My World Is Empty Without You
| "My World Is Empty Without You" | |||||||||||||||
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| Single by The Supremes | |||||||||||||||
| from the album I Hear a Symphony | |||||||||||||||
| B-side | "Everything Is Good About You" | ||||||||||||||
| Released | December 29, 1965 | ||||||||||||||
| Format | Vinyl record (7" 45 RPM) | ||||||||||||||
| Recorded | Hitsville U.S.A. (Studio A); 1965 | ||||||||||||||
| Genre | Baroque pop, soul | ||||||||||||||
| Length | 2:33 (original release) 3:26 (remastered) |
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| Label | Motown M 1089 |
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| Writer(s) | Holland–Dozier–Holland | ||||||||||||||
| Producer(s) | Brian Holland Lamont Dozier |
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| The Supremes singles chronology | |||||||||||||||
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"My World Is Empty Without You" is a 1965 song recorded and released as a single by The Supremes for the Motown label.
Contents
History
Overview
Written and produced by Motown's main production team of Holland–Dozier–Holland, the song's slow tempo accompanies a somber lyric which delves into the feelings of depression which can set in after a breakup; instrumentally, this is showcased with a gothic and dramatic musical arrangement, prominently featuring Earl Van Dyke's Hammond organ shrilly configured to sound like a liturgical pipe organ, in tow with the trend of baroque pop during the mid-1960s.
"My World Is Empty Without You" was one of the few songs written by the team for The Supremes that didn't go to number one, peaking at number five on the US pop chart for two weeks in February 1966[1] and at number 10 on the R&B chart; the single failed to chart on the UK Singles Chart. The group performed the song on the CBS hit variety program The Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday, February 20, 1966.[2]
Personnel
- Lead vocals by Diana Ross
- Background vocals by Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard
- Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers
Chart history
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 5 |
| U.S. Billboard R&B Singles Chart | 10 |
| U.S. Cash Box Pop Singles Chart | 5 |
Year-End Charts
| Chart (1966) | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Cash Box Year End Chart | 55 |
Cover versions and other uses
The song has been covered and reused by a number of different artists, including:
- Stevie Wonder on his album Down to Earth.
- Jose Feliciano on the B-side of his 1968 album Souled.
- Diamanda Galas[citation needed].
- Vanilla Fudge on their 1984 album Mystery.
- MC Lyte sampled the song on her 1991 socially conscious rap ballad "Poor Georgie," from the album Act Like You Know.
- Lee Fields & the Expressions covered the song in 2009. This version was then sampled on J. Cole's "World is Empty" on his The Warm Up mixtape.
- The Afghan Whigs released the song as a single.[3][4]
