By the time of the recording of "In and Out of Love," The Supremes had become the most successful American music group of all time, with ten number-one
pop singles on the
Billboard Hot 100 to their credit. In the midst of their success, conflicts between Supremes members
Diana Ross,
Florence Ballard and
Mary Wilson arose. Ballard was uneasy about the group's direction and felt her role was being reduced in the group she first founded. Motown's premier
production team Holland–Dozier–Holland (H–D–H) recorded the track for "In and Out of Love" originally in Detroit with
the Funk Brothers on March 2, 1967 during the same session for "
The Happening" and "
Reflections," but subsequently rerecorded the track six weeks later in
Los Angeles. Ross added her lead vocals on June 12, 1967 with Wilson and Ballard adding their vocals the following day on June 13. It would be Ballard's final session as a Supreme. After one last Supremes single, "
Forever Came Today," in early 1968, H–D–H left Motown, prompting a series of lawsuits between the label and the songwriters that lasted over a decade. Diana Ross & The Supremes performed "In and Out of Love" live on
CBS's
The Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday, November 19, 1967. The single proved immensely popular with the fans as it was chosen by
American Bandstand voters to be the song they wanted for that summer's dance contest. It remained at No.1 for 4 (four) weeks on the
American Bandstand chart. ==Reception==