I Hear A Symphony - 2012 Mix of Single Vocal

In this song, The Supremes are so smitten that every time the guy comes around, it's like he has his own sweet theme music. Lamont Dozier, who wrote and produced the song with his partners Eddie and Brian Holland, told the story in a Songfacts interview: "I used to go to the movies and I would see that the main stars had their own theme songs. When they appeared on the screen, you would hear this melody behind them - they had their own little melody each time they appeared in the movie. So the lyrics, 'Whenever you are near, I hear a symphony,' it was about this guy. Whenever he came around, in her mind she got this feeling and she heard this melody. He brought out the music in her."

This was written by the songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland, who wrote five consecutive #1 hits for The Supremes, starting with "Where Did Our Love Go." Their next single was "Nothing But Heartaches," which brought the streak to an end when it peaked at #11, but they went right back to the top with the next one, "I Hear A Symphony." Most of these chart-toppers had an element of heartbreak in the lyric, but "Back in My Arms Again (their fifth #1) and "I Hear A Symphony" are about the happiness and ecstasy of pure true love.

You won't hear a full symphony orchestra in this song, but there is a prominent string section, arranged by Paul Riser, that implies it. Otherwise, the instrumentation is more typical, with a saxophone section and piano (played by Funk Brother Earl Van Dyke). The song evokes classical music in its structure though, building throughout to a kind of crescendo.