Thursday, November 19, 2015

NUMBER ONE FLASHBACK


"I Hear a Symphony" became The Supremes' sixth number one song, hitting that spot this week back in 1965. After their previous single, "Nothing But Heartaches" failed to reach the top-ten on the pop chart (reaching only number eleven), Motown chief, Berry Gordy decreed that one of the company's biggest and most popular acts (featuring Diana Ross, Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard) would only release number one hits. That put the pressure on the trio's production team, Holland–Dozier–Holland to come up with the right songs for The Supremes to make that happen. They decided to slightly alter the winning formula that had worked so well for the group, making the musical structure of "I Hear a Symphony" a little more complex. This worked as this song went straight to the top, holding this position for two weeks.

Although the next two singles, "My World Is Empty Without You" and "Love Is Like an Itching In My Heart" failed to reach number one (only making it to number five and number nine respectively), the Supremes' next four singles, "You Can't Hurry Love", "You Keep Me Hangin' On", "Love Is Here and Now You're Gone" and "The Happening" each became chart toppers. The Supremes would go on to have a total of twelve number one hits, making them one of the most successful singing groups in pop history.

No comments:

Post a Comment

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

It's been fifteen years since actor and musical artist, Vanessa Williams has released new music. She had a thriving pop music career s...