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The Look of Love (1967 song)

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"The Look of Love"
Song

"The Look of Love" is a popular song. Since its first appearance in the 1967 spoof James Bond film Casino Royale, it has become synonymous with lounge and easy listening music.

Songwriters

The music was written by Burt Bacharach, and indeed, it was originally intended to be an instrumental. But later Hal David added the lyrics, and the song was published in 1967. According to Bacharach, the melody was inspired by watching Ursula Andress in an early cut of the film.

Recordings

Early recordings

The song was originally recorded by Dusty Springfield for the Casino Royale soundtrack, receiving an Oscar nomination and reaching the US Top 40. Springfield re-recorded the song the same year in London, featuring a throaty saxophone solo, and released it as the B-side of "Give Me Time". Claudine Longet recorded the song on her 1967 album of the same title. Lainie Kazan also recorded "The Look of Love" (arranged by Pat Williams) on her 1967 album Love is Lainie. Nina Simone also recorded "The Look of Love" in 1967 on her album Silk & Soul. Sergio Mendes' hit rendition on the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 album Look Around, reached #4 on the pop charts after their performance in the Academy Awards telecast in March 1968. The lead vocal on this single was handled by Janis Hansen, not Lani Hall, a rarity in the early Brasil '66 canon. In 1969, soul group The Delfonics also covered the song on their album La La Means I Love You.

Isaac Hayes

During 1970, Isaac Hayes covered the song for his 1970 album ...To Be Continued. While Hayes used the same lyrics, his cover includes a unique instrumental which has been heavily sampled on R&B and hip-hop records.

Songs with Isaac Hayes' Sample

Additional recordings

Since its earliest recordings, there have been several covers of the song, one of which was in the 1997 Bond-era spoof Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, with Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles singing the tune.

Other versions have been performed by such artists as The Zombies (during live performances), Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross & The Supremes (Ross would cover the song again decades later, solo), Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Reuben Wilson, The Meters, Ahmad Jamal, Barbara Acklin, Willie Bobo, Shirley Bassey, Jack Jones, Odell Brown, David T. Walker, Gene Harris, Tony Joe White, Grover Washington, Jr., Jean Carne, Nina Simone, Dominique Dalcan, Slum Village, Faye Wong, and Diana Krall (with the London Symphony Orchestra) for her album of the same name. Evidence of the song's international appeal includes recordings by Philippine bossa nova singer Sitti for her second album My Bossa Nova, and Australian singer and songwriter Tina Arena's for her 2007 album Songs of Love & Loss. More than 40 years since the initial recording by Dusty Springfield, the song also appears on Shelby Lynne's tenth studio album, Just a Little Lovin', which pays tribute to Springfield.

The song also appears in a reggae version on the 1997 album Moods for Tokyo Ska: We Don't Know What Ska Is, by Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra.

Chris Botti recorded his own version for his 2003 album A Thousand Kisses Deep, with Chantal Kreviazuk providing the guest vocals. The song also appears on his 2006 live DVD and CD Live: With Orchestra and Special Guests, featuring guests Paula Cole and Burt Bacharach.

Composer/multi-instrumentalist, Robert Shames, arranged a noteworthy version for string quartet in 2007 to much critical acclaim.

Fergie covered the song for Sergio Mendes's latest album, Encanto.

Julian Lloyd Webber recorded a version for cello in 2006

References in pop culture

  • In Yamaha DGX-series keyboards, "The Look of Love" is featured as a demo song.
  • It was used in a McDonald's television commercial in the mid-90s.
  • In the 1995 film, Dead Presidents, Isaac Hayes' version of "The Look of Love" is featured in a scene where the characters Kirby, Joe, and Anthony are driving along after Anthony's rocky return from the Vietnam War.
  • "The Look of Love" is used (anachronistically) in the 2002 film Catch Me If You Can during a scene set in 1964.
  • The song is hummed by one of the characters in the 1993 film " Alive"
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