Wishin' and Votin' - the BURT BACHARACH SONGBOOK Poll Results

https://i.imgur.com/e2zdew4.jpg

Thank you to the seventeen voters who sent in ballots! I'm going to go pretty fast unless I hit the lamppost called paying work.

Guaranteed to be the only ILM ballot poll big enough to include Elvis P and Elvis C, Ella Fitzgerald and Mike Patton, the New Christy Minstrels and the White Stripes, Tammi Terrell and Marvin Gaye (but not together), The Rangoons, The Exciters, The Boots, and The Turbans!

What’s it all about, Willie?

Sorry, thanks!

Oooh, maybe I won't go to bed just yet then!

(Rushed) images will start at #20.

ugh, I've already messed up

(TIE) 60. Live Again — 52 Points, 1 Vote
Irma Thomas, 52 points — https://youtu.be/oEbpjQwtJ04

(TIE) 60. Waiting for Charlie (To Come Home) — 52 Points, 1 Vote
Trijntje Oosterhuis, 52 points — https://youtu.be/34RzQf96H1s

The Oosterhuis video is live w/Bacharach, 2009 North Sea Jazz Festival

pretty good starting w/ 3 songs i never heard of

(TIE) 58. Reach Out for Me — 52 Points, 2 Votes
Nancy Wilson, 32 points — https://youtu.be/fm2K-GPKBGc
Dionne Warwick, 20 points — https://youtu.be/c3tIlHOQemU
Live Dionne tv appearance from '64 I assume — https://youtu.be/TjWh1ZL94U4

(TIE) 58. Nikki — 52 Points, 2 Votes
Burt Bacharach, 52 points — https://youtu.be/0Es6w3aIlwQ

That was my 30th place.

^^Found a second life as the theme to the ABC Movie Of The Week.

I don't really know "Charlie" well, but dig the others, not least that there arrangement on Warwick's #58.

XP: Ah, "Nikki" is the first one I voted for. Was vaguely hesitant to vote for non-vocal tracks in the end, but it's bitchin'.

^^Found a second life as the theme to the ABC Movie Of The Week.

57. Forever Yours I Remain — 55 Points, 1 Vote
Lyrics: Hal David
Bobby Vinton, 55 points — https://youtu.be/LK4FHmGm6k0

Lyrics for "Waiting for Charlie" are by Bob Hilliard, "Live Again" and "Reach Out for Me" are by Hal David.

Etta James recorded the original "Waiting for Charlie" in 1962, btw.

Thanks.

Big deep dive playlist coming in handy now, what with having the two versions of that song you just mentioned.

Hilliard is an underrated collaborator--a lot of the best pre-David (or at least pre-prime era David) songs were w/him.

Please note the opening post has a new paragraph added.

i def recognized "Nikki" as ABC theme

apropos of nothing, the title of "Hasbrook Heights" is misspelled (always dissin' Jersey)

(TIE) 55. Check Out Time — 60 Points, 1 Vote
Lyrics: Hal David
Dionne Warwick, 60 points — https://youtu.be/ZpGF9bHUF4Q

Hilliard is an underrated collaborator--a lot of the best pre-David (or at least pre-prime era David) songs were w/him.

(TIE) 55. Be True To Yourself — 60 Points, 1 Vote
Lyrics: Hal David
Bobby Vee, 60 points — https://youtu.be/UNZ1QPZiVQA

Haha. I was alone with that "Checkout Time", I see. Even Warwick dislikes it, I read. One day the world will recognise its greatness.

54. Tower of Strength — 64 Points, 2 Votes
Lyrics: Bob Hilliard
Gloria Lynne, 52 points — https://youtu.be/tgIg8KEWsbc
Frankie Vaughan, 12 points — https://youtu.be/dBdumT3Pieg
No points for the original version by Gene McDaniels with the Johnny Mann Singers.

Here is an interesting article about Gene McDaniels which I became familiar with as a side effect of this poll: https://thoughtcatalog.com/franklin-bruno/2010/08/the-left-rev-mcd-the-strange-career-of-geneeugene-mcdaniels/

I like how lyrically Lynne's is a response to the other versions, but musically basically the same song.

53. It's Love That Really Counts — 66 Points, 2 Votes
Lyrics: Hal David
The Shirelles, 1962, 36 points — https://youtu.be/DoNIF8AmPMQ
The Exciters, 1963, 30 points — https://youtu.be/qgz4jxG2O6s

I like how lyrically Lynne's is a response to the other versions, but musically basically the same song.

it doesn't sound Bacharach-y enough to me, tho it's a fine version

I'm ashamed to say I never even noticed the differences in the lyrics, as big as they are, until this thread.

52. Only Love Can Break a Heart — 67 Points, 3 Votes
Lyrics: Hal David
Gene Pitney, 67 points — https://youtu.be/71ctQukD5ZA

Had it ranked at 25

Kinda surprised it wasn't a little higher. Thanks for that Gene McDaniels article btw.

Sure. When I learned about that Gene McDaniels article, also learned about another Gene Pitney tune which I don’t think will chart and didn’t vote for myself although it’s growing on me, “Fool Killer,” which can be found on Pitney Sing Bacharach

That one's on the Rhino box, really nice.

(TIE) 50. The Answer To Everything — 68 Points, 2 Votes
Lyric: Bob Hilliard
Del Shannon, b-side to "So Long Baby," 1961, 49 points — https://youtu.be/SntWlpY4hFM
Nancy Sinatra, b-side to "True Love," 1965, 19 points — https://youtu.be/pcvDg_BeQCU

(TIE) 50. On My Own — 68 Points, 2 Votes
Lyric: Carol Bayer Sager
Patti LaBelle & Michael McDonald, 1986, 68 points — https://youtu.be/KsH63qJlIMM

Here endeth the ties.

According to the Rhino box notes, Pitney's manager screwed some stuff up behind the scenes re: "Fool Killer", ending the relationship between Pitney and Bacharach/David, and cutting the artist off from a couple songs written for him: "Trains And Boats And Planes" and "What The World Needs Now"

Oops.

Also: I saw Nick Lowe do "Tower of Strength" live once.

Story i read when i was going thru this was that Pitney turned down "Trains and Boats and Planes", telling Bacharach "it's not one of your best". Crazy talk if true

Pitney has such a singular voice, it's hard to imagine T&B&P and What the World Needs Now by him.

Well yeah but still, i like them both as songs better than "Only Love"

Great to see bobbies vee and vinton placing courtesy of my single votes. Hadn't heard either before the playlist so thanks wmc for running this

oh, for sure xp

first appearance of Bayer Aspirin, as my A&R friend calls her

Just want to say that for all my talk about wanting to rank BB's compositions outside of performance preferences, that idea went straight out the window when I started making my ballot. My #1 didn't go to what I think is his best song (mainly because I'll never settle on what that is).

49. Odds and Ends — 70 Points, 1 Vote
Lyric: Hal David
Dionne Warwick, 1969, 70 points — https://youtu.be/U4hDJ9jIspk

(many xps)

Also guaranteed to be the only ILM poll to include Trijntje* Oosterhuis (unless there will ever be a Best Dutch Pop Songs poll, and even then I wouldn’t bet on it).

*yes, “Trijntje” is how you spell her name

I could've posted the songs without specifying a performer i think but there are at least a couple that i think of as inextricably connected to a specific artist and kind of less canonically BB because of that. But i placed them pretty high just cos they are all time classics.

"Odds and Ends"=My #4. Such a great breakup song.

Thanks breastcrawl, I've fixed that spelling upthread.

(many xps)

Also guaranteed to be the only ILM poll to include Trijntje* Oosterhuis (unless there will ever be a Best Dutch Pop Songs poll, and even then I wouldn’t bet on it).

*yes, “Trijntje” is how you spell her name

Dionne Warwick's voice is just

I'll get this out of my system now. Just the most perfect interpreter of most of these songs.

48. Bond Street — 70 Points, 3 Votes
Burt Bacharach, 1967, 58 points — https://youtu.be/dFcnWVtZqlA
Enoch Light and the Light Brigade, 1969, 12 points — https://youtu.be/FZGpiNAT92c

Dangerously close to "Yakety Sax" that one

Yeah, I’m not a fan of hers as a pop
/soul singer, but this material seems to suit her (I hadn’t listened to her doing BB before).

xps

(talking about Trijntje O. here obv - thanks for fixing her name, WmC!)

I picked up the Casino Royale DVD for cheap a few months ago, need to give it another watch -- I haven't seen it since I was a kid, and all I remember is Ursula Andress being so sexy it made me uncomfortable.

47. Everybody's Out of Town — 71 Points, 4 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
B.J. Thomas, 1970 single, 71 points — https://youtu.be/l19tP_lYI1I

Dangerously close to "Yakety Sax" that one

46. To Wait For Love — 83 Points, 2 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
Tony Orlando, 1964 single, 55 points — https://youtu.be/FsGUVa-Ro58
Patti Page, 1964, 28 points — https://youtu.be/Tm05J4OjYew

discogs being extremely unforthcoming with info about the Patti Page release; that date is per the youtube

45. The Things I Will Not Miss — 88 Points, 3 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye, 1973 (bonus track on Diana & Marvin reissue), 88 points — https://youtu.be/lvu1ERcj8X8

Casino Royale is a godawful movie

don't think i've ever sat thru it in one sitting but i did have the Geoff Love Orchestra album of Bond themes as a kid and CR was one of my favourites

(TIE) 43. Magic Moments — 90 Points, 4 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
Perry Como, RCA-Victor 78RPM 10-inch fucking shellac, 1957, 90 points — https://youtu.be/xcImlxojThY

(TIE) 43. I Wake Up Crying — 90 Points, 4 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
Chuck Jackson, 1964 single, 64 points — https://youtu.be/xVANgCaQREo
Cliff Richard with Norrie Paramour and His Orchestra, 1962, 26 points — https://youtu.be/UrYPs05a_2s

ok, NOW that's the end of the ties

I thought about giving "Magic Moments" a few points and demured in the end. There are bits of the melody that are really pleasing but it's too much goo in the end. Wd've gone with it in a different mood i guess.

I can not get over the length of this guy's career. Hits going back to 10" 78s, jeez.

i've been surprised at how quickly he found his voice, some of his biggest tunes were written 4 or 5 years earlier than i'd've guessed

I thought about giving "Magic Moments" a few points and demured in the end. There are bits of the melody that are really pleasing but it's too much goo in the end. Wd've gone with it in a different mood i guess.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tabHi6EdA_Q
A little Lev-it-y for the nonce

The biggest revelation for me was learning the amount of overlap between his gig with Marlene Dietrich and his songwriting career. I had assumed there wasn't any, but he was still touring with her until '62 at least.

I was off on the timing of that as well, couldn’t quite put it together.

Also have to admit again that it is a lot easier to listen to multiple versions of the tunes without the pressure of putting together a ballot.

42. Rain From the Skies — 94 Points, 3 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
Samantha Martin & the Haggard, 2011, 46 points — https://open.spotify.com/track/5DQz9eykQP8u2K0K93suva?si=jVW2SH6ESzWLyCjnRrvC_w (no youtube that I can find)
Alton Ellis, 24 points — https://open.spotify.com/track/2pXkO915qAfRPqCYVUzH19?si=0O5VncQIRqSrZrwZGIOb1A (ditto)
Delroy Wilson, 24 points — https://youtu.be/0NXVuflHh4g
Original version: Adam Wade single, Jan. 1963 — https://youtu.be/3mxtqhqbSZA

The Alton Ellis and Delroy Wilson versions are so close together -- same music track and different vocals?

41. That's Not the Answer — 100 points, 2 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
Dionne Warwick, 1965, 100 points — https://youtu.be/T-8wXJ99lbY

I'm a big Samantha Martin fan, this must be the first time she's ever been mentioned on ILM. I voted for the Delroy Wilson version of Rain From The Skies, but cheers to whoever voted for Samantha .

I never heard of her until she showed up in this thread, but yeah, that version is really nice.

40. The April Fools — 100 Points, 3 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
Aretha Franklin, album cut on Young, Gifted and Black, 1972, 70 points — https://youtu.be/trNhaxZvFVk
Dionne Warwick, 1969 single, 30 points — https://youtu.be/UuNMlfYvmuc

Aretha version was my #27.

I also like the Rufus Wainwright song of almost the same title.

I've given "That's Not the Answer" three listens in the last hour and I'm baffled that it's this high.

Don’t really know that one and didn’t make an impression on me just now.

Here’s another April Fool’s performance I dig:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=756327181053549&id=188873394595276&refsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com%2Fhugh.aylward.9%2Fvideos%2F756327181053549%2F&refid=52

Hadn't heard "That's Not The Answer" before. It's nice; like the vibe pattern hook and the jangly guitar break (I guess Burt had heard the Byrds by then).

OK, my big work thing has come in, so here comes probably the last one for today and I may not deliver any more until Thursday.

39. Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do) — 100 Points, 4 Votes
Lyric: Carol Bayer Sager, Christopher Cross, Peter Allen
Christopher Cross, 1981 single, 100 points — https://youtu.be/qqGWOxu_H4I

Mandatory:

[Removed Illegal Image]

Gah,see it here: is it just me, or does that Midnight Special DVD set look kinda cool?

Dionne Warwick's voice is just

Totally dropped the ball on voting in this but glad that means I'll get a clearer idea of other voters' faves. Would've taken too long to decide anyway.

*(TIE) 43. Magic Moments — 90 Points, 4 Votes*
Lyric: Hal David
Perry Como, RCA-Victor 78RPM 10-inch fucking shellac, 1957, 90 points — https://youtu.be/xcImlxojThY🕸

I wish I could share some eyewitness quotes on the creation of "Arthur's Theme"...

Como was my mother's favorite singer.

I've given "That's Not the Answer" three listens in the last hour and I'm baffled that it's this high.

listen, i had this ranked pretty high and i think there's something about the simplicity and the directness that was refreshing in the context of a lot of burt songs with their unusual meters, convoluted melodies, and complex chord changes. it just kinda reached out and grabbed me.

that and the arrangement is so delicate and breezy and the background vocals are downright angelic.

I totally goofed missing the Shirelles' "It's Love That Really Counts"--I once had that high on a Top 100 list.

Aaah, "Everybody's Out of Town" and "Things I Will Not Miss" placed with several votes each, but without comment, just after I went to bed. Hadn't heard either before this exercise and they feel like they might be classed as 'minor' works, but I was incapable of extracting either from my ballot.

Found myself creating a Spotify list of the highest ranked versions while catching up. :)

https://open.spotify.com/user/empeecee/playlist/18x6FTdwYDmEwtEAgs2Tpd

are u there with another poll?

I'm taking a breakfast break from work, so here comes another result or two.

38. Knowing When To Leave — 107 Points, 4 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
Dionne Warwick, 1970 b-side to "Make It Easy On Yourself", 68 points — https://youtu.be/3Kzw70otb1w
Jill O'Hara, 1968 Promises, Promises Broadway cast LP, 39 points — https://youtu.be/uKRmQhotpCQ

listen, i had this ranked pretty high and i think there's something about the simplicity and the directness that was refreshing in the context of a lot of burt songs with their unusual meters, convoluted melodies, and complex chord changes. it just kinda reached out and grabbed me.

that and the arrangement is so delicate and breezy and the background vocals are downright angelic.

― budo jeru, Tuesday, May 14, 2019 5:03 PM (yesterday)

Thanks for your take on this -- my comment came across too much as "this song is unworthy" instead of "I need someone else's insight."

37. The Story of My Life — 126 Points, 4 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
Marty Robbins, 1957 single, 80 points — https://youtu.be/BrHZCmVQnNA
Michael Holliday, 1958 single, 46 points — https://youtu.be/Gzk0bdlDr3Y

ok, back to work, might be back today, might be tomorrow

I voted for the Broadway version of "Knowing When to Leave." #20 of 20-song ballot) In fact, I once spun it on WFMU.

(that was shortly before it appeared on the Rhino box; I also played the cast version of "I'll Never Fall in Love Again")

"Story of My Life" was the one that I really had no clue was Bacharach/David, for obvious reasons i think. I've always loved it anyway. Could've voted for either of those versions but my inner cowboy won out.

are u there with another poll?

"Story of My Life" was the one that I really had no clue was Bacharach/David, for obvious reasons i think. I've always loved it anyway. Could've voted for either of those versions but my inner cowboy won out.

it was my number 13, which was too high but i voted in the moment. i say i had "no clue" but i must've known and forgotten, i've got a fairly comprehensive BB CD compilation somewhere still in the house.

re: "Knowing When To Leave", i wish they'd written more musicals

Yeah, it was a littler high on my ballot too, but it’s kind of impossible to get the ranking just so.

um, like Lost Horizon? xp

Littler

lol Morbs this is why musicals should start life on the stage

well Promises was a decent-sized hit, and it was an adap of The Apartment

This I did not know

there are quite a few Bacharach/David songs that have this interstitial quality to them - they feel like they start mid-story and they don't really resolve anything at the end, especially melodically - and that's a good trick for musical theatre where as many of the songs need to be building blocks as they do show-stoppers

oh yeah Redd, "Knowing When to Leave" is for the MacLaine character, Lemmon's finishes with "Promises, Promises"

never wanted to see a staging of it, cuz Neil Simon rewriting Wilder-Diamond, ugh

I haven't seen it staged either (despite having chances to--it became popular again for local companies after the Chenoweth-starring revised* revival), but I used to have that one big book of Simon plays that had PromisesX2 in it. IIRC, the book is somewhat reasonably faithful to original script, but yeah, Simon put in some new gags and the Pop Culture references were brought up to 1968.

*They found a way to work in "I Say A Little Prayer", which Burt said was written apart from the show, but somehow was still of a piece with it.

I find the horn break in "Turkey Lurkey Time" very funny, typical arrangement of the BB era

promise us anything

Even a wedding ring

OK, I'm caught up on my shit and waiting for other people to catch up on their shit, so let's have some more results.

36. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance — 126 Points, 6 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
Gene Pitney, 1962 single, 126 points — https://youtu.be/IU8bBlPtBK4

Awesome. My #13

Burt's memoir, a very thin document, has a page and a bit on writing and recording this -- taking a long time to write it, odd structure, his habit of troubleshooting a song by going into a bathroom stall and just thinking about it instead of going to the piano. "In order to fix whatever was wrong, I always had to hear the song and the arrangement in my head."

Wow. Think I may have to read that.

Feel like we should have a thread about such memoirs.

There is a lot of text from other people — his wife and ex-wives, Hal David, Cilla, Dietrich — presented in oral-history style. On one hand, it's nice that Burt lets other people have their say, but it reveals the material from Burt himself as pretty thin. It has the feel of a book knocked out in a week of interviews with Robert Greenfield, the coauthor. It's still very much worth the read.

Wonder how it stacks up next to the Donald Fagen book.

My autocorrect does not like Fagen.

35. In the Land of Make Believe — 142 Points, 5 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
Dusty Springfield, from Dusty in Memphis, 1969, 108 Points — https://youtu.be/tYwa0QL0Vps
The Drifters, 1964 b-side of "Vaya Con Dios," 34 points — https://youtu.be/lUDm6N6M9HU

Not on my radar. Will give a listen

It's a punch in the heart, and still I had to cut it from my ballot.

I like the Dusty version, although I don’t remember it from the album, which I haven’t listened to in a whiledecade or two, for some unknown reason.

Rectifying this now

Listening to Dusty In Memphis is always the right thing to do.

You can't imagine my envy for the person about to absorb Dusty In Memphis for the first time.

34. Wives and Lovers — 147 Points, 5 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
Jack Jones, 1963 Kapp Records single, 109 points — https://youtu.be/rZ7WT02wFOk
Dave Douglas, from Great Jewish Music: Burt Bacharach, 1997, 38 points — https://youtu.be/CkUW_Fc2xj0

Those lyrics are not wholly attractive. A vocal-less version highlighted in the other thread demonstrated that BB contributed a fine tune, however.

Also: belated "yay!" for "Knowing When To Leave!"

Last one for the night.

33. Don't Go Breaking My Heart — 151 Points, 3 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
Dionne Warwick, 1966 b-side to "Trains and Boats and Planes, 70 points — https://youtu.be/fcKIX-xrsuk
Marc Ribot, from Great Jewish Music: Burt Bacharach, 1997, 55 points — https://youtu.be/K6de2BkfhEo (electric version)
Astrud Gilberto, 1966 single, 26 points — https://youtu.be/mBRl241KfB0

I was the Ribot voter, specifically for the solo acoustic version, but that's not on youtube. It's not quite as outside as if Eugene Chadbourne had covered the song, but it's got some sharp edges on it.

Pretty sure I voted for Gilberto here. So no sharp edges at all. LOL. I might have been semi-consciously strategically voting against Warwick a little, to avoid a complete Dionnefest on my ballot.

Another tune not really on my radar. Enjoying the Dionne Warwick version right now.

assorted versions of "Wives and Lovers" got a ton of airplay on easy listening stations 50 years ago. I knew it well by the time I was 8.

Yeah, although I didn’t even know what the title was for a few decades.

A thread is still a thread
Even if there’s no one posting there

Good morning! Some early results for the UK and EU.

32. Please Stay — 152 Points, 3 Votes
Lyric: Bob Hilliard
The Drifters, 1961 single, 152 points — https://youtu.be/1iY2UpSz9Vs

I thought about voting for the Elvis Costello version of this because it starts really nice but he goes way overboard by the end.

31. Mexican Divorce — 165 Points, 3 Votes, 1 #1 Vote
Lyric: Bob Hilliard
The Drifters, 1962 b-side to "When My Little Girl Is Smiling," 113 points — https://youtu.be/_UwQjkmQ5KM
Ry Cooder, on Paradise and Lunch, 1974, 52 points — https://youtu.be/5Cci6Jn2t-Y

That was my #1, which maybe I can explain a little later if you want.

Not going to be able to post much today maybe but watching in.

xp oh yeah, #1 vote note added

I guess I will push on through and do all of the top 30 today...? Unless everyone wants some today and some tomorrow.

That was my #1, which maybe I can explain a little later if you want.

Please do!

30. What's New, Pussycat? — 181 Points, 6 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
Tom Jones, 1965 Parrot Records single, 181 points — https://youtu.be/cB-ur_x-1Hg
A 60s or 70s live tv version — https://youtu.be/YG1c3Oasifc
Live, 2018 — https://youtu.be/RP3WPZqkBwg - still in great voice.

29. Something Big — 227 Points, 5 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
Jim O'Rourke, from Eureka, 1999, 126 points — https://youtu.be/1TVVQvk5KbM
Burt Bacharach, 1973 single, 101 points — https://youtu.be/m6ROvkl9gNY

The Jim O'Rourke version of this song is what originally turned me on to Burt Bacharach's songwriting back 1999 (well, that and Austin Powers :)
I had always assumed that this was a much less obscure song (based on the fact that he decided to cover it), but apparently Jim did some crate-digging.

Listening to the original version for the first time now, and it seems that Jim O'Rourke did a pretty straight/faithful cover. I was afraid I wouldn't like the original, but it's essentially identical.

The pain and disappointment behind the jaunty exterior in this song fit O'Rourke so well, he was born to cover it.

https://media.timeout.com/images/102606826/630/472/image.jpg

"There'll be joy and there'll be laughter..."

The vote counts have really shot up! I gave points to Burt's "Something Big" though, oddly, it was O'Rourke's rendition posted in the other thread that got me reexamining the original. There's something going on in the chorus, rhythmically, that is immensely pleasing in both versions.

28. The Windows of the World — 236 Points, 9 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
The Free Design, from You Could Be Born Again (1968), 106 points — https://youtu.be/mbb_xx38zZY
Dionne Warwick, from The Windows of the World LP (1967), 56 points — https://youtu.be/Hvq5RYlgQ-U
Scott Walker, from Scott 2 (1968), 55 points — https://youtu.be/8OvChlYMN6s
Bobbie Gentry, unknown recording date, 19 points — https://youtu.be/tWeQLQ75sTs
Gentry version is on The Best of the Capitol Years and The Girl from Chickasaw County comps.

All the voted for versions of this are great but I couldn’t not vote for the Dedricks.

Free Design 4 votes, Dionne 5 votes, Scott and Bobbie 1 vote each

Correction, Dionne got 3 votes.

Dedricks?

What is the family from The Free Design

WAY too low!

(Oh well, that's what I get for not voting.)

27. You'll Never Get to Heaven (If You Break My Heart) — 255 Points, 8 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
The Stylistics, 1976 single, 235 points — https://youtu.be/T7pgAAW9pEU
Rumer, from This Girl's in Love (A Bacharach & David Songbook), 2016, 20 points — https://youtu.be/OzAM69HpkWU
(First recording is by Dionne, 1964.)

Had to be the Stylistics version, and it broke up my Dionne-heavy choices a bit. Also wow this is low.

Burt gave Phil Ramone a lot of credit for that original of Something Big - "I never sang better".

And I think the Jim O version was my intro to Edith Frost (who really doesn't sing like that anywhere else, not surprisingly!) :)

That Stylistics version is so beautiful. I might have heard it back in the 70s but wasn't really knocked out by it until this poll. Also had never heard of Rumer before the poll -- my first thought was "is this Rumer Willis?"

If not Rumer Godden.

Next 4 songs are bunched up, climbing in 1-point increments.

26. Are You There (With Another Girl/Guy) — 260 Points, 7 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
Dionne Warwick, 1965 single, 260 points — https://youtu.be/3F9NWBPf23Q
Dionne lip-syncing on French TV, 1967 — https://youtu.be/-8B_bhMMg8c

Too low! etc, etc.

otm

Don’t blame me, I had it at #19

25. Casino Royale — 261 Points, 7 Votes
Lyric: Hal David (yes, there are lyrics on the end credits version, I don't recommend them)
Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, 1967 single and movie soundtrack, 184 points — https://youtu.be/dgcV8PrCLcs
Geoff Love & His Orchestra, from Big Bond Movie Themes (1975), 77 points — https://youtu.be/F0gI4KoD0TA

Seven James Bonds at Casino Royale,
They came to save the world and win a gal at Casino Royale!
Six of them went to a heavenly spot,
The seventh one is going to a place where it's terribly...hot.

The formula is safe with ole double-oh seven!
He's got a redhead in his arms!
Oh, he's a lover, when you're in trouble

Have no fear, look who's here...James Bond...
They've got us on the run…With guns…And knives...
We're fighting for our lives...Have no fear, Bond is here...
He's gonna to save the world at Casino Royale!

Never fear, Bond is here!

The formula is safe with ole double-oh seven!
He's got a redhead in his arms!
Oh, he's a lover, when you're in trouble

Have no fear, look who's here...James Bond...
They've got us on the run…With guns…And knives...
We're fighting for our lives...Have no fear, Bond is here...
He's gonna to save the world at Casino Royale...
James Bond...is here...so have...no fear...
so have...no...fear.

Makes you wonder what the point is of working with a professional lyricist.
"Hal, you had ONE job..."

