The Happening (song)

"The Happening"
Single by The Supremes
from the album The Happening and Greatest Hits
B-side	"All I Know About You"
Released	March 20, 1967
Format	Vinyl record (7" 45 RPM)
Recorded	Los Angeles: February 24 and February 25, 1967
Genre	Pop
Length	2:52
Label	Motown M 1107
Writer(s)	Holland–Dozier–Holland-DeVol
Producer	Brian Holland Lamont Dozier
The Supremes singles chronology
"Love Is Here and Now You're Gone" (1967) "The Happening" (1967) "Reflections" (1967)
Music sample "The Happening" You can download the clip or download a player to play the clip in your browser. Alternative cover

"The Happening" is a 1967 song recorded by Motown artists The Supremes. The song served as the theme song of the 1967 Columbia film The Happening, and was released as a single by Motown at the time of the film's release that spring. While the movie flopped, the song peaked at number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in May,^[1] becoming The Supremes' tenth number-one single in the United States,^[2] peaking in the top 10 on the UK Pop Chart at number six, and in the top 10 in the Australian Pop Chart and in the Dutch Pop Chart.

Background

History

Produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier, and written by Holland–Dozier–Holland and Frank De Vol (The Happening's musical director), "The Happening" was the final single issued by The Supremes under that name. Between the release of "The Happening" and the next Supremes single, "Reflections," the group's billing changed to Diana Ross & the Supremes, and Florence Ballard was replaced with Cindy Birdsong of Patti LaBelle & the Blue Belles.

Ballard's final of the 17 appearances The Supremes made on the hit CBS variety television program The Ed Sullivan Show^[3] was on an episode where she performed this song live from Expo 67 in Montréal on Sunday, May 7, 1967,^[4] going to number-one the same week.

Personnel

• Lead vocals by Diana Ross
• Background vocals by Marlene Barrow and Mary Wilson
• Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers
• Drums by Hal Blaine

Chart history

Year-End Charts

Other versions

"The Happening" became a #32 instrumental hit for Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass subsequently in the same year. "The Happening's" intro would be sampled decades later by R&B singer Fantasia for her 2007 single "Hood Boy", and by producer Swizz Beatz for 2Pac's posthumous single "Untouchable." The song would also be performed by Elaine and Renee in 2000 during the episode "Turning Thirty" of Ally McBeal.

See also

• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1967 (U.S.)

References

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