Now that I no longer have to commute to work every day, I seem to be missing out on those wonderful moments when a great song comes on the car radio, and you just have to turn up the volume to full blast.
I did however experience such a thing earlier this week on my way to the supermarket and needless to say it stuck with me for a good few days. The song was this one, I Say a Little Prayer, written by my favourite songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Inevitably the first person to record it back in 1967 was Dionne Warwick, as she was very much Burt’s “go-to” girl when he needed a chanteuse for his great material. What I hadn’t realised until now was that Hal David’s lyrics were meant to convey a woman’s concern for her man, who was serving in the Vietnam War (makes total sense now considering the timing). I have always loved those first few lines where the words wake up and makeup are used to such great effect. The rhyme just works so perfectly and for us girls, anything that happens before the morning ritual of putting on the makeup is early indeed, so doubly emphasizes the urgency of the prayer.
The moment I wake up
Before I put on my makeup
I say a little prayer for you
Although Burt’s recordings with Dionne usually took no more than three takes, I Say a Little Prayer took ten takes and he still disliked the completed track, feeling it rushed. He was nothing if not a perfectionist that Burt Bacharach.
But the version I heard in the car the other day wasn’t by Dionne but instead by the person who had a big hit with it in the UK. Aretha Franklin was in the process of recording her 1968 album entitled “Aretha Now” when her backing vocalists, The Sweet Inspirations, started singing the song just for fun. It suddenly became apparent that I Say a Little Prayer could be a worthy inclusion on the new album which is exactly what happened. The song ended up being released in July 1968 as the B-side to the single The House that Jack Built, but after accruing its own airplay reached No. 10 on the Billboard Chart and No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart.
And here is where the music producers seem to get it horribly wrong at times – It had taken much persuasion for Burt to release the original recording by Dionne Warwick, but with Theme from Valley of the Dolls on the B-side, it became one of the most successful double-sided releases of all time. Aretha’s version was never expected to make any sort of mark in its own right, but in subsequent decades it has been ranked right at the top of lists relating to the “Greatest 150 Singles of All Time”. How bizarre and makes you wonder what other delights have slipped through the net and never been given the air time they indubitably deserved. Then again, is that not the case for every art form? How many great writers and artists (and I include Mr WIAA and some of my blogging buddies in those categories) slip through the net, not seeming to catch that lucky break needed to get to the important next level, where actual money changes hands for exceptional work done.
But before I go, it should also be mentioned that I Say a Little Prayer is one of several Bacharach and David songs to feature prominently in the 1997 rom-com/chick-flick My Best Friend’s Wedding. There was a reggae-style cover by Diana King and a version sung by the film’s cast. Diana’s cover was released as a single which brought the song back to the Top 40 almost thirty years after Dionne Warwick’s original.
I Say A Little Prayer by Diana King:
So, “What’s It All About?” – Having included all three very different versions in this post, they are ripe for a compare and contrast. Dionne’s does indeed sound a bit too rushed and not typical of Burt Bacharach’s usual orchestral pop style. Diana’s reggae version certainly creates a very different sound where the lyrics are sung Jamaican-style (before mi put on mi makeup). Aretha however, being the Queen of Soul an’ all that, nails it for me and it’s probably why the car radio had to be turned up to such a volume earlier in the week. Some songs, despite having a very low key start in life, end up becoming the most memorable and that’s why I live in hope that some of my wonderful artsy friends also eventually catch that lucky break which leads to their work being reclassified from being ordinary, to being extra-ordinary.
Until next time….
(Song by Burt Bacharach/Hal David)
The moment I wake up
Before I put on my makeup
I say a little prayer for you
While combing my hair, now
And wondering what dress to wear, now
I say a little prayer for you
Forever, forever, you’ll stay in my heart
And I will love you
Forever, and ever we never will part
Oh, how I’ll love you
Together, together, that’s how it must be
To live without you
Would only be heartbreak for me
I run for the bus, dear
While riding I think of us, dear
I say a little prayer for you
At work I just take time
And all through my coffee break-time
I say a little prayer for you
Forever, forever, you’ll stay in my heart
And I will love you
Forever, and ever we never will part
Oh, how I’ll love you
Together, together, that’s how it must be
To live without you
Would only mean heartbreak for me
I say a little prayer for you
I say a little prayer for you
Forever, forever, you’ll stay in my heart
And I will love you
Forever, and ever we never will part
Oh, how I’ll love you
Together, together, that’s how it must be
To live without you
Would only mean heartbreak for me
My darling, believe me
For me there is no one, but you
Please love me, too
I’m in love with you
Answer my prayer
Say you love me, too
Why don’t you answer my prayer?
