The Burt Bacharach Discussion Forum

Sandi & Salli's "Don't Count The Days"

http://download.yousendit.com/57CE8D847F46EC10

And as Jonathan Schwartz would say, "on the other hand..."

"Don't Count The Days" by Marilyn Michaels

http://download.yousendit.com/4C5FC60F72EC644F

Enjoy!

Wow...do I love this composition! Thanks for sharing! This is one of those rare obscurities that truly is a jewel. I'm amazed it wasn't considered worthy of one of Warwick's 1968 albums, it's got such a similar vibe as "I Say A Little Prayer" with the melancholy verses and persistent chorus rhythm and title hook. It could have easily been another one of her mid-range chart hits from that period. Or perhaps another last shot at a Deshannon hit.

I think the perfect arrangement is paced somewhere between the two offered here, although I lean toward the Sandi and Salli version as it bears the sound of some of those brilliant late-1960s session players who played on so many classic pop hits of the era. Marilyn Michaels' take is a little too shrill and frantic for my taste, although it has some nice flourishes, particularly the harmonies and horn break.

Is there knowledge of Bacharach recording this with anyone?

Unfortunately, I don't believe Burt ever recorded a version of "Don't Count The Days" with any artist. (If he did, it's in a vault somewhere!) It's too bad -- I'd bet he would have done an amazing job. In fact, it's remarkable how many stellar compositions in his catalog are now ignored probably because he never got around to recording them himself -- busy man, our Burt! And don't parts of "Don't Count The Days" remind you a touch of "Knowing When To Leave", another favorite of mine? It's as if Burt improved on the rhythm and style of "Don't Count" when he composed the challenging "Knowing"...love them both!

Just want to add my thanks for posting this terrific link! It's a song I've never heard, nor heard of. But what a great piece! It reminds me, as another poster said, of "I Say a Little Prayer," but also of "Tick Tock Goes the Clock" - all written around the same time. More pieces to the puzzle of the amazing Bacharach musical genius! Steve

what year were both of these? i love the song! maybe it was composed for Promises Promises?

According to a Capitol Records release reference I stumbled upon, the Sandi and Salli single was marketed as early as 1967. (Sandi and Salli were apparently lovely featured vocalists on 'The Lawrence Welk Show.') I don't know what period Bacharach and David were enmeshed in developing the 'Promises, Promises' score, but the song certainly sounds like it could have been a product of that creative process as it does bear some of the earmarks of 'Knowing When To Leave' as nymusicalguy suggests.

I wonder if Bacharach and Warwick recorded a demo of it together to market the song to other artists? I'm also curious if either single cracked the Adult Contemporary charts as so many other Bacharach/David recordings that failed to become big pop hits did at the time? It's almost a little too quirky to have become a smash, but much too catchy to have missed the charts entirely.

Here's what Serene Dominic's book, "Burt Bacharach, Song by Song" says about this gem:

Don't Count the Days (Burt Bacharach - Hal David) First recorded by Marilyn Michaels; ABC 11098, flip side of "MacArthur Park" Released fall 1968

"Most people know Marilyn Michaels as an impressionist of celebrities like Zsa Zsa Gabor, Judy Garland and, of course, Barbra Streisand, whom she understudied for duirng the Broadway run of Funny Girl. Several attempts were made to launch her as a singing star in her own right, but one wonders why ABC Records, whose Dunhill label had already scored a garganutan hit with "MacArthur Park" would release a cover version less than six months later. At seven-plus minutes, the original clocked in quite enough airtime, and people still needed a rest from it by the time Michaels' version came up. The song didn't become a hit again until the Four Tops remade it in 1971 and Donna Summers discoed it up in 1978.

"'Don't Count the Days' had a better shot at hitdom - even subpar Bacharach-David would've sounded fresher. Forgoing calendars, Marilyn's method of tear counting is a more accurate method of marking the passage of time, especially when she's already spent what seems like a lifetime crying since her love has gone. As for Micahels' own voice, it's a pleasing cross between Dusty Springfield, Liza Minelli and La Streisand when falsetto is dispatched. Compared to her frantic version, Lawrence Welk stalwarts Sandi and Salli seem as if they were dosed with Sominex."