"I Hear a Symphony" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by the Supremes | ||||
from the album I Hear a Symphony | ||||
B-side | "Who Could Ever Doubt My Love" | |||
Released | October 6, 1965 | |||
Recorded | September 22, 28–30, 1965 | |||
Studio | Hitsville U.S.A. (Studio A) | |||
Genre | Pop, R&B | |||
Length | 2:38 | |||
Label |
Motown M 1083 | |||
Songwriter(s) | Holland–Dozier–Holland | |||
Producer(s) | ||||
The Supremes singles chronology | ||||
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Audio sample | ||||
"I Hear a Symphony" | ||||
Alternative cover | ||||
"I Hear a Symphony" is a 1965 song recorded by the Supremes for the Motown label.
Written and produced by Motown's main production team, Holland–Dozier–Holland, the song became their sixth number-one pop hit on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in the United States for two weeks from November 14, 1965, through November 27, 1965. [1] [2] On the UK singles chart, the single peaked at number thirty-nine.
The Supremes enjoyed a run of hits through 1964 and 1965 under the guidance of writer/producers Holland–Dozier–Holland. 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.
In a 1968 interview, [3] Diana Ross said that this was one of her favorite songs to perform, even though its key register posed some challenges. [4]
Billboard called the song a "blockbuster" as well as a "well-written rhythm ballad with pulsating beat and top vocal work." [5] Cash Box described it as a "rhythmic, medium-paced romancer about a lucky gal who’s head-over-heels in love with the special guy of her dreams." [6] Record World said that "The Supremes will hear a symphony of coin for 'I Hear a Symphony.'" [7]
"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." The group performed the hit song on The Mike Douglas Show on November 3, 1965. [8]
"I Hear a Symphony" | |
---|---|
Single by Jackson 5 | |
from the album ABC | |
B-side | "Love Gone Bad" |
Released | October 6, 1965 |
Recorded | September 22, 28–30, 1965 |
Studio | Motown Recording Studio ( Los Angeles, California) |
Genre | Pop, R&B |
Length | 2:38 |
Label |
Motown M 1083 |
Songwriter(s) | Holland–Dozier–Holland |
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States | — | 1,000,000 [23] [24] [25] |
Summaries | ||
Worldwide | — | 2,000,000 [26] |
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