover versions

The Hollies' version in 1983 peaked in the US at number 29 and in Canada at number 31, from the album What Goes Around...
Scottish singer Barbara Dickson released her version in 1983 from the album Heartbeats, peaking at number 29 in Belgium.