I Hear a Symphony (The Supremes album)

I Hear a Symphony is the eighth studio album released by American girl group the Supremes on the Motown label in 1966.

I Hear a Symphony
Studio album by the Supremes
Released	February 18, 1966 (1966-02-18)
Recorded	1965
Studio	Hitsville U.S.A., Detroit
Genre	Pop soul R&B
Length	33:43
Label	Motown
Producer	Brian Holland Lamont Dozier Norman Whitfield
The Supremes chronology
The Supremes at the Copa (1965) --- Merry Christmas (1965) I Hear a Symphony (1966) The Supremes A' Go-Go (1966)
Singles from I Hear a Symphony
"I Hear a Symphony" Released: October 6, 1965 "My World Is Empty Without You" Released: December 29, 1965

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[2]
Record Mirror	[3]

Overview

I Hear a Symphony peaked at number 8 and remained on the Billboard 200 album chart for 55 weeks While originally issued in both mono and stereo versions, several of the tracks on the released stereo edition of I Hear a Symphony were sourced from mono mixes.^[4]

Expanded edition

On September 21, 2012, Universal Music Group released I Hear A Symphony: Expanded Edition, a two-disc limited edition re-release. Disc one contains the digitally remastered original mono and stereo editions of the album, with most of the stereo edition being sourced from an alternate 1966 master done in true stereo as opposed to the original stereo LP release of the album.^[4] Also on disc one are alternate vocals and extended mixes, and an additional song "All Of A Sudden (My Heart Sings)," recorded for (but not included on) the original album. Disc two features a complete unreleased live show recorded at the Upper Deck of Detroit's Roostertail night club on September 26, 1966.

Track listing

All songs produced by Brian Holland & Lamont Dozier.

Side one

1. "Stranger in Paradise" (Alexander Borodin, Robert C. Wright, George Forrest) – 3:03
2. "Yesterday" (Lennon–McCartney) – 2:28
3. "I Hear a Symphony" (Holland–Dozier–Holland) – 2:41
4. "Unchained Melody" (Alex North, Hy Zaret) – 3:47
5. "With a Song in My Heart" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) – 2:02
6. "Without a Song" (Vincent Youmans, Edward Eliscu, Billy Rose) – 2:59

Side two

1. "My World Is Empty Without You" (Holland–Dozier–Holland) – 2:33
2. "A Lover's Concerto" (Sandy Linzer, Denny Randell) – 2:35
3. "Any Girl in Love (Knows What I'm Going Through)" (Holland–Dozier–Holland) – 2:59
4. "Wonderful! Wonderful!" (Sherman Edwards, Donald Meyer, Ben Raleigh) – 2:51
5. "Everything is Good About You" (James Dean, Eddie Holland) – 2:59
6. "He's All I Got" (Holland–Dozier–Holland, Dean) – 2:46

Personnel

• Diana Ross – lead vocals
• Florence Ballard – background vocals (side 1: tracks 1, 3–5; side 2: tracks 1–6)
• Mary Wilson – background vocals (side 1: tracks 1, 3–5; side 2: tracks 1–6)
• The Andantes – additional background vocals (side 2: track 3)
• Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier – producers
• Instrumentation by the Funk Brothers and assorted LA musicians:^[5]
  • Earl Van Dyke – piano (side 1: track 3), organ (side 2: track 1)
  • James Gittens – piano (side 2: track 1)
  • James Jamerson – bass (side 1: track 3; side 2: track 1)
  • Richard "Pistol" Allen – drums (side 1: track 3)
  • Benny Benjamin – drums (side 2: track 1)
  • Jack Ashford – vibraphone (side 1: track 3; side 2: track 1)
  • Mike Terry – baritone saxophone (side 1: track 3; side 2: track 1)
  • Eddie Willis – guitar (side 1: track 3)
  • Robert White – guitar (side 1: track 3)
  • Joe Messina – guitar (side 2: track 1)
• The Detroit Symphony Orchestra – instrumentation (side 1: track 3; side 2: track 1)
• Paul Riser – string arrangements (side 1: track 3; side 2: track 1)
• Esther Gordy Edwards, J, Pryor – cover design

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1966) Peak position UK R&B Albums (Record Mirror)[6] 6 US Billboard 200[7] 8 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[8] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1966) Rank US Billboard 200[9] 80 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[10] 21 US Cashbox Top 100[11] 66

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[12] Sales since 2012	Silver	60,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of number-one R&B albums of 1966 (U.S.)

References

1. Eder, Bruce. I Hear a Symphony at AllMusic
2. Berger, Arion (2004). "The Supremes". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 797. ISBN 978-0-7432-0169-8. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
3. Jones, Peter; Jopling, Norman (18 June 1966). "The Supremes: I Hear A Symphony" (PDF). Record Mirror. No. 275. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
4. I Hear a Symphony (Expanded Edition) (booklet). The Supremes. New York City: Hip-O Select/Motown. 2012. B0017308-02.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
5. Liner notes. The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 5: 1965, Hip-O Select – B0006775-02, USA 04 Aug 2006
6. "BRITAIN'S TOP R&B ALBUMS" (PDF). Record Mirror. October 29, 1966. p. 11. Retrieved January 28, 2022 – via worldradiohistory.com.
7. "The Supremes Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
8. "The Supremes Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
9. "TOP RECORDS OF 1966: TOP LP's" (PDF). Billboard. December 24, 1966. p. 34. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
10. "TOP R&B ALBUMS" (PDF). Billboard. December 24, 1966. p. 35. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
11. "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1966 (TOP 100 POP ALBUMS)". Cashbox. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
12. "British album certifications – Supremes – I Hear a Symphony". British Phonographic Industry.