"I Hear a Symphony" is a 1965 song recorded by

the Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successf ...

for the

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

label. Written and produced by Motown's main production team,

Holland–Dozier–Holland Holland–Dozier–Holland was a songwriting and production team consisting of Lamont Dozier and brothers Brian and Eddie Holland. The trio wrote, arranged and produced many songs that helped define the Motown sound in the 1960s. Du ...

, 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. On the

UK singles chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, the single peaked at number thirty-nine.

History

Overview

The Supremes enjoyed a run of hits through 1964 and 1965 under the guidance of writer/producers

. 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 "Where Did Our Love Go" is a 1964 song recorded by American music group the Supremes for the Motown label. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, "Where Did Our Love Go" was the first single by the Supr ...

." Motown chief

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record l ...

was displeased with the performance of "Nothing but Heartaches," and circulated a memo around the Motown offices that read as follows: 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,

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups ...

said that this was one of her favorite songs to perform, even though its key register posed some challenges. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' called the song a "blockbuster" as well as a "well-written rhythm ballad with pulsating beat and top vocal work." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an onli ...

'' 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." "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 Can't Hurry Love" is a 1966 song originally recorded by the Supremes on the Motown label. It was released on July 25 of 1966 as the second single from their studio album '' The Supremes A' Go-Go'' (1966). Written and produced by Motown p ...

," "

You Keep Me Hangin' On "You Keep Me Hangin' On" is a song written and composed by Holland–Dozier–Holland. It was first recorded in 1966 by American Motown girl group the Supremes, reaching number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. American rock band Vanilla Fudge ...

," " Love Is Here and Now You're Gone," and " The Happening." The group performed the hit song on ''

The Mike Douglas Show ''The Mike Douglas Show'' was an American daytime television talk show that was hosted by Mike Douglas. It began as a local program in Cleveland before being carried on other stations owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting. The show went into natio ...

'' on November 3, 1965.

Personnel

* Lead vocals by

* Background vocals by

Florence Ballard Florence Glenda Chapman (''née'' Ballard; June 30, 1943 – February 22, 1976) was an American singer and a founding member of the Motown vocal female group the Supremes. She sang on 16 top 40 singles with the group, including ten number-o ...

and Mary Wilson * Instrumentation by

the Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...

**Baritone saxophone by Mike TerryLiner notes. ''The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 5: 1965'', Hip-O Select – B0006775-02, USA, 04 Aug 2006

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{authority control 1965 singles The Supremes songs Songs written by Holland–Dozier–Holland Motown singles Song recordings produced by Brian Holland Song recordings produced by Lamont Dozier 1965 songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles