The Burt Bacharach Discussion Forum

Interesting "re-working" of a pop classic...Bacharach's arrangement sounds almost dark, chilling and menacing here....


"blue"

I have uploaded Tony Bennett's cover, good vocal I reckon:


Other people who have covered this song and are on Youtube are Andy Williams, Dorothy Squires and Richard Harris.

I have made this MV of the song in Arthur (Dudley Moore and Bo Derek)
It's only love (Bacharach instrumental followed by Stephen Bishop's singing)

I used the video of my recent trip to China, visiting an awesome caves as I think
the pace is so suited to the relaxed boat ride ...

Enjoy

A very rare B&D song and an even rarer cover by Liz Damon. The chord sequence to the verse is a beauty:

If Phil Spector called his records "Little Symphonies For The Kids"
then Bacharach and David's must be "Little Symphonies For The Adults"
Here's one their most criminally underrated lesser known gems.


"blue"

Miss Jackie DeShannon's "other half"........


"blue"

Blue, I suspect like me Martin's posting of Liz Damon's cover of 'Walking Backwards Down the Road' might have led you to look in vain on Youtube for DW's original and which in turn led you to 'Walk Little Dolly'. I've always liked this recording for the unique way Dionne's voice blends with Cissy Houston's on the chorus. I've long felt it was a shame that Bacharach didn't do more with Cissy Houston outside the three tracks from his own albums, 'Mexican Divorce', 'One Less Bell to Answer' and 'I Come to You'. Although I suspect that this has been posted here before at least a couple of times, here's Cissy's very R'n'B take on a B&D classic on a TV show from around 1970:

Hi pljms,
Yes, that's exactly what I did....but it ain't there, you must be a "mind reader" !
Thank you for this "clip" and thank you also for the info about Cissy on "Walk Little Dolly"
....I didn't know that, it's a shame Burt didn't work with Cissy more often.
For some some strange reason, I've always associated WBDTR with this song...


"blue"

Fascinating following the recent links on this thread and hearing two Dionne Warwick tracks I've not heard in years and a cover of a DW track I've never heard before, so thanks to all concerned.

Watching 'Gardeners' World' on BBC2 last night I heard in the background what has to be one of Bacharach's most popular instrumentals, 'The Sundance Kid'. I've never understood whether this was written for the movie and left out or written solely for Burt's soundtrack album after the film was released. Consequently it tends to be one of those tunes most people recognise without knowing the title or its source and loving it at the same time.

"Sundance Kid" was written for the album. The actual score accompanied fewer than ten minutes of the movie. That`s also why there are roughly thirteen versions of "Raindrops..." on the soundtrack album.

Well done Sara, I knew it was only a matter of time before someone referenced Gardeners' World on these pages! Other Bacharach tracks that tend to get used in the background on BBC factual TV shows are the Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid tunes, 'South American Getaway', 'Not Goin' Home Anymore', 'On a Bicycle Built for Joy' and 'The Old Fun City', plus 'Bond Street' and 'Pacific Coast Highway'. I'm pretty sure the BBC must get a lot of enquiries re all those tracks because even though they tend to get used in the background they're all remarkably ear-catching tunes. Something else I've heard more than once is Cal Tjader's version of this little gem from 'Casino Royale':

Don't think this radio interview to promote Burt's book was mentioned here.

For those who are particularly interested in the Bacharach-Costello partnership, Burt talks about it starting at about 6-6:30.

Here's another tune from 'Casino Royale' that I've heard more than a few times on UK TV over the years, this time from the soundtrack album:

Hi Folks,
Here's the "flip-side" of "Three Wheels on My Wagon" (1961) composed by Bacharach and Hilliard.
Sung by Dick (it's a jolly holiday with Merry) Van Dyke.
..........cat-astrophic ! (groan)


"blue"

Thanks Martin for inspiring a trip down memory lane. I remember a school friend and I going with her mother to see ‘Casino Royale’ the week it opened in April ’67. I was still at junior school age and although the movie seemed chaotic and made little or no sense it revealed to me an almost impossibly glamorous world that only adults could inhabit, the kind of world that made you want to grow up in a hurry! I remember how spectacular it looked on the big screen and how wonderfully sophisticated Burt’s zany and sexy score sounded. Yes, we might have been very young but my friend and I were very aware of who Burt Bacharach was and his already remarkable contribution to popular music and it just seemed so fitting that he was the composer for what was considered at the time the ultimate ‘Swinging 60s’ movie. A certain tune in the movie made my friend and I burst out laughing and it still makes me smile today. Ah yes, that lovely little French boy: