Love Child

Love Child by Diana Ross & the Supremes



This is not the first song about a bastard child, but I'm going to guess it's the first song about a illegitimate child that went to #1 and knocking the vastly overrated "Hey Jude" out of the #1 spot in the process.

The sound sounds edgy from the start, that quick guitar rift and then a ominous beat kicks in. I enjoy the bells (or triangle) in the background... Ms. Ross' voice is stellar as always. But it's the lyrics that really hit home.

If this song were to come out today, it'd be controversial. The first line "Tenement slum" seems revolutionary, and eventually we get to the chorus "Love child/Never meant to be/Love Child/Born in poverty" and then "Love Child/Never meant to be/Love Child/(Scorned by) Society/Love Child/Always second best." Those are some damning words, not to the child or even the parents... but to society.

I'm not sure that 1968 shaped the second half of the 20th century more so than any other year, it was a year of tragedy with Martin Luther THE King and Bobby Kennedy both being assassinated. We saw the protests of Vietnam, the disgrace of the Chicago Police Department, LBJ bow out of the race before it really even started, riots in many black neighborhoods in cities, the tragedy that was Vietnam really began to hit fever pitch... it was one of those years where so many truly sad and tragic events took place that when we look back we're drawn to it. But to say it was the year that shaped American society? That seems like a bit of a stretch. Events prior to and after 1968 all had a huge impact upon American: from JFK's assassination to Watergate. And neither of these events took place in 1968.

But "Love Child" highlights something else. The social ills that we see and face today; they were social ills 40 years ago. In '68, we were attempting to understand these issues and put a face on them; and we are still today. These social issues that we face today aren't new, they aren't a recent phenomon and they weren't new and recent in 1968. I'm not sure where society has gotten the idea that childbirth out of wedlock is a late 20th century and early 21st century trend... it isn't. It's been happening since humans started forming societies, if not before. In 19th century England, historians figure that up to 25% of all births were out of wedlock.

So "Love Child" wasn't ground breaking in that sense, the bastard child has always been down the block... but "Love Child" did introduce the issue to a conservative country and pop culture. Did it make people think? Probably not everyone, but I'm sure it made a few people think about the issue. And for that, it is one of the more important songs to be released.