You Keep Me Hangin' On

This was written by the songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland, who deliberately set out to write a rock song for the Supremes. Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland were a big part of the Motown Sound. They not only wrote most of the hits for The Supremes, The Four Tops, and many other acts on the label, but they also produced and arranged the sessions, giving them nearly complete control of the product.

The song is about a woman who knows her fellow doesn't love her, but isn't man enough to break up with her. All she can do is plead with him to set her free. Lamont Dozier explained in a 1976 interview with Blues & Soul magazine how he came up with these tales of woe: "I've often broken up with a girlfriend for a week just to be able to get that real feeling of hurt so that I can write what I write from experience! I should add that I always make sure we patch up again after the week's over. But I'm constantly working at the piano – that's my source of release, like a tranquilizer for me."

Lamont Dozier created the stuttering guitar line, which was inspired by the radio's signal for news flashes. It was played by Robert White, who was one of the guitarists for Motown's studio band, The Funk Brothers. He is perhaps best known for performing the lead lines on the Temptations classic chart topper "My Girl."