The Supremes recorded "Stop! In the Name of Love" in January 1965 and released as a single on February 8. The song was nominated for the 1966 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Rock & Roll Group Vocal Performance, losing to "Flowers on the Wall" (hooktube.com) by the Statler Brothers. The song was also honored by inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's permanent collection of the 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. Billboard named the song #38 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.
The Supremes' choreography for this song, with one hand on the hip and the other outstretched in a "stop" gesture, is legendary. Paul Williams and Melvin Franklin of The Temptations taught the girls the routine backstage in London, before the Supremes' first televised performance of the single on the Ready Steady Go! special "The Sound of Motown," hosted by Motown enthusiast Dusty Springfield.
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