Was "I Hear A Symphony" The Most....

[marybrewster]

.....difficult song for Diana to perform?

She blows the lyrics here at about 1:10:

https://youtu.be/pYKupT3ypRg

And completely blows the opening here:

https://youtu.be/y-nCXfqJ4rI

To be fair, this performance is magic:

https://youtu.be/qCScWVc9Heo

Diana is just too fabulous and those teeth are blinding, even in black and white television, lol.

[jack020]

The first 2 are badly lip-synced imo

[rovereab]

The last video shows just how good the group was. Very deserving of their name, they had it all, vocal ability, looks, poise and so on.

[Spreadinglove21]

The last one is quite special though looking at the orchestra members on stage, they aren't playing and are just sitting there in frozen positions. Adds an eerrie dimension to this performance. I hoped they were paid well for serving as props/background scenery.

[DWSheffer]

The first 2 are badly lip-synced imo

That 2nd Mike Douglas Show clip is poor quality and seemingly out of sync at the beginning, this is the one I have saved in my Youtube favorites. I don't think she's lip-syncing personally....her voice has a slight roughness to it during this appearance that I like.
Darin

[jobucats]

I've always thought that the lyrics to "I Hear a Symphony" were very beautiful as if they belonged on a greeting card. Here's what I believe the issue was in that Diana would sometimes "blow" them.

My opinion/perspective only... The lyrics, for one, do not really tell a story, Each verse seems to come across as being a paraphrased, well crafted re-hash of the previous verse's sentiments similar to a greeting card given to a loved one. That could be confusing to remember. There's not that much to differentiate the same melody over & over, and the same background's "I hear a symphony"/"baby, baby" lines over and over as Dana goes from one verse to another. Without cue cards, I can see how she would get the lyrics confused. Thankfully there's that bridge/refrain of "I'm lost in a world made for you and to me" and an instrumental only section to break up the monotony.

The fact that the song changes keys 3 times, starting in the key of C and ending in the key of Eb, adds some variety also to keep a basically simpl3 song from sounding monotonous.

Yes, I do love the song. It was the first physical 45 single I ever heard from the group.

[reese]

I think Berry mentioned something about the song being difficult because of all the modulations.

Re the first two clips, I don't think they're so bad. In particular, I like the Mike Douglas appearance. After a shaky start, Diana recovers quickly.

[sup_fan]

i believe the Mike Douglas performance aired in early Nov 65. Symphony was released in early Oct. was MD a live broadcast or were performances taped ahead of time?

the story i thought i'd heard about this performance was the song had just been released and she goofed up the lyrics but recovered without really too much issue. other than die-hard fans that know every lyric, most probably wouldn't have caught the mistake.

but if it was a live performance, she'd been doing the song for a month. of course people make mistakes and it could just have been that



the first clip when they're in their day clothes was the Larry Kane show in Houston. this was 12/17/65, the day after the Astrodome performance with Judy Garland. again, just another booboo with the lyrics.

as for the difficulty of the song, i don't know that i would say it's hard but the fact that it makes 3 or so key changes was very unusual for a 'pop' song. musically, it's a much more complex and sophisticated song than just some average run of the mill ditty.

[marybrewster]

The eyes are so telling: look at Diana's eyes in the MD clip. You can see the fright [[?) as the lyrics start coming. Things connect after she butchers the "when hear a symphony" line, and she ends beautifully.

The other clip, not sure what's going on with Diana at all. She looks bloated, tired, hungover.

I totally agree with the comment above where Mary and Flo's lines were so simple and repetitive that it didn't give Diana a lot of guide. Confirmation of how important the background vocals were for the delivery.

[reese]

i believe the Mike Douglas performance aired in early Nov 65. Symphony was released in early Oct. was MD a live broadcast or were performances taped ahead of time?

The Mike Douglas Show broadcast live until 1966, when Zsa Zsa Gabor called Morey Amsterdam a "son of a bitch" for interrupting a joke. After that, there was one-day tape delay that allowed for potential editing. However, it did air live after that on a few occasions.

[reese]

I think Jobucats rationale as to the song's difficulty is a good one. Even on T.C.B., Diana doesn't quite sing the lyrics as they are done on the hit single.

[marybrewster]

I think Jobucats rationale as to the song's difficulty is a good one. Even on T.C.B., Diana doesn't quite sing the lyrics as they are done on the hit single.

