My World Is Empty Without You

"My World Is Empty Without You" is a 1965 song recorded and released as a single by The Supremes for the Motown label.

"My World Is Empty Without You"
Single by The Supremes
from the album I Hear a Symphony
B-side	"Everything Is Good About You"
Released	December 29, 1965
Recorded	Hitsville U.S.A. (Studio A); 1965
Genre	Baroque pop, soul
Length	2:33 (original release) 3:26 (remastered)
Label	Motown M 1089
Songwriter(s)	Holland–Dozier–Holland
Producer(s)	Brian Holland Lamont Dozier
The Supremes singles chronology
"I Hear a Symphony" (1965) "My World Is Empty Without You" (1965) "Love Is Like an Itching in My Heart" (1966)
I Hear a Symphony track listing
12 tracks Side one "Stranger in Paradise" "Yesterday" "I Hear a Symphony" "Unchained Melody" "With a Song in My Heart" "Without a Song" Side two "My World Is Empty Without You" "A Lover's Concerto" "Any Girl in Love (Knows What I'm Going Through)" "Wonderful! Wonderful!" "Everything is Good About You" "He's All I Got"

Overview

Written and produced by Motown's main production team of Holland–Dozier–Holland, the song's fast 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 Storm and Stress musical arrangement, 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 to not reach 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

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1965-1965) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[3] 88 Canada (Billboard)[4] 1 scope="row" Canada Top Singles (RPM)[5] 29 Singapore (Billboard)[4] 7 scope="row" US Billboard Hot 100[6] 5 scope="row" US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[7] 10 US Cashbox Top 100[8] 5 US Cashbox R&B[9] 7 US Record World 100 Top Pops[10] 4 US Record World Top 40 R&B[11] 12

Year-end charts Chart (1966) Rank US Billboard Hot 100[12] 81 US Cashbox Top 100[13] 55

Certifications

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Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States	—	1,000,000[14][15]

Cover versions and other uses

The song has been covered and reused by a number of different artists, including:

• Stevie Wonder on his 1966 album Down to Earth.
• Jose Feliciano on the B-side of his 1968 album Souled and single reach at nr. 87 in US Billboard and nr 47 on Cashbox
• Barbara McNair on her 1967 album Here I Am: the track served as B-side for the single "Here I Am".
• Della Reese on her 1968 album I Gotta Be Me...This Time Out.
• Smokey Robinson & the Miracles on their 1969 album Four in Blue
• Trúbrot on their 1969 self titled debut album. The song was translated into Icelandic by Þorsteinn Eggertsson and is called Án þín (Without you).
• Blackjack on their 1980 album Worlds Apart (featuring Michael Bolton (who was performing under his real name, Michael Bolotin), Bruce Kulick, Sandy Gennaro and Jimmy Haslip).[16]
• 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.
• The Afghan Whigs released the song as a single in 1991.[17][18]
• Diamanda Galas on her 1998 album Malediction and Prayer
• 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.

References

1. "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Nielsen Company. 78 (10): 18. 1966. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
2. "The Supremes, Dave Clark Five, Richard Kiley". The Ed Sullivan Show. Season 19. Episode 23. New York City. 20 February 1966. CBS. WCBS.
3. "Every Unique AMR Top 100 Single of the 1966". Top 100 Singles. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
4. "Billboard HITS OF THE WORLD". Billboard. 5 March 1966. p. 34.
5. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5703." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
6. "The Supremes Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
7. "The Supremes Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
8. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles". Cashbox. February 26, 1966. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
9. "The CASH BOX Top 50 In R&B Locations". Cashbox. March 5, 1966. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
10. "100 TOP POPS: Week of February 19, 1966" (PDF). Record World. worldradiohistory.com. February 19, 1966. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
11. "TOP 40 R&B: Week of February 19, 1966" (PDF). Record World. worldradiohistory.com. February 19, 1966. p. 20. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
12. "Top 100 Hits of 1964/Top 100 Songs of 1966". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
13. "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1966". Cashbox. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
14. Jay Warner (20 January 1973). "Announcing Motown's Yesteryear Series: two million-selling singles on one record". Billboard. Vol. 85 no. 3. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 63. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
15. Joseph Murrells (1984). "THE SUPREMES". Million Selling Records from the 1900s to the 1980s: An Illustrated Directory. London, W1H: B.T. Batsford. p. 233. ISBN 0 7134 3843 6.CS1 maint: location (link)
16. Worlds Apart at AllMusic. Retrieved September 06, 2018.
17. "My World Is Empty Without You". summerskiss. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
18. "My World Is Empty Without You". allmusic. Retrieved 2010-08-30.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
• List of "My World Is Empty Without You" cover versions at SecondHandSongs.com