24. A House Is Not a Home — 262 Points, 6 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
Luther Vandross, from s/t album, 1982, 166 points — https://youtu.be/CGib6okEeZ4
Dionne Warwick, from Make Way for Dionne Warwick (1964), 96 points — https://youtu.be/Mk7CNHHIuH4
Terrific Dionne live TV version — https://youtu.be/olvaDzUi8c8
No love for the original Brook Benton single, 1964.

The original is great, but Luther Vandross...

Luther Vandross version live at the NAACP Image Awards (not sure of the year), Dionne looking on admiringly — https://youtu.be/Gu2JBMNBbKo

23. Promises, Promises — 263 Points, 6 Votes, 1 first-place vote
Lyric: Hal David
Dionne Warwick, 1968 single, 163 points — https://youtu.be/dGqPbfjJarI
Erik Friedlander, from Great Jewish Music: Burt Bacharach (1997), 100 points — https://youtu.be/ti8_LA-_OdE

The Friedlander version was my #1...

That's pretty cool. I kept meaning to get back to the Great Jewish Music stuff.

22. One Less Bell To Answer — 284 Points, 8 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
The Fifth Dimension, 1970 single, 262 points — https://youtu.be/pjW_z02EjaA
Barbra Streisand, from Barbra Joan Streisand (1971), 22 points — https://youtu.be/Txyd1fkJxmg

Streisand version is a medley with "A House Is Not a Home," but the vote was for just "Bell" so I didn't split the points.

Had the 5D version at #14

And Dionne version of “Promises, Promises” at #22, almost right on the consensus.

That's pretty cool. I kept meaning to get back to the Great Jewish Music stuff.

There are 3 songs on that comp that keep it from being one of the best records I own -- Yuka Honda/Sean Lennon "The Look of Love," Medeski Martin & Wood "San Jose," and Lloyd Cole/Robert Quine "Just don't know what to do w/myself."

ok, here's the song with points from seven different versions -- the last couple of ballots knocked it out of the top 20.

21. Trains and Boats and Planes — 375 Points, 10 votes
Lyric: Hal David
Dionne Warwick, 1966 single, 129 points — https://youtu.be/nuBumHuouug
Astrud Gilberto, from Lo Mejor De Astrud Gilberto (1975), 77 points — https://youtu.be/e2n-x3hovJE
Fred Frith, from Great Jewish Music: Burt Bacharach (1997), 43 points — https://youtu.be/juNwNdYic5w
The Box Tops, from The Letter/Neon Rainbow (1967), 40 points — https://youtu.be/-gNB-6WNk7E
Burt Bacharach, 1965 single, 36 points — https://youtu.be/58db0IGpiVM
The Everly Brothers, from The Hit Sound of the Everly Brothers (1967), 34 points — https://youtu.be/nA0bVfCpSR0
Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas, 1965 single, 16 points — https://youtu.be/wIEpKZLH1GY

I couldn’t figure out how I felt about that song, so didn’t vote for it. Never paid much attention to it before, but like a lot of artists that sang it and am enjoying their versions of the song. Also, I’ve met the guy who arranged the Astrud Gilberto record. He also played on a lot of Burt’s Scepter sessions.

The Astrud version is A+...her accent totally makes it and drives home the storyline.

I'm probably going to count down to 16 today and do the top 15 tomorrow. Gathering the discogs info and youtubes takes a bit of time and I probably wouldn't finish until evening, and I have a thing to go to tonight.

Don’t go, please stay.

lol

https://i.imgur.com/e6Q9yD5.jpg

20. Alfie — 378 Points, 7 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
Cilla Black, 1966 single, 310 points — https://youtu.be/glpIgnmKrZc from the recording session.
Stevie Wonder, from Eivets Rednow (1968), 36 points — https://youtu.be/sY6KW-Fxy68
Dionne Warwick, 1967, 32 points — https://youtu.be/cW2fLeD5Pow

Stevie Wonder at the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song ceremony, 2012 — https://youtu.be/gMQ_Hj7_mxc (the Bacharachs and Obamas in the front row)

I really don't think anyone had ever put Cilla through something like this before. She had a really strong pop voice but what I wanted her to do on "Alfie" was go for the jugular. We did twenty-eight or twenty-nine takes and after each one, I kept saying, "Can we do better than that? Can I get one more?" The way Cilla remembers it, George Martin finally asked me, "Burt, what are you looking for here?" I said, "That little bit of magic," and he said, "I think we got that on take four."

Mike Myers: If you've seen the video of that session on YouTube, Burt breaks Cilla in the studio. He was going to do it until it was right and I love the quote from her, "I wanted to foo-kin' kill him but he was so foo-kin' gorgeous."

great rollout so far, although i just can't get down with "arthur's theme" or "casino royale" lol sorry !

aretha's "april fools" and dusty's "in the land of make believe" were my #7 and #8, respectively

jim o'rourke's "something big" my favorite discovery so far

Makes you wonder what the point is of working with a professional lyricist.
"Hal, you had ONE job..."

so fucking otm

I was the Ribot voter, specifically for the solo acoustic version, but that's not on youtube. It's not quite as outside as if Eugene Chadbourne had covered the song, but it's got some sharp edges on it.

― WmC, Wednesday, May 15, 2019 8:18 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i remember feeling that i should have spent more time with the "great jewish music" comp when i voted; now i'm pretty sure i'll have to spring for a copy

Medeski Martin & Wood "San Jose,"

just out of curiosity, what don't you like about this track ? that they take too many liberties ?

also loving the vh1 behind the music bits, A+

It just seems like an exercise for Medeski to play with some keyboards, including a Mellotron, looking for interesting timbres; the song he uses for this workout is an afterthought. xp

Saw Burt B a couple of years ago at the Royal Festival Hall. He gave the perfectly competent guest vocalists a break at the end and did "Alfie" himself. Poor guy got croaky on first verse and started over. "This is too good a song to mess up." It was magnificent.

Nice. You and Morbs may be the only ilxors to see him live.

https://i.imgur.com/ZSbmdMQ.jpg

19. (There's) Always Something There To Remind Me — 385 Points, 12 Votes, 1 first-place vote
Lyric: Hal David
Wendell Stuart and the Downbeaters, s/t album (1969), 100 points — https://youtu.be/qxzvmw1iXug
Sandie Shaw, 1964 single, 96 points — https://youtu.be/hp-FnGb4wbY
Lou Johnson, 1964 single, 61 points — https://youtu.be/MOQ1NUdkg50
Naked Eyes, 1983 single, 53 points — https://youtu.be/lVrELhxOFnM
Dionne Warwick, 1968 b-side of "Who Is Gonna Love Me?", 32 points — https://youtu.be/ZamEcNgtw4o

Don't think I've ever heard 'One Less Bell to Answer', I see it was massive in the US but nowhere to be seen in the UK.

Never really been a Cilla fan and i think that influenced me not choosing Alfie or her other notable BB hit

Yeah, me neither so the same.

Yes but are you a “Where’s Cilla” fan?

^er you may have to be a Britisher to get that reference

I am not therefore I am not.

Wonder what, um, Alfred, thinks

wendell stuart was my #1

What put that version on your radar? I'd never heard of him before.

p sure i voted for the last seven

Cher's version of "Alfie" is good too (it was on US prints of the movie)

https://i.imgur.com/T1aecjz.jpg

18. Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head — 394 Points, 12 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
B.J. Thomas, 1969 single, 318 points — https://youtu.be/hziG9Nr6KHU
Dionne Warwick, from I'll Never Fall in Love Again (1970), 52 points — https://youtu.be/mcmaqoCCxmI
Manic Street Preachers, bonus track on Everything Must Go reissue (recorded 1996?), 24 points — https://youtu.be/we1_bT2elEg

^ roy ayers version was on my ballot

to answer your question, i heard it through a friend of a friend, maybe at a record store ? it was very random and i wasn't expecting most people to be familiar

had always loved the song, wendell's vocal delivery really seals the deal imo

like many americans i was familiar with the naked eyes version via radio since childhood

^ roy ayers version was on my ballot

― budo jeru, Thursday, May 16, 2019 12:51 PM (four minutes ago)

Crap -- the total points are right but the version breakdown should include Ayers, sorry about that.

B.J. Thomas should be 292 points
Roy Ayers, from Ubiquity (1970), 26 points — https://youtu.be/8gHPNshin1g

similar to "Wives & Lovers," the megahits of the late '60s are so familiar to me, some I know as well as the Beatles' records. They were ubiquitous on TV variety as well as radio.

ubiquitous on TV variety

I don't think the Youth of Today realize how many hours of variety shows were on every week back then. The music clearances situation, I assume, makes it almost impossible to collect these on home video or streaming. I can't see a picture of Glen Campbell without thinking of him coming onstage in his series and doing the "HI! I'M GLEN CAMPBELL!" bit.

Some of those shows *have* gotten the boxed set treatment. Cash, Smothers Brothers, Sonny & Cher (I think)....

Speaking of which, recent Ben Monder album has versions of both “The Windows of the World” and “Galveston.” (He’s a big Jimmy Webb fan)

UK variety shows tended to be slightly different from what i remember - less of them based around a single personality, at least by the 70s, tho i'm sure Cilla and Lulu had shows. They were just as ubiquitous tho.

