"I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" is a soul song, written in 1967 by Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, and Jerry Ross. Originally a hit single for Dee Dee Warwick, both Madeline Bell and the combination of Diana Ross & the Supremes and The Temptations also had hits with the song.
History
The song was originally recorded by Dionne Warwick's younger sister Dee Dee Warwick for the Mercury Records label in 1967. Writers Gamble and Huff served as the producers of the recording. While the record only hit #88 on the United States pop charts, it cracked the US R&B Top 20, peaking at #13. The single was the anchor of Warwick's 1967 LP
I Want to Be With You.
American born, but England-based singer Madeline Bell recorded the first Top 40 version of the song for Philips Records, which peaked at #32 on the Pop charts and #29 on the R&B charts.
Towards the end of the year, another cover version of the song was issued. This version, recorded as a duet with Diana Ross & the Supremes and The Temptations became the most popular rendition of the song and also the most commercially successful, reaching #2 on both the U.S. pop and R&B charts. Frank Wilson and Nickolas Ashford were the producers of this version, with former lovers Diana Ross and Eddie Kendricks trading leads on the song, with Otis Williams taking Kendricks' place during the spoken interlude.
The Supremes/Temptations single was one of the first Motown singles to be a cover of a non-Motown song, following The Four Tops's 1967 cover of "If I Were a Carpenter". It was the lead single from the duets album Diana Ross & the Supremes Join The Temptations, and also helped to promote the upcoming TCB television special, which aired in December 1968. Although it was among the most popular recordings the two groups did together, they never perfromed the song together live.
Credits
Warwick version
Bell version
Supremes/Temptations version
Last updated: 06-06-2005 02:14:54
