A Bit of Liverpool (1964)

 

A Bit of Liverpool, released as With Love (From Us to You) in the UK, is the third studio album by the Supremes, released in the fall of 1964 on the Motown label. It was produced by Berry Gordy with Hal Davis and Marc Gordon doing the mixing.^[2]

The Supremes performed the Beatles' "Eight Days a Week" on several television shows including Shindig and Hullabaloo, though the song did not make the album. The album just missed the Top 20 in the U.S., peaking at No. 21. While not quite as prolific as the Beatles, the Supremes enjoyed three albums charting simultaneously in 1964–65. 

 Mr. Gordy's instincts about the versatility and crossover appeal was pretty much confirmed when the single, "Where Did Our Love Go" was promoted at the 3 major radio formats simultaneously in July 1964 (an extremely rare occurrence before we became "Civil Rights America". The previous single, "When the Lovelight Start Shining Through His Eyes" impressively became a penultimate #2 R&B chart hit. But the even more exciting news is that it made the Hot 100 Top 25....ultimately hitting #23. This paved the way for The Supremes to be viewed as a Pop/R&B group.
With their first #1 in pocket, the second soon to be, The Supremes became the American Ambassadores friendly rivaling The Beatles British Invasion Crusade. Diana's infectious enthusiasm disarmed the limited minded bigots they might encounter. In fact, the girls were warmly embraced across Europe, Africa, Asia, South America and the Anglosphere territories. Underscoring the fun and magic, internationally, the album was entitled, "With Love, From The Supremes.
Releasing a direct music confrontation, "A Little Bit of Liverpool" was The Supremes response to The Beatles taking on the Motown Sound on "The Second Beatles Album". Probably the most striking marketing move was the way the girls were styled in traditional British suits posing in front of the original EMI International offices (Diana remains an EMI artist from 1962-present...ironically so has McCartney for most of his career).
Musically, there's not much to say here. The girls do adequate versions of the various British Invasion groups. Ironically, my favorite song is "Eight Days a Week" that was not available on the domestic album. The girls did fun performances of "Eight Days a Week" on Shining and Hullabaloo in the stylish girls suits with skirts!!!
This marked the second platinum album by the girls in 3-4 months. By December 1964, "A Little Bit of Liverpool" had already sold 850,000 albums. By the end of the year, the girls had 1 multi-platinum album, 1 platinum album, 2 multi-platinum singles and 1 platinum (soon to be multi-)