If anything these songs are so familiar to me because tapes of Dionne and Dusty were two of my dad's car favourites, and he didn't have many favourites.

not to mention the decades channel xp

https://i.imgur.com/wIwOUsb.jpg

17. Any Day Now — 403 Points, 8 Votes
Lyric: Bob Hilliard
Elvis Presley, 1969 b-side of "In the Ghetto," 249 points — https://youtu.be/bgM0yxh9Dlc
Chuck Jackson, 1962 Wand Records single, 154 points — https://youtu.be/RPgE991VDwM
really good Elvis alternate take minus the sweetening — https://youtu.be/xg0D_E1WLn8

omg yes to that elvis alt take, so good

First underdog in the top 20? Not sure I know it.

btw can you imagine trying to do the Vandross "House Is Not a Home" at karaoke?

I always find that kinda over-the-top streeeeetched-out R&B inescapably funny, not sexy

Thought awhile about which version to go with, ended up going with Elvis in my #7 spot. Hadn’t even heard the alternative take, thanks for that.
(xp)

the epistemology of the "House" lyrics is already borderline farcical

a chair is not a house

a room is not a house

what else ya got

Don’t ask me, that’s why I voted for as much Bob Hilliard as I could, although I overlooked one.

I think I overlooked all of em.

this goddamn ingrown toenail is not a house
my car keys -- nope, my car keys aren't a house either

I like this Burt "Alfie"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKt4IWKy1mU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ptOWuCZkk8

"Any Day Now" was a big Country hit for Ronnie Milsap in the 80s as well.

First underdog in the top 20? Not sure I know it.

― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius),

just want to say this is very surprising -- in my memory it was big...I know I'd heard it many times before I got the Rhino box in 1998 but now I can't say where.

xp I remember that Milsap version! I should have thought of it when I was putting together the big spotify playlist.

I'd cut Hal David a break on those "Royale" end-credits lyrics... clearly meant to be a throwaway, and I'm sure most of the audience had long fled.

The Milsap one was on my ballot before I cut the song

I'd cut Hal David a break on those "Royale" end-credits lyrics... clearly meant to be a throwaway, and I'm sure most of the audience had long fled.

or The Odd Couple lyrics

OK, last one for today -- tomorrow the big finish, full orchestra, backup singers, everything.

https://i.imgur.com/UrjhRtj.jpg

16. Twenty-Four Hours from Tulsa — 409 Points, 10 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
Gene Pitney, 1963 Musicor single, 250 points — https://youtu.be/jIjUaxP7PPE
Dusty Springfield, from A Girl Called Dusty (1964), 89 points — https://youtu.be/ne9UuzivW1A
Burt Bacharach, from Plays His Hits (1966), 70 points — https://youtu.be/5qaR6-iZe-Q

The graphic has Dusty's points wrong, it's 89 for her.

My number 4, a bit of an outlier for Bacharach i think but it's a classic for a reason. The lyric absolutely works.

I gave this one a lot of points, but settled on Burt's wordless version as I enjoyed pretending it was the score to a western or something.

The lyrics are good though. It's somewhat tangled up with "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" in my mind. No doubt due partly to the specific place names, but also the way travel, separation and guilt are handled in each. I seem to like the idea of the USA as a land of endless highways with people being sad, or at least contemplative, in distant hotel rooms, as "Check Out Time" involves something quite similar! :)

promise us anything

"Twenty-Four Hours from Tulsa" has this weird, mesmerizing beat that I also associate with "Down in the Boondocks," but I can't think of any other songs that have it. Dusty edged out Gene for me to come in at #10.

Good morning, top 15 today! At least until tomorrow, I'll never run a poll again!

https://i.imgur.com/HfUoDp6.jpg

15. (They Long To Be) Close To You — 426 Points, 12 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
The Carpenters, 1970 single, 410 points — https://youtu.be/iFx-5PGLgb4
Gwen Guthrie, 1986 single, 16 points — https://youtu.be/VRMYxp86mOU

Extended version of the Gwen Guthrie version, I guess this was on the 12" single — https://youtu.be/l0VWo8g5Y_o

https://i.imgur.com/8etQvsO.jpg

14. Wishin' and Hopin' — 441 Points, 11 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
Dusty Springfield, 1964 single, 441 points — https://youtu.be/gAdTsAKvVTU
Dusty and Martha Reeves duetting on "Ready Steady Go - The Sound of Motown", 1965 — https://youtu.be/CXP7tt7TQUk

My #2

Are there any gender swap versions of this? Trying to decide if that would work or not.

Dusty was a great girl with a really soulful voice, but she was very hard to record. We were both perfectionists but Dusty was much harder on herself than she needed to be and I think that if we had ever tried to do an album together, we would have destroyed one another.

xp - The Merseybeats do a version. They're gonna wear their hair just for her.

Also The Bad Boys, a weirdly slow version.

https://i.imgur.com/2o9xCag.jpg

13. Don't Make Me Over — 495 Points, 10 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
Dionne Warwick, b-side of "I Smiled Yesterday," 1962, 467 points — https://youtu.be/LEgxuE7WD6U
Sybil, 1989 single, 28 points — https://youtu.be/fvb6ovTNQPk

Dionne live tv version, 1967 — https://youtu.be/nFvLcCDvdEA

Fun fact: I have no recollection of hearing "Close To You" before Kim Gordon chose it in a Desert Island Discs type segment on radio here in the early 90s. I don't remember hearing Bacharach at all earlier in childhood, with exactly two exceptions: "Raindrops..." and one other that's presumably coming up soon. I'm not sure how I managed this lack of exposure.

Burt on "Don't Make Me Over" --

We cut the song at Bell Sound, and when Hal and I brought it to Florence Greenberg, she cried. Not because of how much she liked the record. Florence cried because of how much she [i]didn't like it. Both of us were really taken aback by her reaction but there was nothing we could do or say to make her change her mind. She wound up putting out "Don't Make Me Over" as the B-side of "I Smiled Yesterday," a song we had cut at the same session.[/i]

https://i.imgur.com/RixxQlU.jpg

12. My Little Red Book — 523 Points, 10 Votes, 1 first-place vote
Lyric: Hal David
Love, 1966 single, 434 points — https://youtu.be/f-SuGfLhqo4
Manfred Mann, 1965 single, 89 points — https://youtu.be/se7Ywa668aw

Don't Make Me Over was my number 2, would be number 1 some days

The way Dusty sings "you will be his" on Wishin' is absolute joy

if Don't Make Me Over has any flaw it's that the first two lines are the peak, really

Hadn't thought of that, but it really does announce itself from the start.

It's the soul of the song, the rest is - admittedly beautiful - elaboration

What was the first recorded version of “My Little Red Book”?

The Manfred Mann version.

I gave my points to Manfred Mann's. It's BB's preference too, apparently. Love simplified some chords too much for his liking, or something!?

Paul Jones, the vocalist on the track:

Manfred Mann could read music and he was a jazz piano player and a jazz fan and wrote a fortnightly column in Jazz News, but he couldn't play Burt's stuff. The story about Burt having to move Manfred off the piano bench is absolutely true. In fact, it was slightly more subtle than that. Burt said to Manfred, "Look, I tell you what. You play the left hand and I'll do the right hand." Then they switched and Manfred did the right hand and Burt did the left hand and eventually Burt was sitting at the piano alone. Manfred didn't hold it against Burt for a moment, and has actually said that he admired the tactful way he had been edged out.

I voted for the Manfred Mann version too. It was Love 8, Mann 2.

"Twenty-Four Hours from Tulsa" has this weird, mesmerizing beat that I also associate with "Down in the Boondocks,"

really sharp observation

https://i.imgur.com/GMfOvlH.jpg

11. Do You Know the Way to San Jose — 576 Points, 12 Votes
Lyric: Hal David
Dionne Warwick, 1968 single, 538 points — https://youtu.be/CnzTgUc5ycc
Frankie Goes to Hollywood, from Welcome to the Pleasuredome (1984), 38 points — https://youtu.be/wgy3p-L8RRg

upthread there was a suggestion of a side poll for songwriters that write like burt. i think arthur lee and bacharach definitely have an affinity. i think "a house is not a motel" is almost certainly a BB reference, i think it's significant that the first love single was a burt tune, and i think it helps to explain the really quite sophisticated and sometimes baffling chord changes on "forever changes" if you imagine arthur lee sitting around the house and plunking out the melody lines to various BB songs on the piano

xp

impossible for me to untangle "san jose" from childhood, but dionne's version is something i cherish

love the little organ flourishes around "and all the stars that never were ... "

love the tone of the kick drum

Ah, I had no idea that Burt had something to do with the Manfred Mann version, with which I was barely familiar with, voted for the other one. Always figured there was some kind of Scepter artist or someone else in the US that he had done it with first, now I see that it was recorded for What’s New Pussy at? One tiny extra thing in favor of the Love version for me is that it morphed through a game of Red Telephone into “Interstellar Overdrive.”
i think "a house is not a motel" is almost certainly a BB reference
Was thinking the same thing yesterday

Agree with both your posts about “San Jose”

San Jose is one of my karaoke faves. LA is a great big freeway has always been powerfully evocative to my small town arse. Put it at 5

From the Mann himself: https://www.manfredmann.co.uk/?story=the-1960s-my-little-red-book

If "The Last One To Be Loved" doesn't place, I'll be very sorry I didn't vote.

you should be sorry either way !

