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Walk On By

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Drakesblake (talk | contribs) at 08:28, 24 May 2007 (→‎Official Dance Remixes (Cyndi Lauper version)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For other uses, see Walk On By (disambiguation).
"Walk On By"
Song

"Walk on By" is a song composed by Burt Bacharach and lyrics by Hal David for soul/pop singer Dionne Warwick. It was recorded at the same December, 1963 session that yielded "Anyone Who Had a Heart" which would in 1964 become Warwick's first Top Ten hit. Released in April 1964, "Walk On By" became a landmark single and Warwick's signature song in spite of the fact that she has had more than two dozen hits in her career. The single reached number six on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

Like many of Warwick's 1960s Bacharach-composed singles, it was heavily covered in different ways, most notably by funk/soul musician Isaac Hayes, whose 1969 cover on his groundbreaking album Hot Buttered Soul was transformed into a twelve-and-a-half minute funk vamp breaking ground for singles to release songs surpassing five minutes. In 1982, funk singer D-Train recorded an R&B hit with the song mixing up Warwick's and Hayes' versions. In 1990, singer Sybil, who had scored her biggest hit a year prior with a cover of Warwick's "Don't Make Me Over", also scored an R&B hit with this song.

Other versions

Hundreds of artists have recorded it and performed it on stage, included Aretha Franklin (1964), The Four Seasons (1965), Bobby Kris & The Imperials, Mel Tormé, The Lettermen (on their 1964 album She Cried), Stan Getz (1966), The Stranglers (on their 1978 album Black and White), Isaac Hayes (1969 album Hot Buttered Soul), George Benson, Stanley Turrentine, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Johnny Mathis, Cliff Richard (for live album Cliff "Live" in Japan '72 with Olivia Newton-John), Gloria Gaynor, The Stranglers, Melissa Manchester, The Beach Boys, Sybil Lynch (1990), Seal, Average White Band, Melanie Thornton, Gabrielle (1997), The Carpenters, Kelly Clarkson and Kiki Dee.

Isaac Hayes' version of "Walk On By" was sampled and revisited many times, by artists such as Comptons Most Wanted (1991)Notorious B.I.G. (1994), Slick Rick "Mona Lisa" (1995), Hooverphonic (1997), MF Doom (1999), The Wu Tang Clan (2000), Ludacris (2004).

"Walk On By" was the first single off of Cyndi Lauper's 2003 cover album, At Last. It was on Lauper's 2004 DVD "Live At Last". It was released as a promo only. Remixes of the song reached #10 on the U.S. dance chart.

Warwick's version remains the most well-known, and in 1998 the song was inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame. The RIAA chose it as one of the Songs of the Century.

Chart (2003) (Cyndi Lauper Version) Peak
position
U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play 10

Official Dance Remixes (Cyndi Lauper version)

"Walk On By"
Song


  1. Eddie X Club Mix 10:51
  2. Eddie X Dub Mix 7:52
  3. Live Version 3:26
  4. S.A.F. Dub Mix 8:12
  5. S.A.F.'s Walk To The Dance Floor Club Mix 8:10
  6. Tony Moran Mix 4:31
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