I Hear a Symphony
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| "I Hear a Symphony" | ||
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| Single by The Supremes | ||
| from the album I Hear a Symphony | ||
| Released | October 6, 1965 | |
| Format | 7" single | |
| Recorded | Hitsville USA (Studio A); September 22, September 28, September 29, and September 30, 1965 | |
| Genre | Soul/pop | |
| Length | 2:40 | |
| Label | Motown M 1083 |
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| Writer(s) | Holland-Dozier-Holland | |
| Producer(s) | Brian Holland Lamont Dozier |
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| Chart positions | ||
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| The Supremes singles chronology | ||
| "Nothing But Heartaches" (1965) |
"I Hear a Symphony" (1965) |
"My World is Empty Without You" (1965) |
"I Hear a Symphony" is a 1965 hit song recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland-Dozier-Holland, "I Hear a Symphony" was the number one song on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for two weeks, from November 14, 1965 to November 27, 1965. In the United Kingdom, "I Hear a Symphony" made it to number fifty, and then dropped off the charts for two weeks before re-entering at number thirty-nine.
Contents |
[edit] History
The Supremes enjoyed a successful run of hits in 1964 - 1965, and their producers Holland-Dozier-Holland did their best to keep turning the hits out. In mid-1965, the producers came to realize they had fallen into a rut when the Supremes' "Nothing But Heartaches" failed to make it to the Top Ten, missing it by just one position and breaking the string of number-one Supremes hits initiated with "Where Did Our Love Go." Motown chief Berry Gordy was displeased with the performance of "Nothing But Heartaches," and circulated a memo around the Motown offices that read as follows:
- "We will release nothing less than Top Ten product on any artist; and because the Supremes' world-wide acceptance is greater than the other artists, on them we will only release number-one records."
Holland-Dozier-Holland therefore set about breaking their formula and trying something new. The result was "I Hear A Symphony," a song with a more complex musical structure than previous Supremes releases. "Symphony" was released as a single in place of another Holland-Dozier-Holland Supremes song, "Mother Dear", which had been recorded in the same style as their earlier hits.
"I Hear a Symphony", later issued on an album of the same name, became the Supremes' sixth number-one hit in the United States. After the number-five hit "My World is Empty Without You" and the number-nine hit "Love is Like an Itching in My Heart," the Supremes began a run of four more number-one hits: "You Can't Hurry Love," "You Keep Me Hangin' On," "Love is Here and Now You're Gone," and "The Happening."
[edit] Credits
- Lead vocals by Diana Ross
- Background vocals by Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson
- Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers
[edit] Sample
- "I Hear a Symphony" (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- Problems listening to the file? See media help.
| Preceded by "Get Off of My Cloud" by The Rolling Stones |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single November 20, 1965 |
Succeeded by "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There is a Season)" by The Byrds |
