Chicken Soup For The Soul: Behind The Song "What The World N

[vincent.cole]

By Kevin Richards on December 14th, 2009

HAL DAVID

"WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW IS LOVE"

Lyrics by HAL DAVID

Music by BURT BACHARACH

Recorded by Jackie DeShannon

I was living in Roslyn, New York, on the north shore of Long Island, which is where my children were raised. I would drive into Manhattan every day to meet Burt (Bacharach) at the Brill Building in Famous Music's offices on the sixth floor, where we did our writing. Mine was a rock and roll house where each of my kids had a band that practiced there. It was hard for me to find somewhere quiet to work so I would drive into town slowly, which would give me the opportunity to think and get ideas. I would write in my head during the ride.

One day, I thought of the first two lines of this song:

What the world needs now is love, sweet love

It's the only thing that there's just too little of.

Before I got to Manhattan I had the rest of the chorus set the way it is today. Then I needed the verse section. When I began to write the first verse, everything I thought about just seemed off: We don't need a plane to fly faster, we don`t need a submarine to go deeper…. I tried and tried, showed it to Burt, then put it away and went on to something else.

In a month or two or three, I tried again. It was always the same thing. I needed something to compare it to and everything I thought about had nothing to do with the person I was talking to – God. It took more time to write these lyrics than any other. I realized that I needed to write the antithesis – what we didn't need. One day on the ride to New York, it came to me.

Lord, we don't need another mountain,

There are mountains and hillsides enough to climb,

There are oceans and rivers enough to cross,

Enough to last till the end of time.

I knew that was it. I wrote about all of the things that had to do with nature and what God gives us. I gave the lyrics to Burt and he wrote a fabulous melody.

There were three ways Burt and I wrote together. He'd have melody ideas; I'd have lyric ideas. We'd show each other what we had, pick out what we both liked and work on it together. Sometimes we'd be writing three songs at once. Sometimes I'd take the melody home and write lyrics to it, sometimes Burt would take the lyrics home and write the melody to them.

We showed the song to Dionne Warwick, who had recorded many of our songs, and it is the only song of ours that she ever turned down. We put it aside and then received a call from Liberty Records to meet with Jackie DeShannon. We played this song for her and she wanted to do it. Burt did a great arrangement and we recorded it.

[blueonblue]

Inside the mind of Hal David.....the thought process of a "genius" !
Thanks Vincent !

Take care mon ami,
"blue"

[steveo_1965]

Vincent,
Thank you for posting this...Wonderful, indeed!
Steveo

[vincent.cole]

Bonjour Blue & Steveo;

Glad you enjoyed it mon ami(s)!

Vincent

[BachtoBacharach]

This is a great story and probably closer to the truth...Dionne told a couple of versions; one closely resembles Hal's account and the other is where she stated Gene Pitney was offered the tune first. According to Dionne in that version, the arrangement Pitney was offered and the one she heard, definitely had a country-western sound that she felt was not right for her. I believe the tune was written in around late 63 or early 64..,after Bacharach/David's relationship with Pitney had run its course. I believe Dionne was simply making an excuse for turning the tune down...sounds better if somehow she had good reason to...she has always been rather defensive (in a good-natured way) regarding the "theft" of Wishin' and Hopin' by Dusty and Anyone Who Had A Heart (a hit in the UK for Cilla Black). She couldn't say much about turning down such a major hit as WTWNN so what does a diva do? She co-opts the tune by singing it throughout the 60s in many of her television appearances, records it herself and then in 1969 when the movie Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice comes out featuring WTWNN with Jackie over the end credits, Scepter concurrently releases Dionne's "I'll Never Fall In Love Again with a B side of Dionne's WTWNN . Jackie DeShannon has stated the tune was turned down by Dionne before it was offered to her and has always graciously avoided any comments about Dionne...for many casual music fans and non-Bacharach/David followers, the tune is more closely associated with Dionne...many folks believe Dionne either had a hit with it or recorded it before Jackie. But, WTWNN is one tune where Jackie outshines even Dionne. Dionne's version is lovely but Jackie's is THE one. Dionne has always been somewhat of an anomoly...most times very gracious and even humble but at times diva-like and narcissistic. I believe the narcissistic diva came out after her split with Bacharach/David. When Aretha Franklin had a career downturn in the 70s that mirrored Dionne's downturn, Aretha became quite diva-like herself.

[steveo_1965]

HI,
I have heard over the years Hal praise and say Dionne Warwick's version of WTWNN
is his favorite...well, I feel he is being loyal to Dionne....
And I Think most of Dionne's versions of Burt's songs were the definitive ones...EXCEPT for this tune.....
JAckie DeShannons version is the best, and will always be....the marriage of Burt's dynamic
arrangement coupled with Jackie's vocal gets my vote. There's a sense of urgency in her voice and Burt's chart that really puts this tune on the map.

[BachtoBacharach]

I believe it's very interesting that Burt worked so closely with Jackie in 1965 at the same time Dionne was coming down from a banner 1964 with six charted hits in 64 alone. In 1965, Dionne failed to chart a Top 40 hit but came close...but close doesn't count. Dionne returned to the Top 40 in 1966 in a major way. I have to wonder if Burt might not have been planning to groom Jackie, perhaps not to take Dionne's place but as someone he could also write for just in case Dionne's career stalled. He produced several tracks for Jackie in 1966 although she did not hit the Top 40 with any. Dionne returned to the Top 10 in May of 1966 with Message to Michael...Burt didn't want her to record the tune and forbid it so Dionne took the backing track used in a show at the Olympia in Paris into a recording studio in Paris and overdubbed the track with her vocals...Bacharach was livid until the tune became a big hit. Interesting that during that time in 1966 mostly she did remakes of Bacharach tunes not written specificly for her but with Bacharach producing...Michael, Trains Boats and Planes, I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself, and I would include Alfie in this although he wrote the tune with her in mind, she didn't get to record it first. My observation is that was Burt writing new material at the time and Dionne was getting SOME of it (Here Where There Is Love, Go With Love) but Jackie was getting new output (WIndows and Doors, etc.) as well. I wonder just exactly what was going on with the run of Dionne cover versions when Burt and Jackie were in the studio recording new material. Some have said that Jackie was given material Dionne turned down but Hal says WTWNN is the only tune they wrote for her that she ever turned down...but I believe that may not be the case. Allegedly, Dionne also turned down This Guy's In Love With You and One Less Bell to Answer. Would be interesting to find out. We know that in June 1966 Burt returned to the studio with Dionne and cut several tunes including I Say A Little Prayer but that would wait for over a year to be released as a single. Interesting to speculate what was going on at the time. Know Burt was busy scoring After the Fox and Casino Royale during that time as well.

[Susan Vincent]

Vincent,
You made my cry..This song is probably the most "true to life" Love Sweet Love, songs, Burt and Hal wrote. There really is nothing like it, It doesnt matter who you share it with, your husband, soulmate, parents, sibblings, children, grandchildren, friends, even your little dog. One thing I have learned, there really is not enough to go around, we are fortunate, if we find real love even just once in our lives. God Bless you all. Happy Holidays Susan Vincent