We--well, I--continue our series of less common Burt Bacharach sides, and included are some less-than-household titles and some well-known Burt numbers--the latter, however, in "alternate," lesser-known versions. The famous titles include Blue on Blue; The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance; The Story of My Life; They Long to Be Close to You; The Windows of the World (Hal's Vietnam protest number); and What's New, Pussycat. Famous numbers, only the performers are John Preston (who?), Jimmie Rodgers, Frankie Laine, Richard Chamberlain, Merv Griffin, and an unidentified singer (Pussycat). Some of the lesser known titles are in the bad to mediocre range--Take Me to Your Ladder (terrible even by sex-hungry-women-aliens-on-other-worlds standards), Don't Unless You Love Me (maybe the most blah Burt number of all), Freddie and the Dreamers' I Fell in Love with Your Picture (which I can't picture anyone falling in love with), and Living Together, Growing Together, whose melody is pleasant enough but whose words are just dumb. I don't know what I think of Little Betty Falling Star (you just know that's not a Hal title), except that I'm pleasantly surprised by the perfectly decent singing voice of George Hamilton (yes, that George Hamilton).
The Night That Heaven Fell is a near-classic, let down by its final section, which has a "Let's get this thing over with" feeling. Too bad. Send Me No Flowers, the theme from the Doris Day film, and Boys Were Meant for Girls are extremely pleasant numbers, and I'm not sure if I consider A Girl Like You a classic or something short of one. It's quite lovely, and I'm assuming the lyricist, credited on the label as Anne Croswell with a single s, is this Anne Pearson Crosswell listed at IMDb. At any rate, it's cool to see the "Burt Bacharach-Anne Croswell" credit on the label after encountering endless Burt pairings with Hal David, Wilson Stone, Paul Hampton, and Bob (The Coffee Song) Hilliard. And novel to see Burt's name in first place, since typically the lyricist was listed first. Such things are exciting to vinyl collectors. We're weird people. Oh, and I dig misspellings of Bacharach, though nothing quite matches this Columbia label snafu, in which Hal and Burt, by a typo, are turned into a three-man team:
Yup, H. David, S. Burt, and Bacharach. This rivals anything I've encountered on the junk labels, so what was Columbia's excuse?
Back to topic, there are two masterpieces among the lesser-knowns, the first being It Seemed so Right Last Night, pretty much a more mature version of the infinitely better-known Carol King-Gerry Goffin Will You Love Me Tomorrow, which it predates by two years. Same topic, and neither specifically mentions sex, so the earlier tune can't be charged with playing it safe by comparison. If anything, Hal's words play it less safe--what else can "I loved you more than it was wise" possibly mean? As much as I love Carole, her 64-bar mega-hit doesn't measure up to this overlooked gem, and Mary Mayo's magnificent performance may have a lot to do with that. Burt toys with form to a dizzying degree (the lovely introductory chords pop up wherever Burt feels the need to put them), and Hal's words sound like less like rhymed lyrics than a heartbroken woman privately expressing her grief. Extraordinarily eloquent, and so far ahead of the pop curve--absolutely brilliant, and anyone who can't feel the pain of the singer can't feel anything.
You might gather that It Seemed so Right Last Night is my favorite Burt-Hal. It very well might be. But there's also the run-over-by-a-speeding-train The Desperate Hours, featuring a performance by Eileen Rodgers that redefines the word "dynamic," with Eileen backed by a powerful Ray Conniff production and arrangement that rocks the needle off the record without pushing the dynamic level to the max and making everything uniformly LOUD--a practice that ruined many a rock single to come. Conniff's expert use of echo, for me at least, makes it hard to endure some of the more echo-drowned rock discs of the 1960s. Ray showed how to produce a rocking record (whether rock, jazz, or country) with artistry. He showed that there's a lot you can do with sound in the studio without destroying it in the process. Then came rock and sonic destruction became hip. Smashing the guitars, amps, etc. was just the next logical step. (No, I don't hate rock that much. But it made a virtue out of deafening loudness.)
The very existence of this Eileen Rodgers disc seems to confuse some Burt discographers, because Burt and Wilson Stone apparently also wrote a promotional song, These Desperate Hours, for the 1955 movie The Desperate Hours. Confused yet? Mel Torme sang the latter title. I've tried to piece together the facts behind this mess, but I gave up a while ago. So where the hell does the Rodgers record fit in? I have no idea, but I thank (insert deity of choice) for it. UPDATE, 8/6/2023: See 8/5/2023 comment section entries: These Desperate Hours dates from 1960 and was not penned by Bacharach and Stone, nor was it connect to the 1955 The Desperate Hours! My thanks to zeno.bardot for the info!
Merv singing The Windows of the World? Why not? I suspect he was no fan of the war. Neither were Mitch Miller or, as mentioned before, Hal David. The song touches me deeply, and if it's not a favorite of the Burt fans, it's their loss. I've always considered 1965's What the World Needs Now a rather obvious anti-Vietnam song, and from the year when such songs were coming into vogue (though I hate to use a word like "vogue" in connection with war protest). In 1965, Mitch Miller and the Gang, then on Decca, recorded the devastating A Ballad from Vietnam (The Rain on the Leaves). Things that move our soul can come from the least expected sources.
Oh, and Blue Guitar, which I mentioned last time, though it wasn't in the playlist. I absolutely love it, and it's corny, and Richard Chamberlain's singing is annoying, but the refrain is genius. And if you didn't know that Richard did the first version (in 1963) of They Long to Be Close to You, you do now. And the proof is in the playlist. He doesn't do too badly, and the sluggish tempo can't be blamed on him--the conductor was Burt himself. And, back to the subject of clunkers, I love the sheer awfulness of the anonymous Modern Sound label version of What's New, Pussycat (the title of which shows up in different punctuation, or none at all, from version to version), which makes me wonder if Modern Sound could actually have been that unable to find someone who sounded remotely like Tom Jones. It's so bad. BUT it retains the greatest part of the original single--the smashing glass in the intro. The version on Jones' Decca Greatest Hits LP is a different version and far inferior to the single. No smashing glass, for one thing.
Ian and the Zodiacs' garage-y version of This Empty Place doesn't hold a candle to Dionne Warwick's hit, but finding the single (at a long-gone flea market) alerted me to the phenomenon of British Invasion groups doing Burt. Which is weird, because I'd grown up with Tom Jones' Pussycat and with the Beatles' version of Baby It's You. It should have been old knowledge. But I guess, when we forget something, we stop knowing it. A deep philosophical question for a later post.
LINK: Less Common Burt, Part 2
All titles Bacharach-David, unless otherwise noted
April Fools--Aretha Franklin, 1972
This Empty Place--Ian and the Zodiacs, 1965
Send Me No Flowers--Doris Day, Arr. and Cond. by Mort Garson, 1964
In Times Like These--Gene McDaniels, Orch. Cond. by Felix Slatkin, 1960
Hot Spell--Margaret Whiting, 1960
The Night That Heaven Fell--Tony Bennett w. Ray Ellis and his Orch. and Cho., 1958
Boys Were Made for Girls--Everit Herter w. Orch. and Chorus Cond. by Hub Atwood, 1960
It Seemed so Right Last Night--Mary Mayo w. Ray Wright and his Orch., 1958
Don't Unless You Love Me (Bacharach-Hampton)--Paul Hampton, Orch. Cond. by Burt Bacharach, 1959
A Girl Like You (Bacharach--Anne Crosswell)--Larry Hall, Orch. Dir. by Al Caiola. 1960
Living Together, Growing Together--The 5th Dimension, 1972
Blue on Blue--John Preston (Hit Records 69)
What's New, Pussycat--No artist credited (Modern Sound MS 1012)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance--Jimmie Rodgers, 1962
Little Betty Falling Star (Bacharach-Hilliard)--George Hamilton, 1963
The Desperate Hours (Bacharach-Stone)--Eileen Rodgers w. Ray Conniff and his Orch., 1955
Heavenly (Bacharach-Shaw)--Johnny Mathis, Arr. and Cond. by Glenn Osser
Blue Guitar--Richard Chamberlain, Cond. Bill McElhiney, 1963
They Long to Be Close to You--Richard Chamberlain, Cond. Burt Bacharach, 1963
I Fell in Love with Your Picture--Freddie and the Dreamers. 1965
Faithfully (Bacharach-Shaw)--Johnny Mathis, Arr. and Cond. by Glenn Osser, 1959
The Story of My Life--Frankie Laine w. the Jimmy Bowen Orch. and Chorus. 1969
The Windows of the World--Merv Griffin, Arr. and Cond. by Stephen H. Dorff, 1976
Take Me to Your Ladder (I'll See Your Leader Later) (Bacharach-Hilliard)--Buddy Clinton, 1960
Lee
16 comments:
This is a timely post, as I watched a special on our local PBS station on Hal David, and it was very good. I for one tend to enjoy more the versions of songs by popular lyricists and composers done by obscure or even unexpected musicians. This compilation is brilliant to me, and I thank you very much for it. David's lyrics to me are just a different animal...have you ever looked at the lyrics to "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance"?
Hal and Burt were excellent musical story tellers for me, and the fact several of their hits were picked up by Hal Leonard for marching band arrangements that were fun to play...they're a big part of my teenage memories in high school. Thanks again, Lee, for some great music.
Another great collection! Many thanks for this bonanza. I haven't even finished listening to the last set yet.
I will admit being very fond of Living Together, Growing Together - a terrific performance, even though the lyrics are dumb. The 5th Dimension were almost as good at Burt's music as Dionne Warwick. particularly Marilyn McCoo's incredible One Less Bell to Answer. And speaking of Dionne, how could anything be better than her Windows of the World? Can't wait to hear what Merv makes of it.
Thanks for the Mary Mayo record, especially. She's a wonderful singer.
Plays wonderfully well in Port Washington, Ohio.
at the risk of stealing a bit of distant thunder (don’t know if there’ll be a part 3), i’d like to mention my favorite “discovery” of an early burt from 1958: columbia 4-41250, “the blob” by the five blobs. i realize this is not a rarity (heck, it was the theme song to a hollywood movie). but how many people who saw the film back then actually remembered the music? (hint: it played in the background during the opening credits.) i know that as a seven-year-old, i only remembered one thing: the monster… and i only half-remembered it because i only caught glimpses of it from the floor beneath my seat, concealed amid the cigarette butts and parked gum and spilled soda pop. thus, in the early 70s when i was collecting 45s (at some of the goodest of wills), imagine my surprise when i saw an old record called “the blob” and, in the fine print, the by-then familiar names “david – bacharach”. you mean, the guys who wrote the polymetric “anyone who had a heart” and all those other tony hits wrote monster movie music back in the 50s? i thought i had made a major musicological discovery. but when i finally played the record, it didn’t sound the least bit like monster movie music. no theremin or nothing. it sounded rather like a budding burt trying to capitalize on (and at the same time clean up) the prevalent top40 guitar-and-saxophone instrumental style with gentler, light-latin accents for a more adult audience. and it turned out that ‘david” was not hal, but his older brother mack… no slouch, mack (8 academy award nominations), but not the perfect complement to burt. and this song… hardly a complement to the movie. i doubt if either one knew much about it when they wrote the song. just an assignment.
Thanks. I will play these in the car, later. Part One was excellent.
Whew, another great list, Lee. This is going to take a little time to get through. And yes, I do see a lot of screwed up credits on records. I guess they didn't employ proofreaders back in the day. And it wasn't something you could easily fix if you'd already printed up 10000 labels.
Lee, You are an incomparable musical archeologist. These gatherings of Burt are public service of the highest order. Thank you. While thinking of Burt, try to dig up Blossom Dearie's version of "Boats and Planes and Trains." It has never been issued on CD (to my knowledge) and I only heard it a mesmerizing, unforgettable once. Something about that song brings out the best in everyone who sings it, including Astrud Gilberto.
Some very belated reactions (I can't keep up with you).
That Aretha version of April Fools is ... something, with wah-wahs, yet.
Living Together, Growing Together may be unfamiliar today, but I think it was actually a fairly popular record in the early 70s.
The version of Blue on Blue reminds me that I have always had a sneaking admiration for Bobby Vinton's version. I could never tell if he could really sing or not - his voice was always double- or triple-tracked. And he sang through his nose.
I keep getting Eileen Rodgers confused with Eileen Farrell, who did both classical and pop. I remember picking up a Rodgers LP thinking it was Farrell and being unpleasantly surprised by the Rodgers belting. I will say she does sound appropriately desperate here, though.