Waiting For Eric (To Come Vote)

xps Nice. Interesting that a jazz background would make unaccented chords hard.

https://i.imgur.com/9aYh17X.jpg

10. What the World Needs Now Is Love — 584 Points, 13 Votes, 1 first-place vote
lyric: Hal David
Jackie DeShannon, 1965 single, 524 points — https://youtu.be/IQ2SAtkEsqU
Burt Bacharach and The Posies, from the Austin Powers - International Man of Mystery soundtrack, 1997, 60 points — https://youtu.be/u7uh15s23nQ

xps Nice. Interesting that a jazz background would make unaccented chords hard.

xp to nv

agree about the freeway lyric. also love the imagery of "parking cars and pumping gas"

i have no problem saying that i just love the mythology of the song, the mystique of going west to make it big, the fatigue, the disillusionment, the small town that welcomes you back with open arms. i love its wistfulness

Maybe in the Spinal Tap sense of U.K. Jazz Blues/Blues Jazz etc.

Well maybe that’s not quite fair. It’s considered corny in jazz to play every beat of the same voicing of the same chord over and over again so he probably wasn’t used to it, as he says.

i mean he was gigging in jazz clubs in johannesburg in the late '50s, though his stage name was initially a tip of the hat to shelly manne, which sort of gives you a clue as to the type of jazz he was playing

Did not know all that and just read more about it, thanks.

https://i.imgur.com/ymV4Mco.jpg

9. I'll Never Fall in Love Again — 601 Points, 14 Votes, 1 first-place vote
lyric: Hal David
Dionne Warwick, 1970 single, 445 points — https://youtu.be/FzQBOBoPg04
Bobbie Gentry, 1969 single, 60 points — https://youtu.be/S-g2RCdk8nI
Burt Bacharach & Elvis Costello, from The Spy Who Shagged Me soundtrack (1999), 60 points — https://youtu.be/yNJLrLS6VG0
Ella Fitzgerald, 1969 single, 24 points — https://youtu.be/dxfMIAZw1RY
Jill O'Hara & Jerry Orbach, from the Promises, Promises Broadway cast recording (1968), 12 points — https://youtu.be/1xp_-mHR8gY

Voted for Dionne but the Elvis Costello version has grown on me.

dionne's vocal is lovely but this song just doesn't have hook imo, it's just continually unresolved in a way that i find mildly unpleasant

probably the germs to catch pneumonia

it's great

Even though I voted for it, this song has always seemed lyrically a little undercooked, a little rushed -- which makes sense since they had one whole day to write it. "Out of those chains, those chains that bind you" -- repeating the phrase feels like placeholder text, "I'll come up with something better later" but he never did.

But anyway, I love the spareness of the Jill & Jerry version, just acoustic guitar and a little bass.

i always though the Warwick version was released as a single in '69, to ensure that the show had a hit before it opened?

the b-side of that ella fitzgerald 45 is "savoy truffle" ??

Both "Close to You" and to a lesser extent "W & H" have too much treacle for me to embrace

Nope, Dionne rode the coattails for once. xp

budo jeru, yes! I keep meaning to listen to it...

Ella version of “Savoy Truffle” not bad, yet another side benefit of this thread.

But anyway, I love the spareness of the Jill & Jerry version, just acoustic guitar and a little bass.

Yeah, I think that was the one.

https://i.imgur.com/O8oNEQa.jpg

8. Make It Easy On Yourself — 611 Points, 10 Votes, 1 first-place vote
Lyric: Hal David
The Walker Brothers, 1965 single, 306 points — https://youtu.be/bZTS9H-l5qQ
Jackie Trent, from Once More With Feeling (1967), 155 points — https://youtu.be/y_FN9-mthXA
Jerry Butler, 1962 single, 150 points — https://youtu.be/eKERP-GocsI

In early 1962 after the "Mexican Divorce" recording session, Burt and Hal started using Dionne Warwick as vocalist on their demos. Here's the demo of "Make It Easy On Yourself" - https://youtu.be/PCtVWYsnzNA

Had Jerry Butler version at #8. Believe that was Burt’s first (uncredited) session as producer and not just as arranger.

That was my #1. Opted for the Jackie Trent version, largely for the big orchestral arrangement tbh.

Dionne thought she was actually cutting "MIEOY" not as a demo, but as her debut single, and when Jerry Butler's version was released, she confronted Burt & Hal and told them, "Don't Make Me Over"...and the rest is history.

Also: I was the #1 for "I'll Never..." Such a cheerful mix of the melancholy and optimism, Bacharach & David at a fine-tuned peak.

I thought that demo sounded awfully close to a release-ready track.

Make It Easy was my number 3, it's my favourote Walker Bros track bit i couldn't make it my favourite BB track but that version is carved in granite, it's immense

The first song on their first album, huge right out of the gate.

Has anything ever suited Scott's delivery more? I don't think so

https://i.imgur.com/3hE8Le6.jpg

7. Baby It's You — 642 Points, 14 Votes
Lyric: Mack David, "Barney Williams" (Luther Dixon)
The Shirelles, 1961 single, 439 points — https://youtu.be/CRrxjk3qgRc
The Beatles, from Please Please Me (1963), 179 points — https://youtu.be/WEvrCiQ0doQ
Smith, 1969 single, 24 points — https://youtu.be/IuWsRkF5SIo

Fun fact: the Smith version (#5) outperformed the Shirelles (#8) and the Beatles (1995 reissue, #67) on the Billboard Hot 100.

too low

Burt:

Luther Dixon loved the song but he wanted Mack to rewrite the lyrics to make it darker. Luther came up with the "cheat, cheat" part and took a co-songwriting credit for himself under the name Barney Williams. I think he was the one who changed the title to "Baby, It's You."

When we recorded the song, Luther had Shirley Owens, the lead singer of the Shirelles, come into the studio by herself to put a new lead vocal on the track. In every other way, the finished record is exactly the same as my demo, with everything I put on it still there. If you listen carefully right before she starts her lead vocal on the intro and the "sha-la-la-las" come up in the background, you can hear me shouting them out and sounding so bad and really loud.

Has anything ever suited Scott's delivery more? I don't think so

hal david's nickname was mack ? lol

No, Mack David was Hal's brother!

intriguing

mack's writing credits go back to the '30s,like chick webb and stuff

[Mack] David had a varied interest in musical composition. In 1975, according to the New York Times in David's obituary: "Mr. David was granted a patent for inventing an electronic system for composing songs from fractional recordings. The system, which included playback units, stored records of lyrics and melodies. The operator selected words and music that fit together and recorded the combination."[1]

Dang!

I had forgotten about Mack, despite having read and reread The Beatles: An Illustrated Record dozens of times.

the "sha-la-la-las" come up in the background, you can hear me shouting them out and sounding so bad and really loud./

^ lol yup

xp also the original lyrics to "la vie en rose" -- which are in english and were translated into french for edith piaf. i never knew this.

I never noticed it before until I listened for it specifically -- pretty funny. xp

my post about "la vie en rose" was wrong nvm

I thought maybe that “sha-la-la” was The Beatles leaking into the track through a short time travel hop.

I even like the John Sayles film of the same name, which features the Shirelles version of the song, even though he disowned it, I believe. Although I think they monkeyed with the soundtrack after the original release because of rights, substituting “Shout” with “Surfin’ Bird,” for example.

actually i can’t figure out the truth about “la vie en rose” but i will stop talking about it.

“Smith”? Is the artist name really just Smith? Weird.

Not a fan of this song tbh but the Elvis Costello version is OK

https://i.imgur.com/Fz1U6zH.jpg

6. Anyone Who Had a Heart — 654 Points, 12 Votes, 1 first-place vote
Lyric: Hal David
Dionne Warwick, 1963 single, 654 points — https://youtu.be/qMsiGMKHJ8k

"baby it's you" would have been my #1, if i knew enough bacharach songs to vote. (but then again, if i knew more songs, maybe it wouldn't be...nm. love this song so much)

actually i can’t figure out the truth about “la vie en rose” but i will stop talking about it.

Okay here is the later version, missing “Shout” and “A Lover’s Concerto” and I can’t remember what else:
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0085208/soundtrack?ref_=ho_web

#6 my #1

“Smith”? Is the artist name really just Smith? Weird.

Yup. They were a California bar band made good. Their debut album was titled A Group Called Smith. My parents saw them live in 70-71, with an up and coming combo called ZZ Top opening.

You sure that opening act wasn’t called The Zombies?

A funny thing about clips of Smith is that their guitar player is almost a dead ringer for Noddy Holder, down to the big hat.

XP Naw, this was the Top. Dad claimed he bought their first album at the merch stand.

The Smith vote was from me, a nostalgic vote from my Orange County days. Gayle McCormick really delivers on that one.

did Warwick's sister record any BB tunes?

Didn't vote Anyone Who Had a Heart cos of Cilla ambivalence, but then nobody voted for hwr version so

There’s a lot more consensus than I expected on which is the definitive version with regard to the Top 20 placers.

Or maybe it’s just hard to look past Dionne a lot of the time.

Morbs, I'm not seeing any in Discogs. She recorded the original "You're No Good," which Linda Ronstadt had a big hit with.

https://i.imgur.com/uRvFNxt.jpg

5. This Guy's/Girl's In Love With You — 680 Points, 13 Votes
lyric: Hal David
Herb Alpert, 1968 single, 595 points — https://youtu.be/GWjbUAYcxII
Bobbie Gentry, from The Girl from Chickasaw County box set (2018), 55 points — https://youtu.be/5E11C6xNKaU
Aretha Franklin, 1970 single, 30 points — https://youtu.be/45cydmpmPNo

Herb Alpert:

Burt wrote the arrangement for "This Guy's in Love with You" and he was in the studio when we cut it at Gold Star Recording. In the studio, I'm the opposite of Burt. He is a perfectionist who likes everything to sound exactly the way he hears it in his hear. I close my eyes and I'm from the feel-it school. Obviously, Burt feels it as well but I take a different approach. If it feels right, I stop.

So we had the track and I wanted to see whether my voice would sound good on it. A bunch of the singers and Burt and a couple of musicians were in the control room while was doing a demo of the vocal. I did one take and went back into the control room and they all looked at me and said, "Don't touch it." I said, "What do you mean, don't touch it? That's just the demo." Burt said, "Don't touch it, man. It sounds great." I touched up a couple of things here and there but that was the take.

Really loving these biography snippets today btw Wm

Alpert is so endearingly dorky on it.

Great Picture Sleeve:

https://static.stereogum.com/uploads/2018/11/Herb-Alpert-This-Guys-In-Love-With-You-1541434972-compressed.jpg

Thanks, I renewed Burt's book from the library and am taking them all from that. I decided against the Noel Gallagher parts on this song. xp

It's hard for me to separate out pure childhood nostalgia from the jazz craft of a lot of these tunes but i assume that the craft is explaining a lot of the permanent love, for me, anyway

not surprised at consensus, but maybe bcz the greatest seem obvious to me

I mean this stuff remains classic and evocative for a bunch of reasons i hadn't thought through until we did this

some dickhole on wikipedia described Guy Klucevsek's version as a "dirge" and I just want to punch 'em so bad

xps -- mmmmmaybe? But I find the songs so amazing I even like "bad" versions, and craft can't explain that for me.

Also yes what Morbs said

https://i.imgur.com/7V3kpxA.jpg

4. I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself — 751 Points, 15 Votes, 1 first-place vote
Lyric: Hal David
Dusty Springfield, 1964 single, 572 points — https://youtu.be/xpsDE6KCY9s
The White Stripes, 2003 single, 84 points — https://youtu.be/jpZjuvI-s8Y
Linda Ronstadt, from Winter Light (1993), 65 points — https://youtu.be/CfC_Ngtdj8I
Isaac Hayes, from The Isaac Hayes Movement (1970), 30 points — https://youtu.be/L_Mtumgu5yM

Burt

Tommy Hunt, the former lead singer of the Flamingos, a really terrific doo-wop group, had just had a big hit on Scepter with "Human," so the label decided to let him cut this as a follow-up. I did the arrangement and conducted the orchestra, and Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller produced the session.

I thought it was a terrific record, but because Florence Greenberg didn't like the fact that Tommy Hunt was dating one of the Shirelles while also being kept by some other woman, she did nothing to promote it and the song went nowhere. It didn't become a hit until Dusty Springfield covered it two years later.

Tommy Hunt original — https://youtu.be/7It1ATSCRxM

Dusty my number 1,totally personal, totally perfect, can't think of another pop song that nails that feeling so well

XP Naw, this was the Top. Dad claimed he bought their first album at the merch stand.

Dusty my number 1,totally personal, totally perfect, can't think of another pop song that nails that feeling so well

XP I figured you were referencing that.

i think it's WmC's coffee break time

The story of my life.

I think everything I voted for has charted except from three tunes so...

Except for

I know what one of them is and am too discombobulated to know the others

Eating lunch, getting a grocery list from my mother, and getting the online spreadsheet ready so y'all can check the full results in a little while.

One Dusty
Two Dionnes

Oh wait, only two. What am I missing?

Damn, I got #3 ready an hour ago and then accidentally closed that tab.

While lunch and technical hitches are being sorted, you may like to know that Dionne Warwick has a new album out today!

XPS One of the Dionnes is also heavily associated w/another singer.

One Dusty
Two Dionnes

I forgot the other Dionne which also has a famous version by someone else I almost voted for.

Overjoyed at 12-0 result for Dionne vs Cilla on AWHAH.

Don’t think I’ve ever even heard that one.

I honestly don't know if I've heard any Cilla record besides "Alfie"

It’s not on the Deep Dive playlist, although that does have a French version by Pet Clark.

https://i.imgur.com/cAPNsZ3.jpg

3. The Look of Love — 922 Points, 16 Votes, 3 first-place votes
Lyric: Hal David
Dusty Springfield, 1967 single, 572 points — https://youtu.be/e8o-XuTH68w
Isaac Hayes, 1970 single, 117 points — https://youtu.be/0IzxHKI8PJE
Shelby Lynne, from Just a Little Lovin' (2008), 51 points — https://youtu.be/CfS_uw_ugDs
Dorothy Ashby, from Afro-Harping (1968), 46 points — https://youtu.be/k4vpiqKjLc8

Ella Fitzgerald cut an album for Reprise in 69 with a bunch of Brit session players covering Motown, Beatles, Randy Newman etc. Her version of ‘The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game’ is particularly suited to her.

#2 for me

XPS I think "You're My World" was Cillia's biggest stateside hit, and I only really know it from Oldies Muzak.

My #1, what an astonishing vocal.

My #3 and #4 match the consensus but I think that’s where it stops.

Courtesy of Hideous Lump on the other thread, more versions of Dusty's "Look of Love." The one in the previous post is the "Dusty whispering in your ear" U.K. vocal mix

The inferior "drenched in reverb" U.S. vocal mix: https://youtu.be/bDnrzFWlZUg

The completely different "Casino Royale" soundtrack version: https://youtu.be/MPkp-pCJYCc

xxp My #1 too but it was the Hayes version on my ballot

That Shelby Lynne version seems to be off a Dusty tribute album.

The Casino Royale version is also the only Burt-produced for Dusty version.

Cilla's version of AWHAH was #1 in UK, Ireland and NZ, selling 950k copies in the UK. Warwick's version didn't break the top 40 here, but was huge everywhere else.

Catching up on this thread (and the playlist, thanks Nag! Nag! Nag!), wish I'd had more time these past few days but not sure I've got much more to add other than to say that so many of these songs are just perfect. Bacharach was someone I never really investigated properly until my mid-20s and even then not that deeply so there's been a lot of stuff that's new to me.

Also want to echo Noodle Vague's comment about the biography excerpts, definitely want to read up more!

not even "LoL" could make that Peter Sellers-Ursula Andress love scene sexy

Xxp Don’t think Dionne Warwick ever forgave Cilla for that.

Cilla Blecch

yooooou! hooooo!

https://i.imgur.com/0BQjtxe.jpg

2. I Say a Little Prayer — 1027 Points, 17 Votes, 2 first-place votes
Lyric: Hal David
Aretha Franklin, 1968 single, 708 points — https://youtu.be/KtBbyglq37E
Dionne Warwick, 1967 single, 244 points — https://youtu.be/kafVkPxjLYg
Gene, from To See the Lights (1996), 88 points — https://youtu.be/G7CxOtEqOmQ
Al Green, from Truth N' Time (1978), 77 points — https://youtu.be/ZeQQGjoFdI0

Even after we had cut "I Say a Little Prayer," I still thought I had blown it because the tempo was too fast, so I fought to keep it from coming out as a single. One thing I love about the record business is how wrong I was. Disc jockeys all across the country started playing the track, and the song went to number four on the charts and then became the biggest hit Hal and I had ever written for Dionne.

Aretha fine I guess, but I prefer the lead to handle the full chorus too

Wow, very heavily associated w/another singer.

So, that makes it pretty obvious what the top spot goes to.

https://i.imgur.com/VqilTvJ.jpg

1. The Blob — 1243 Points, 17 Votes, 3 first-place votes
lyric: Mack David
The Five Blobs, 1959 single, 1243 points — https://youtu.be/OG2-ccAEcWs

"it glides and slides across the floor..."

No, wait, I think I misread something...

https://i.imgur.com/vwwWOWH.jpg

1. Walk On By — 1181 Points, 17 Votes, 3 first-place votes
Lyric: Hal David
Dionne Warwick, 1964 single, 821 points — https://youtu.be/ijhL9Y7skQs
Isaac Hayes, 1969 single, 260 points — https://youtu.be/iqR4CZj0mJQ
Aretha Franklin, from Runnin' Out of Fools (1964), 100 points — https://youtu.be/Z51s22JR9HI

My #5 but undeniable really.

My #3 and #4 match the consensus but I think that’s where it stops.

in the end, all the songs are winners

Who knew “The Blob” was so popular, but that’s ILX for you.

