| "Reflections" | ||||||||||||||
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| Single by Diana Ross & the Supremes | ||||||||||||||
| from the album Reflections | ||||||||||||||
| B-side | "Going Down for the Third Time" | |||||||||||||
| Released | July 24, 1967 (U.S.) | |||||||||||||
| Format | Vinyl record (7" 45 RPM) | |||||||||||||
| Recorded | Hitsville U.S.A. (Studio A); March 2 and May 9, 1967 |
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| Genre | Psychedelic pop, soul | |||||||||||||
| Length | 2:50 | |||||||||||||
| Label | Motown M 1111 |
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| Writer(s) | Holland–Dozier–Holland | |||||||||||||
| Producer | Brian Holland Lamont Dozier |
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| Diana Ross & the Supremes singles chronology | ||||||||||||||
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"Reflections" is a 1967 song recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label. It was the first Supremes record released under the new billing, Diana Ross & the Supremes, and is among their last hit singles to be written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland (H–D–H).
The song is also among the final singles to feature Florence Ballard, who recorded vocals for this song during one of her last studio sessions before she was fired on July 1.[1] It peaked in the top five on the United States and United Kingdom pop music charts in September 1967.[2]
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This single, released at the height of the Summer of Love of 1967, was the first Supremes' release to delve into psychedelic pop; H–D–H's production of the song, influenced by the psychedelic rock sounds of bands such as The Beatles and The Beach Boys, represented a shift in Motown's pop sound during the latter half of the 1960s.[3] One of the last released 45s with Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson collaboratively singing background, the psychedelic influence is apparent in the song's arrangement, which featured one of the earliest uses of synthesizers on a popular record.
"Reflections" peaked during the late summer and early fall of 1967. Making the highest debut on US Billboard pop chart the week of August 6, the song reached #2 the week ending September 9, 1967. Verging on being the group's 11th American number-one single, "Reflections" stalled at the penultimate position for two weeks behind Bobbie Gentry's "Ode to Billie Joe," which Diana Ross rerecorded as a solo for the Reflections album.[4] The single also peaked concurrently in the UK at #5.[5]
The first nationally televised performance to feature Ballard's replacement, Cindy Birdsong, as a member of The Supremes on American television, now billed "Diana Ross & the Supremes," was on the ABC variety program The Hollywood Palace, airing Tuesday, September 26, 1967.[6]
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard R&B Singles Chart | 4 |
| UK Singles Chart | 5 |
The song has been covered by many artists, among them Luther Vandross, Michael McDonald, Jackson Five and The Temptations. A cover by The Sweet was featured on their debut album Funny How Sweet Co-Co Can Be. Leo Sayer recorded a version of the song that appears on his album Endless Flight. Jimmy Barnes also covered the song for his 1991 album Soul Deep. Nicole Appleton's cover of the song in 2000 appears on the soundtrack of the movie Honest.
China Beach, an ABC Vietnam War-era television series which aired from 1988 to 1991, featured "Reflections" as its theme music.