|
Do you recognize this song? If you don’t, that’s OK. You’re probably too young 😊 It debuted in 1966 when I was 7. I’m much older now ☹ But you might have heard it over the last couple of weeks in a commercial for Amazon Prime. I didn’t notice the ad part. Sorry! I was busy singing along with one of my favorite songs, and now I can’t find the ad information. It was up yesterday, and gone today.  Record Photo - By Scepter Records - https://www.ebay.com/itm/353746768904, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69500585 Part 1 – Where the Words Started: I Say a Little Prayer started off as an idea in Hal David’s head. He wrote the lyrics to show what a woman was thinking, knowing her guy was far away fighting the Vietnam War. I had no idea when I heard it in the 60’s. I got the woman part, but I never found the soldier in the song. Not until I started researching this post. It puts a whole new spin on Hal’s words. If you’d like to read his lyrics, click on the google search link below. It’s the only way I can share them with you, and follow copyright rules. Scan down the page. Dionne Warwick and Aretha Franklin both covered the song, but the way they used the chorus was a little different. Either way, put yourself in that woman’s shoes, and think about someone you love who’s in harm’s way. Hal did, and he used those words in this song. Search link: https://www.bing.com/search?pglt=673&q=say+a+little+prayer+lyrics&cvid=08df26e952c040c7be4b82faff1ed4d7&aqs=edge.0.0l9.9652j0j1&FORM=ANAB01&PC=LCTS  A Side Note About Vietnam: This is a map from 1954. The war started in 1955, but the US didn’t get involved until 1960. Fifteen years later we got out. It was 1975. I was a baby when it all started and a sophmore in high school when it ended. My husband was a junior. At age 18 boys had to sign up for the Vietnam draft, and at its high point 40,000 young men were picked for military service each month. I hope a prayer was said for each and every one of them. The draft stopped in 1973 because of the huge anti-war movement, but it returned in a new form in July of 1980. Boys had to sign up for Military Selective Services, but they didn’t go to war. My husband never signed up for either draft, but my two sons did, the 1980 way. Map Source: By User: SnowFire - Own work. Based on File: French Indochina Phan Xich Long.svg., CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63532416  Part 2 – Burt Bacharach and His Mixed-Up Signatures: I didn’t know Burt liked to mix-up the time signatures within his music. I never noticed it, but maybe that’s what gives it that distinctive Bacharach sound. The verses in I Say a Little Prayer start with eight beats in 4/4 time, then a ten-beat section (4/4 + 4/4 + 2/4). Then he finishes the verse with that same eight beat pattern again. When you hit the chorus, Burt sets it up in eleven beats (4/4 + 3/4 + 4/4). If you’re a musician, this makes sense. If you’re not, just keep reading, and enjoy the music link down below. A Recording Session: Dionne Warwick was one of Burt and Hal’s favorite singers, and they wrote this song just for her. She was a quick study when it came to recording. Usually, she recorded a song in three takes, but she often did it in one. Not this time. Dionne tried ten times, but Burt was never really happy with it. He thought it sounded rushed, like the tempo was too fast. Maybe it never quite fit the version in his head.  Picture 1 – Burt in 1972... Picture 2 – Burt in 2013... Picture 3 – Hal in 2011. They made that recording on April 9, 1966, and it sat on a shelf for over a year, until September 1967. Florence Greenburg from Scepter Records wanted it on his album, The Windows of the World. Disc Jockeys at radio stations around the country heard it, then played it on the air one short month later. It was so popular Scepter released it as a single on the A side, the hit side of a record. They put The Theme from Valley of the Dolls on the B side. Dionne sang that one too, and both songs were super successful for Scepter. And for Dionne, Burt, and Hal too. It's odd that the fast pace Burt disliked, became a million-selling hit for Dionne. That was a gold record back in the 60’s. It reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. And me, I can still sing the chorus. If you’d like to listen to Dionne’s version, click on my search link. If you scan down the page, you’ll find Aretha Franklin has one too. She recorded it in 1968, and it went to #2. Either way, pick a video, and enjoy! Search Link for the music video: say a little prayer for you dionne warwick - Search (bing.com) Tomorrow – How this song from 1967 became part of my favorite movie scene of all time! Photo Sources for Burt and Hal: Burt in 1972 - By ABC Television - eBay itemphoto frontphoto back, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18250433 Burt in 2013 - By Phil Guest from Bournemouth, UK - Burt Bacharach, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=79102167 Hal in 2011 - By Pat Padua - https://www.flickr.com/photos/ppad/5713457890/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29999116  By POV - MovieGoods, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15363444 Part 3 – One of my Favorite Movie Scenes Ever: It’s in My Best Friend’s Wedding from 1997. If you haven’t seen it, you should check it out. It’s funny. It stars Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, Cameron Diaz, and Rupert Everett, but the surprising part is the movie’s soundtrack. It uses five songs from Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Together those things made the movie into one of the best romantic comedies of the 1990’s and beyond. And that favorite scene – it all starts with some kid who has no idea who Dionne Warwick is. If you’re my age you know she’s a singer, but someone at the rehearsal dinner only remembers her because of the Psychic Friends Network. That’s when Rupert Everett begins singing, and he winds up leading the entire restaurant into a rendition of Say a Little Prayer for You. It’s just plain fun! The first time it surprised me, but now every time I watch it, I replay that scene two or three times. It makes me happy! If you’re curious about the Bacharach/David song list, it includes: I Say a Little Prayer for You Wishin’ and Hopin’ What the World Needs Now I’ll Never Fall in Love Again I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself If you want to watch that scene, use this search link: say a little prayer my best friend's wedding - Search (bing.com) 
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWhen I write, I can only have one voice in my head, mine. A little noise is fine. But too much, or worse yet, WORDS, and I must change rooms or pull out headphones. Then I can write on! Categories
All
|
RSS Feed