The Supremes - "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (In Memoriam)

Mary Wilson, co-founder and only continuous member of The Supremes from 1959-1977, died earlier this month.  Though I write about it infrequently here, I'm a big fan of Motown (who isn't, really?), and The Supremes were one of the core elements of the Motown sound (honorable mention to session musicians extraordinaire, The Funk Brothers, as well as the incomparable songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland). 

I was going to mark Wilson's passing with my favorite track from The Supremes, "Someday We'll Be Together", but I was surprised to learn that Mary Wilson does not appear on the studio recording.  Instead, I'll choose the defiant "You Keep Me Hangin' On", which checks all the boxes: Mary Wilson (and co-founder Florence Ballard) appear, as do The Funk Brothers, and it's written by Holland-Dozier-Holland. 

Of course, this song has been covered more times than I can count, but any child of the 80s will immediately recall Kim Wilde's version.  I'm also sneaking this in on the last day of Black History Month.

The Supremes - "You Keep Me Hangin' On" 

Kim Wilde - "You Keep Me Hangin' On"

Jimmy Ruffin - "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?" (forgotten song)

Jimmy Ruffin, brother of David Ruffin (of The Temptations) & best known for his 1966 single "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?", died this week.  Although Motown is not discussed much on F-measure (what could I possibly add to what has already been said?), this might be my favorite Motown song (remember: "(You) Got What I Need" is not a Motown song).  I've labeled this a "forgotten song", and although that's not entirely true it is eclipsed by many other Motown songs.

Apparently St. Paul & The Broken Bones haven't covered this song -- they need to fix that. 

Jimmy Ruffin - "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?": studio version, 1975 live TV version