Ticket 2 Ride

I’m changing it up a bit, going with a songwriting team responsible for many pop classics: Burt Bacharach and Hal David. And, I’ll do something sacrilegious, none of my five will be sung by Dionne Warwick. Yes, really. Still, I could list many more than five.

Bacharach and David really need no introduction, but I’ll note a few facts, before sharing my five favorite songs. Together, they had 48 top ten hits and won six Grammy Awards. They wrote for films, Broadway and recordings. It is estimated that over 1,000 different artists have recorded their songs.

The songs:

“(They Long to Be) Close to You” – From Wikipedia: Originally recorded by actor Richard Chamberlain in 1963, the flip side of “Blue Guitar.” Other artists recorded the song including Herb Alpert, but it was The Carpenters’ 1970s version, and Richard Carpenter’s arrangement, that became a hit, spending four weeks at number one, and winning the duo a Grammy Award. This song established The Carpenters as major artists.

“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” – Written for the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the song was supposed to underscore the whimsical and playful bicycle scene with Paul Newman and Katherine Ross. The song got a mixed reaction as being wrong for a Western and the scene having nothing to do with rain. B.J. Thomas was not the first person approached to sing the song, but the reaction to his version and the success of the film wiped away any criticism. The song topped the singles chart and sold several million copies. “The picture was designed for a contemporary feel,” said director George Roy Hill. “The characters are modern rather than traditional in approach and temperament, and [William Goldman’s] dialogue…has a very contemporary rhythm and sound to it, and we didn’t want a traditional Western score.”

“This Guy’s in Love With You” – Published in 1967, and recorded by a different artist, Herb Alpert wanted to use the song on a 1968 TV special he was doing, and asked that the lyrics be tweaked. Alpert wasn’t a singer, but he sang this song on the TV program. The response led Alpert to record a new vocal and release it on his A&M record label, becoming a number one hit.

“What the World Needs Now” – Recorded by Jackie DeShannon in 1965, after being turned down by other artists, including Warwick. Surprisingly, the song only reached number seven on the singles chart. For me, this represents the conflicted nature of the 1960s.

“One Less Bell to Answer” – From Wikipedia: Originally written in 1967 for Keely Smith, the song was rediscovered in late 1969 by Bones Howe, the producer for the 5th Dimension, and the song was included on the group’s 1970 debut album for Bell Records, Portrait. Lead vocals on the single were sung by Marilyn McCoo. Their version reached number two on the Billboard chart. The title was reportedly from Bacharach’s wife at the time, Angie Dickinson.