While I was writing "Walk On By," I was hearing the whole arrangement. I love flugelhorns and they're on there and I heard the piano figure being played by two different pianos. We cut "Walk On By" first that night and I had Paul Griffin and Artie Butler playing the same figure on two pianos at the same time. Because they were never exactly in synch with one another, that gave the song a very different, jagged kind of feeling. I let the rhythm section have a certain kind of freedom and they got it really quick because they all knew me and they could read where I was going.

isaac's version of the poll winner my #9
al green's "say a little prayer" my #3
dorothy's "the look of love" my #10

in the end, all the songs are winners

:)

ty WmC

to show my appreciation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dq8sWx1rh0s

Wow never knew Artie Butler was also on that track.

That two-piano thing is cool -- I don't have the ears to hear that sort of stuff but it's clear when he explains it.

i don't have time to catch up with what i missed the last few hours so for now:

THANK YOU WmC, this was wonderful. the images were great and i loved the biographical stuff -- very appreciated.

looking forward to spending the next couple days listening to alt versions and such

Was leaning towards voting for the Isaac Hayes cover at first as it's such a remarkable interpretation but the Dionne Warwick version is just undeniable.

Great work on this poll WmC.

"I hope I never get hit in the REEEEEEAR again," that has serious chart potential!

Thank you to everyone who voted! You made the poll!

Right back atcha - great work WmC.

That two-piano thing is cool -- I don't have the ears to hear that sort of stuff but it's clear when he explains it.

Was leaning towards voting for the Isaac Hayes cover at first as it's such a remarkable interpretation but the Dionne Warwick version is just undeniable.

Great work on this poll WmC.

FULL RESULTS!
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1v_FblscHY1ticvw2kf8JR12ZMKxMTe-IS320FFBG-78/edit#gid=1651280581

My Mike Patton vote ("She's Gone Away") fell just outside the top 60, damn it.

If "The Last One To Be Loved" doesn't place, I'll be very sorry I didn't vote.

― zama roma ding dong (Eric H.), Friday, May 17, 2019 8:55 AM (five hours ago)

I hate to break this to you, Eric, but...

I was secretly Wishin’ and Hopin’ for a “Sinner’s Devotion.”

Speaking of which, I didn't know Tammy Montgomery went on to become Tammi Terrell until this poll.

Favorite version of "Walk On By"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmEgxqSnHXQ

Thanks WmC, very enjoyable roll out.

The top 10 individual vote-getters would be

1. Dionne - Walk On By - 821
2. Dusty - The Look of Love - 708
3. Dionne - Anyone Who Had a Heart - 654
4. Aretha - I Say a Little Prayer - 618
5. Herb - This Guy's in Love w/You - 595
6. Dusty - I Just Don't Know What to Do w/Myself - 572
7. Dionne - Do You Know the Way to San Jose - 538
8. Jackie D - What the World Needs Now - 524
9. Dionne - Don't Make Me Over - 467
10. Dionne - I'll Never Fall in Love Again

"Baby It's You" and "Make It Easy on Yourself" getting sizeable bumps from the aggregate of good versions. Dionne gets 5 of the top 10 spots for individual performances, not really a surprise.

*wakes up and immediately checks final few tracks.*

Excellent. Very nice work, WmC. Thanks!

Think this was the most fun since the Elvis POLL, perhaps even more fun.

It's hard for me to separate out pure childhood nostalgia from the jazz craft of a lot of these tunes but i assume that the craft is explaining a lot of the permanent love, for me, anyway

― Doctor Nu (Noodle Vague), Friday, May 17, 2019 1:05 PM (four hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
I mean this stuff remains classic and evocative for a bunch of reasons i hadn't thought through until we did this

― Doctor Nu (Noodle Vague), Friday, May 17, 2019 1:07 PM (four hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

xps -- mmmmmaybe? But I find the songs so amazing I even like "bad" versions, and craft can't explain that for me.

― WmC, Friday, May 17, 2019 1:08 PM (four hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Although I did get on board with the Rhino Box, come to think of it.

So, I voted for all of the top 5! "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself" was the second track I remember vividly from my otherwise seemingly Bacharach-free early childhood. Wish I had that childhood nostalgia for more of them, tbh.

Four of my selections didn't make the top 60. (I apparently had some company with the first two though. Bless.)

Living Together, Growing Together
Paper Mache
Try to See It My Way
The Breaking Point

Ella Fitzgerald cut an album for Reprise in 69 with a bunch of Brit session players covering Motown, Beatles, Randy Newman etc. Her version of ‘The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game’ is particularly suited to her.

― Dan Worsley, Friday, May 17, 2019 2:40 PM (three hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Cheers Wm! this very much needed done also i can use it to dig into the stuff that i shd've dug into before

Thanks! I'm really happy with how the poll turned out -- could have used more ballots, but everybody who did vote brought a ton of enthusiasm and well-considered choices. I'm going to hang on to that spotify deep-dive playlist, now up to 675 tracks, and keep adding to it as I find things. If nothing else, it's something for other spotify users to drag from to create their own exploration and personal listening lists. Speaking of spotify, thanks Nag! Nag! Nag! for creating the results playlist.

Thank you to everyone who voted! You made the poll!

I haven't opened the spreadsheet, but I'm guessing this doozy didn't get any votes. Have never seen the movie, but I *definitely* know the chorus; am thinking I heard it performed by some children show's ensemble circa 1973. Never knew it was Bacharach.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46stUnjT71c

sally kellerman is so dreamy

hat-tip to whoever the other "Three Wheels On My Wagon" voter was

According to the memoir, there are FIVE pianos on “What’s New Pussycat?”

But tbh I can’t hear any piano at all

"I'l Never Fall In Love Again," sung by Jill O'Hara, Jerry Orbach, from the Promises, Promises OCR is great, thanks, and the vibe is totally reminiscent of "Frank Mills," sung by Shelley Plimpton on the Hair OCR.

The replacement cast for the original Broadway PP included Lorna Luft and Tony Roberts.

Interesting.

After Burt had stopped conducting for Marlene, I ran into her in Beverly Hills one day. I chased after her and said, “Marlene!” And then I said, “Burt would love to hear from you,” or “I’m so sorry things aren’t working out.” And she said, “Finita la commedia.”

Ah, just got to the part in the book where Neil Simon wanted Tony Roberts to replace Jerry Orbach in the original cast during rehearsals, but then changed his mind at the last minute.

If this thread has that Geico commercial it should certainly have
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBLMbJnN69c

William, I don’t know why you keep saying this book is so short, my copy is 400 pages long. Don’t think it can just be that the ebook has a different numbering system.

It's short compared to Robert Caro's Bacharach: Master of The Melody (#3 of 5 Volumes)

The hardcover is 280 pp.

It's short compared to Robert Caro's Bacharach: Master of The Melody (#3 of 5 Volumes)

L

Finished the book, which I will also recommend. Now to see if I can find one of the volumes by that fellow from Cairo.

Tbh thought it was one of the better memoirs that I have read. Lots of good detail about his working process and on the personal front there is lots of interspersed text from others such as Angie Dickinson so it is not just from his point of view.

So, as to why I put “Mexican Divorce” at number one:

• Knew it wouldn't win but wanted it to place high
• Think highly of the Bob Hilliard collabos in general
• Historic importance of being the session at which Dionne Warwick and Burt made first contact
• The fact that Paul Griffin probably played on this as well as Steely Dan's "Haitian Divorce" (although I don't have confirmation of either of these things)
• The genre-bending: seems like from the music it is going to be a South of the Border novelty song a la The Coaster's "Down In Mexico" mixed with a touch of Mary Robbins' "El Paso" but then it turns into a kind of breakup song (albeit with a tacked on happy ending), echoed decades later in the fireworks-shooting Mexican kids in X's "4th of July"
• The jaunty but lugubrious beat, and they way it is reflected in the slow funereal march of the almost monosyllabic lyrics, the numbed out I can't believe this is happening of it all until the breakout of two three syllable words in "Mexico is different"
• The detail of the "travel folder," as evocative as Hal David's "thumbing" through the Little Red Book.

^ love this

Yes -- like I said, well-considered choices all around.

Forgot to mention the “old adobe courthouse.” Okay, I’m done.

sad i didn't get the time to vote, if only because it meant that nobody voted for roland kirk's "say a little prayer" :(

(actually i would've voted ground zero, but close enough!)

Thought maybe he got a vote for another tune like "You'll Never Get To Heaven (If You Break My Heart)" but seems that was not the case.

Hal David's birthday yesterday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp2AKAhPkZs

This is more relevant perhaps:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0rZEi_lT-o

Weird thing I just came across about the group called Smith mentioned several times up thread, they did a version of “The Weight” which is on the Easy Rider soundtrack. Lead vocal is by a dude this time. For a split second I thought it was actually The Band with Levon singing, although I got over it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMQ6QrsTPfw

They seem to be one of the only groups, perhaps the only group, not mentioned on the album cover.

IIRC, the Smith cover was recorded for the soundtrack album because The Band and/or Albert Grossman wouldn't license it out for the album even though it was cleared for the movie proper.

"wouldn't license the original" should be in there.