Johnny Mathis and Gene Pitney have to be considered high on the list of skillful singers, even though they are both very stylized in their own ways. This Jimmie Rodgers rendition of Liberty Valance shows just how impressive the work of Pitney actually is. And the Frankie Laine single of The Story of My Life demonstrates the greatness of Marty Robbins.
Richard Chamberlain is more accomplished that I had remembered, although his voice is colorless. I prefer his reading of Close to You to Karen Carpenter, who is cloying. George Hamiltonmay be pleasant sounding, but he has problems hitting the notes squarely. Also, I like Freddie here; of course, I've been a fan of his since Do the Freddie came out - a sadly forgotten high point of the British invasion.
I enjoyed hearing Merv's heartfelt Windows of the World!
Hi, everyone. Getting over a bad bout of bronchitis. Meant to answer everyone, but couldn't get to it.
Buster, I regard Bobby Vinton's voice as slight but dependable, if that makes sense. Yes, Columbia/Epic's engineers gave him a lot of help, but he sounded good in live concert circa 1965, when I heard him at the Lucas County Fairgrounds. My dad, who hated rock, was impressed by him. For decades, I had no idea "Blue on Blue" was Burt! Yes, the Rodgers version of L. Valance and the Laine Story of My Life are both quite forgettable, though they're fun novelties. Oddities may be the better word. And, yes, Hamilton's pipes are a little unsteady. Glad you enjoyed the Merv--I found that nicely unpretentious and pleasantly produced. Thanks for your review.
Barba, I think I knew that Mack, not Hal, did the words (such as they are) for the Blob. I definitely know that Mack did the words for "Hot Spell," and I remember being convinced it was a label typo. Nope. Hal was still the lesser-known David at the time, and Burt was still working with whomever. Your analysis of the music is excellent--I totally agree. Very much a less teen version of the current instrumental style, and zero attempt to create a mood of horror. More like hilarity or camp....
RE: the Jo Stafford typo. The typesetter probably got Burt confused with Alfred S. Burt, the Jazz musician who wrote such classics as "Caroling Caroling" and "The Star Carol." I am probably one of the few Jo Stafford fans that actually likes that song--first found it on YouTube a few years ago after it was mentioned in a book about the musical life of Frank Sinatra.
That hadn't occurred to me! It's the obvious answer. ASB was certainly much better known at the time. As for "Overpass," Jo had some nasty words for it, in the context of songs she was forced to record at Columbia. But I like it too--a lot. It has a fine big band feel, and you'd think Jo might have enjoyed that aspect. I think it was the title that annoyed her, but I think it's clever wordplay.
When I saw that title "Underneath the Overpass" I thought of the Flanagan and Allen song "Underneath the Arches." (I'm no Flanagan and Allen expert; I just happen to have the record.) I wonder if that song inspired Hal David (or Alfred Burt, whoever wrote it).
Buster,
"Arches" is one of my earliest Tops label "fake" hits, featuring the original bare-bones label. I never heard the hit version. It wouldn't have occurred to me to connect the two "Underneath..." titles, but it seems more than possible!
Regarding Mel Tormé's "These Desperate Hours", the evidence points to this song not being by Burt Bacharach.
The Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries, Third Series, Volume 14, Part 5, Number 2 (July-December, 1960) has an entry for this song, and it gives the following names for composer/lyricists:
"w & m Mel Torme, Stanley Styne, & George Duning. Appl. author: Columbia Pictures Corp., employer for hire of George Duning & Stanley Styne. ©Colpix Music, Inc."
I think what may have happened is that assuming the song wasn't commercially released until the 1999 CD "Mel Torme At The Movies" (and I can find no evidence it was released before this CD), some employee at Rhino Records tasked with gathering the composer and copyright information on this song just found the 1955 copyright entry for Burt Bacharach's "The Desperate Hours" and assumed that since the film was released in 1955, this was the Mel Torme song. It is not uncommon for copyright filings are made years after a song is first published, and in 1999, all this stuff was not online and as easy to find.
The Bacharach song is in Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries, Third Series, Volume 9, Part 5A, Number 1 (January-June, 1955).
As a follow up to my previous comment, it looks like the Mel Torme song actually was written in 1960 for the short-lived television series "Dan Raven", produced by Screen Gems (which explains the copyright by Colpix). Details are here:
https://bacharachonline.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?p=28077#p28077
zeno.bardot,
That certainly clears up any mystery! Many thanks for this information!
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