"My World Is Empty Without You" became the girls' second single to not hit #1 since their run of number ones began. It managed to hit #5 on the Hot 100, but surprisingly stalled at 10 on the R&B chart. Even "Nothing But Heartaches" did better on the R&B chart than "My World". We've attempted to dissect the reasons why "Heartaches" ended the group's number one streak. What about "My World Is Empty Without You"?
The song has endured as one of the Supremes' most famous songs. It's been covered quite a few times. Both Mary and Diana have had it in their solo shows. It was in the group's live act almost constantly from the time of its release until the group officially disbanded. It is inarguably a well regarded classic. But why didn't it go all the way?
Was it the dark tone of the song? All the previous hits had an upbeat, bright, swing to them, regardless of whether the song was about being in love or heartbreak. "My World" was definitely a departure from the usual tone. Did it turn off DJs?
Cashbox matched Billboard with the song on it's pop chart, but the song did better on Cashbox's R&B chart- at #7- than Billboard's R&B chart, suggesting that more people were buying the single more than the radio was actually playing it. On the other hand, Record World scored the song at #4 Pop and #12 R&B.
For those who were around at the time, what were the fans thinking? Was it an immediate fan favorite, or were there a lot of fans turned off by this different sound?
Was it a case, similar to "Heartaches", where the peak week was full of strong singles, and thus the competition too stiff?
I love the song. I love Diana's lead, the Funks, HDH's lyrics. It is the first single where I feel Flo and Mary are less part of a group and are positioned as orchestration. But it's hard for me to criticize that because the buried sound of Flo and Mary plays up the haunting, heartbreak sound. The version on the Symphony EE where Flo and Mary are much more audible, the difference is stark, IMO. Flo and Mary take away from the feel being more audible, and I prefer the original tone. But was this a turn off for people, that the song doesn't really sound like a group record, which again goes to the song being a departure in their sound?
I think the song was good enough to hit #1, but I'm not exactly surprised that it didn't. So what do you all think? No doubt Gordy and Co thought this was going to be another topper. Why wasn't it?
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