"What the World Needs Now Is Love" is a 1965 popular song with lyrics by Hal David and music composed by Burt Bacharach. First recorded and made popular by Jackie DeShannon, it was released on April 15, 1965, on the Imperial label after a release on sister label Liberty records the previous month was canceled. It peaked at number seven on the US Hot 100 in July of that year.[1] In Canada, the song reached number one.
Co-songwriter Burt Bacharach revealed in his 2014 autobiography that this song had among the most difficult lyrics Hal David ever wrote, despite being deceptively simple as a pop hit. He explained that they had the main melody and chorus written back in 1962, centering around a waltz tempo, but it took another two years for David to finally come up with the lyric, "Lord, we don't need another mountain." Once David worked out the verses, Bacharach said the song essentially "wrote itself" and they finished it in a day or two.[2]
The song's success caught the two songwriters completely by surprise, since they were very aware of the controversy and disagreements among Americans about the Vietnam War, which was the subtext for David's lyrics. Bacharach has continuously used the song as the intro and finale for most of his live concert appearances well into the 2000s.
Recording history
The song was originally offered to Dionne Warwick, who turned it down at the time, saying she felt it was "too country" for her tastes and "too preachy"[3] though she later recorded it for her album Here Where There Is Love. (Warwick also recorded a second version in 1996, which scraped the lower reaches of the US Hot 100.) Bacharach initially did not believe in the song, and was reluctant to play it for DeShannon.[4] The song was also rejected by Gene Pitney, reportedly over a financial dispute. DeShannon's version was recorded on March 23, 1965, at New York's Bell Sound Studios.[5] Bacharach arranged, conducted and produced the session. In 1966 The Chambers Brothers recorded a soul version of "What the World Needs Now Is Love" using gospel harmonies, on their album "The Time Has Come".[6]
An instrumental version of the song was featured regularly on the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon for many years, most frequently heard when pledge amounts were announced on the broadcast.
Tom Clay version
"What the World Needs Now Is Love/Abraham, Martin and John"
"What the World Needs Now Is Love/Abraham, Martin and John" (1971)
"Whatever Happened to Love" (1971)
In addition to the DeShannon hit recording and the numerous cover versions, "What the World Needs Now is Love" served as the basis for a distinctive 1971 remix. Disc jockey Tom Clay was working at radio station KGBS in Los Angeles, California, when he created the single "What the World Needs Now is Love/Abraham, Martin and John" (combining with the top 5 hit, in 1968, by Dion), a social commentary that became a surprise hit record that summer.[7] The song begins with a man asking a young girl to define such words as bigotry, segregation, and hatred (to which the girl says she does not know); she says that prejudice is "when someone's sick". Following that is a soundbite of a drill sergeant leading a platoon into training, along with gunfire sound effects, after which are snippets of the two songs – both as recorded by the Blackberries, a session recording group.[8] Interspersed are excerpts of speeches by John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, the eulogy given (by Ted Kennedy) after Robert's assassination, and Martin Luther King Jr., and soundbites of news coverage of each assassination. The ending of the song is a reprise of the introduction.
"What the World Needs Now is Love/Abraham, Martin and John" rose to No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1971, and was Clay's only Top 40 hit.[9]Popular Youtube Version
^Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 25, 1965
Bibliography
Platts, Robin (2003) Burt Bacharach & Hal David: What the World Needs Now, Collector's Guide Publishing, ISBN1-896522-77-7
External links
Hal David Recollections. Accessed June 2007.
Songfacts Accessed July 2008
Jackie de Shannon Discography, Accessed July 2008
Jackie DeShannon - What the World Needs Now Is Love on YouTube
Tom Clay - What the World Needs Now Is Love/Abraham, Martin and John (medley) on YouTube
Dionne Warwick - What the World Needs Now (Is Love) on YouTube
January 06, 2023
what, world, needs, love, this, article, about, song, other, uses, disambiguation, 1965, popular, song, with, lyrics, david, music, composed, burt, bacharach, first, recorded, made, popular, jackie, deshannon, released, april, 1965, imperial, label, after, rel. This article is about the song For other uses see What the World Needs Now Is Love disambiguation What the World Needs Now Is Love is a 1965 popular song with lyrics by Hal David and music composed by Burt Bacharach First recorded and made popular by Jackie DeShannon it was released on April 15 1965 on the Imperial label after a release on sister label Liberty records the previous month was canceled It peaked at number seven on the US Hot 100 in July of that year 1 In Canada the song reached number one What the World Needs Now Is Love One of side A labels of the 1965 US singleSingle by Jackie DeShannonfrom the album This Is Jackie DeShannonB side I Remember the Boy 1965 When You Walk Into the Room 1965 Italy ReleasedApril 15 1965RecordedMarch 23 1965StudioBell Sound New York City GenreFolk rock jazz soulLength3 10LabelImperial RecordsSongwriter s Burt Bacharach Hal DavidProducer s Burt BacharachJackie DeShannon singles chronology When You Walk in the Room 1964 What the World Needs Now Is Love 1965 A Lifetime of Loneliness 1965 Contents 1 Songwriting 2 Recording history 3 Tom Clay version 4 Chart history 4 1 Weekly charts 4 2 Year end charts 5 See also 6 References 7 Bibliography 8 External linksSongwriting EditCo songwriter Burt Bacharach revealed in his 2014 autobiography that this song had among the most difficult lyrics Hal David ever wrote despite being deceptively