Yes, I had that clip included in my original post; she sings the same lyric several times at the end. I removed it as I thought the claws would come out for being too harsh. Diana was clearly a professional and made most botches seem seemless and only noticeable to the die hard fans. But it does open up good conversation.....

[reese]

Yes, I had that clip included in my original post; she sings the same lyric several times at the end. I removed it as I thought the claws would come out for being too harsh. Diana was clearly a professional and made most botches seem seemless and only noticeable to the die hard fans. But it does open up good conversation.....

I've seen/heard Diana do the same on a number of songs, like IN AND OUT OF LOVE and GETTIN' READY FOR LOVE. She might repeat a verse or sing them out of order. But she's such a great entertainer that it really doesn't matter. She makes it work.

[sup_fan]

she definitely adjusted lyrics from time to time. like Copa 67 and YCHL. on the chorus after verse one, instead of singing "how long must i wait..." she just repeats the first chorus.

on Sullivan during The Happening, the backing vocal track stops towards the end and then picks back up. Diana had to quickly and immediately pivot on her lyrics

on Someday on Sullivan, Mary doesn't lip sync the "ooooo" as the do Chorus 2 just prior to the bridge. Cindy i think misses the first one but does the second.

and of course Jean had all sorts of lip sync issues lol

[marybrewster]

she definitely adjusted lyrics from time to time. like Copa 67 and YCHL. on the chorus after verse one, instead of singing "how long must i wait..." she just repeats the first chorus.

on Sullivan during The Happening, the backing vocal track stops towards the end and then picks back up. Diana had to quickly and immediately pivot on her lyrics

on Someday on Sullivan, Mary doesn't lip sync the "ooooo" as the do Chorus 2 just prior to the bridge. Cindy i think misses the first one but does the second.

and of course Jean had all sorts of lip sync issues lol

True. But we're discussing Diana's flubs, LOLz.

[sup_fan]

True. But we're discussing Diana's flubs, LOLz.

lol then here's another

on the premier of Love Child, it appears that Diana is bewildered by the fly zooming around her head lol she slightly stumbles on the word "don't think that i don't need ya" just before they go into the final chorus and fade

[marybrewster]

lol then here's another

on the premier of Love Child, it appears that Diana is bewildered by the fly zooming around her head lol she slightly stumbles on the word "don't think that i don't need ya" just before they go into the final chorus and fade

Do you know how much time elapsed from the recording, to the release, to the performance? Wasn't it literally a matter of days?

Wiki says it was recorded September 17, 18, and 20, and released September 30. I imagine the performance was early October?

That has to be one of the quickest turnarounds in music history, if only Supremes history?

[reese]

Do you know how much time elapsed from the recording, to the release, to the performance? Wasn't it literally a matter of days?

Wiki says it was recorded September 17, 18, and 20, and released September 30. I imagine the performance was early October?

That has to be one of the quickest turnarounds in music history, if only Supremes history?

They debuted LOVE CHILD on Ed Sullivan the day before it went on sale.

[sup_fan]

Do you know how much time elapsed from the recording, to the release, to the performance? Wasn't it literally a matter of days?

Wiki says it was recorded September 17, 18, and 20, and released September 30. I imagine the performance was early October?

That has to be one of the quickest turnarounds in music history, if only Supremes history?

exactly. i think this was the fastest turn around ever for the group. i'm not aware of them actually performing their hit on tv THE DAY BEFORE it released any other time. some motown books claim YCHL was done like that but not true apparently. and there were certainly many times the girls were performing on tv right around the time a song was released. but that doesn't mean they actually performed and debuted that song

[reese]

exactly. i think this was the fastest turn around ever for the group. i'm not aware of them actually performing their hit on tv THE DAY BEFORE it released any other time. some motown books claim YCHL was done like that but not true apparently. and there were certainly many times the girls were performing on tv right around the time a song was released. but that doesn't mean they actually performed and debuted that song

LOVE CHILD was the first Sullivan appearance where the group debuted a record set for release the next day. They also did this for I'M LIVIN' IN SHAME and UP THE LADDER TO THE ROOF.

**Note: They did NO MATTER WHAT SIGN YOU ARE on Sullivan two days after its release.

[sup_fan]

LOVE CHILD was the first Sullivan appearance where the group debuted a record set for release the next day. They also did this for I'M LIVIN' IN SHAME and UP THE LADDER TO THE ROOF.

**Note: They did NO MATTER WHAT SIGN YOU ARE on Sullivan two days after its release.

oh that's right! forgot about that one.