You know, every day I say a little prayer
I said, I say, I say a little prayer
What's It All About? 
I think a lot of what makes a hit is accidental. You can put all the right pieces together and sometimes it works…or sometimes it just appears trite and predictable. Likewise, there are many songs in my own collection – and I’m sure in yours – which in my mind are Number One hits but for whatever reason (often personal whim… Or not enough marketing budget / payola) never reached the general public’s consciousness. And there are some Number Ones which it would be better for all of us if they’d never seen the light of day at all.
That said, much as I respect Dionne’s other Bacharach collaborations, I agree that nobody beats Aretha here. It’s probably her finest hour.
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Absolutely – Lots in my collection that is right up there with the best but wrong place at the wrong time for the artist. There are fashions in music and if you don’t fit into the current trend it’s doubly hard whereas someone in the zeitgeist can come along with any old tosh and have a hit. Such is life. Thing is to keep doing it and your day will come – When you’re a successful novelist, remember who your (virtual) friends were, who kept encouraging you to keep going through the tricky years!
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You know, I hadn’t thought about Aretha’s version in a good long while. Like you say, it’s great.
I wonder if this one is the most-recorded Bacharach and David song. Wouldn’t surprise me.
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It is great isn’t it and passed the “car test” where the volume just has to be turned up to max – I know you have similar stories whilst on your car journeys!
Don’t know for sure but you are right, must be a contender for the most-recorded B&D song.
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A quick shout for Gene’s cover of this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7CxOtEqOmQ
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Thanks for dropping by and for sharing yet another version of this fine song. I liked it but it’s still Aretha at the top spot for me. Is there any connection between this band/album and the name of your blog? I’m assuming you are the same Martin who drops by several of the blogs I follow and who has a scrabble letter as an avatar. I only ask because there seems to be two Martins in this little corner of the blogosphere and I’ve come round to thinking you might be both!
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Appreciate the encouragement, but I’m pretty sure those days are gone now! 😉
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I usually click the “like” button on all comments but not this time – Those days are most definitely not gone and as your ongoing series implies, you are still only mid-way through your life. I’m having a bit of a hitch at the moment in terms of my plans, but being positive there is still lots of time for such endeavours. Just sayin’.
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Oops, these comments seem to have got tagged onto the end of Martin’s but I’m sure all makes sense.
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No, I’m not both. But yes, I am the Scrabble-avatared writer of New Amusements (and yes, that does take its name from the Gene album). It does get a bit confusing when the other Martin comments on my blog, as Martin replies to Martin…
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Oh heck – Sorry about that. I now understand however and you are the person who can clean up on Saturday Snapshots if you get there first – Need to set the alarm earlier.
Fortuitous that I shared “I Say A Little Prayer” this week it seems! Thanks for clearing up the confusion.
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Aretha’s is the one for me too. Interesting though to hear Diana King’s version and also Gene’s (thanks Martin!) as hadn’t heard either before. But Diana’s just sounded a little too ’80s for me (even if ’97!) and I felt it needed a female soul singer to do it justice so Gene’s version didn’t quite gel for me. Where else though but on these blogs would we get chance for such fine compare and contrast opportunities?!
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Yes, Aretha seems to be everyone’s favourite but I was fascinated with the Diana King version as the words “I” and “my” in the lyrics change into the obviously highly versatile “mi”. She has a nice voice too.
Despite my declaration last month that I would be too busy for blogging for a while, I see that I have posted 3 times in the first 6 days of February!
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Aretha for me as well, though, as C notes, it’s a pleasure to have the opportunity to compare and contrast the various versions. If I had to guess, I’d plump for ‘Walk On By’ as being Bacharach & David’s most covered song.
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Nice to have you drop by this post – When it’s a great song, just about any version is good but it seems to be universally agreed that Aretha’s is the best. It has the most passion to it anyway.
Think I’ve included the version of Walk On By, performed by the Stranglers before – https://jukeboxtimemachine.com/2016/09/15/punk-late-70s-fashion-and-the-wrong-trousers/
It was to explain how I’d leapt from writing about Burt Bacharach to punk and the Stranglers, but there was the link!
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