simple as a pop hit He explained that they had the main melody and chorus written back in 1962 centering around a waltz tempo but it took another two years for David to finally come up with the lyric Lord we don t need another mountain Once David worked out the verses Bacharach said the song essentially wrote itself and they finished it in a day or two 2 The song s success caught the two songwriters completely by surprise since they were very aware of the controversy and disagreements among Americans about the Vietnam War which was the subtext for David s lyrics Bacharach has continuously used the song as the intro and finale for most of his live concert appearances well into the 2000s Recording history EditThe song was originally offered to Dionne Warwick who turned it down at the time saying she felt it was too country for her tastes and too preachy 3 though she later recorded it for her album Here Where There Is Love Warwick also recorded a second version in 1996 which scraped the lower reaches of the US Hot 100 Bacharach initially did not believe in the song and was reluctant to play it for DeShannon 4 The song was also rejected by Gene Pitney reportedly over a financial dispute DeShannon s version was recorded on March 23 1965 at New York s Bell Sound Studios 5 Bacharach arranged conducted and produced the session In 1966 The Chambers Brothers recorded a soul version of What the World Needs Now Is Love using gospel harmonies on their album The Time Has Come 6 An instrumental version of the song was featured regularly on the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon for many years most frequently heard when pledge amounts were announced on the broadcast Tom Clay version Edit What the World Needs Now Is Love Abraham Martin and John Single by Tom Clayfrom the album What the World Needs Now Is LoveB side The Victors ReleasedJuly 1971RecordedEarly 1971GenrePop spoken wordLength6 10LabelMotown MoWest MW5002F Songwriter s Hal David Burt Bacharach Dick HollerProducer s Tom ClayTom Clay singles chronology What the World Needs Now Is Love Abraham Martin and John 1971 Whatever Happened to Love 1971 In addition to the DeShannon hit recording and the numerous cover versions What the World Needs Now is Love served as the basis for a distinctive 1971 remix Disc jockey Tom Clay was working at radio station KGBS in Los Angeles California when he created the single What the World Needs Now is Love Abraham Martin and John combining with the top 5 hit in 1968 by Dion a social commentary that became a surprise hit record that summer 7 The song begins with a man asking a young girl to define such words as bigotry segregation and hatred to which the girl says she does not know she says that prejudice is when someone s sick Following that is a soundbite of a drill sergeant leading a platoon into training along with gunfire sound effects after which are snippets of the two songs both as recorded by the Blackberries a session recording group 8 Interspersed are excerpts of speeches by John F Kennedy Robert F Kennedy the eulogy given by Ted Kennedy after Robert s assassination and Martin Luther King Jr and soundbites of news coverage of each assassination The ending of the song is a reprise of the introduction What the World Needs Now is Love Abraham Martin and John rose to No 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1971 and was Clay s only Top 40 hit 9 Popular Youtube VersionChart history EditWeekly charts Edit Jackie DeShannon Chart 1965 PeakpositionCanada RPM Top Singles 10 1U S Billboard Hot 100 11 7U S Cash Box Top 100 12 9Sweet Inspirations Chart 1968 PeakpositionU S Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 13 128Tom Clay medley Chart 1971 PeakpositionAustralia Kent Music Report 14 3Canada RPM Top Singles 15 11U S Billboard Hot 100 16 8U S Cash Box Top 100 17 7Dionne Warwick Chart 1998 PeakpositionU S Billboard Hot 100 18 87 Year end charts Edit Chart 1965 RankU S Billboard Hot 100 19 63U S Cash Box 20 27See also EditList of anti war songsReferences Edit Whitburn Joel 2004 The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits Eighth Edition Record Research p 174 Anyone Who Had a Heart My Life and Music by Burt Bacharach 2014 New York NY Harper ISBN 0062206079 Dionne Warwick Q amp A Session November 2006 DIONNE WARWICK Archived from the original on 2010 11 30 Retrieved 2009 04 29 Burt Bacharach interviewed on the Pop Chronicles 1969 Are You Ready For This reissue liner notes The Time Has Come Spotify 1966 Hamilton Andrew Tom Clay Biography amp History AllMusic Retrieved 2016 09 29 Tom Clay Answers com Retrieved 25 September 2014 Whitburn Joel Top Pop Singles 1955 2006 2007 Item Display RPM Library and Archives Canada Collectionscanada gc ca a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a Missing or empty url help Joel Whitburn s Top Pop Singles 1955 1990 ISBN 0 89820 089 X Cash Box Top 100 Singles 1965 Joel Whitburn s Bubbling Under the Billboard Hot 100 1959 2004 Kent David 1993 Australian Chart Book 1970 1992 illustrated ed St Ives N S W Australian Chart Book p 66 ISBN 0 646 11917 6 Item Display RPM Library and Archives Canada Collectionscanada gc ca 1971 09 11 Retrieved 2020 03 24 Joel Whitburn s Top Pop Singles 1955 1990 ISBN 0 89820 089 X Cash Box Top 100 Singles August 28 1971 Joel Whitburn s Top Pop Singles 1955 1990 ISBN 0 89820 089 X Musicoutfitters com Cash Box Year End Charts Top 100 Pop Singles December 25 1965Bibliography EditPlatts Robin 2003 Burt Bacharach amp Hal David What the World Needs Now Collector s Guide Publishing ISBN 1 896522 77 7External links EditHal David Recollections Accessed June 2007 Songfacts Accessed July 2008 Jackie de Shannon Discography Accessed July 2008 Jackie DeShannon What the World Needs Now Is Love on YouTube Tom Clay What the World Needs Now Is Love Abraham Martin and John medley on YouTube Dionne Warwick What the World Needs Now Is Love on YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title What the World Needs Now Is Love amp oldid 1107410029, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
