The million-selling hit that the composer actually disliked
In short: In 1966, Burt Bacharach spent ten takes recording a track he felt was rushed. He couldn't have been more wrong about the outcome. What began as a rejected session became a defining pop standard, evolving from a wartime tribute into a global phenomenon through two legendary voices.
Written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, the song was originally intended to capture a woman's anxiety for a partner serving in the Vietnam War. When Dionne Warwick recorded it in April 1966, Bacharach was notoriously dissatisfied with the result, far exceeding his usual one or two takes. Despite his reservations, the track was released in September 1967 on the album 'The Windows of the World' and quickly became a massive success, reaching number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 by December 1967.
The song's musical architecture is more complex than its catchy melody suggests. Bacharach utilized unusual time signatures, including a chorus that shifts between 4/4 and 3/4. This technical sophistication provided a foundation for later reinventions, most notably by Aretha Franklin. In 1968, Franklin transformed the track during a rehearsal with The Sweet Inspirations. Her version, featuring prominent piano work by Clayton Ivey, transposed the key from Warwick's G major to A major and introduced more conventional chord structures.
The song's legacy is marked by its incredible versatility. It has been reimagined as a reggae-style hit by Diana King in 1997, a dance track by Bomb the Bass in 1988, and even a C&W medley by Anne Murray and Glen Campbell. While the original remains a cornerstone of the pop era, Franklin's version achieved significant international success, particularly in the UK, where it became her largest hit, and even earned the top spot in an NME critics' poll in 1987.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: I Say a Little Prayer
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