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What the World Needs Now Is Love

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This article is about the song. For the Wynonna Judd album, see What the World Needs Now Is Love (album). For other uses, see What the World Needs Now.
"What the World Needs Now Is Love"
Song
B-side"I Remember the Boy"

"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.

Songwriting

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.

Tom Clay version

"What the World Needs Now Is Love"
Song
B-side"The Victors"

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", a social commentary that became a surprise hit record that summer.[6] The song begins with a man asking a young boy to define such words as bigotry, segregation, and hatred (to which the boy says he doesn't know); he 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.[7] 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.[8]

"What the World Needs Now is Love" has been used in many film soundtracks, notably Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice and For the Love of Fred (used as the film's closing theme song in both), Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, My Best Friend's Wedding, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, The Boss Baby, Hot Shots!, Happy Gilmore, and Forrest Gump. In the Danish zodiac porn comedy I Jomfruens tegn (1973), an extended version is used for the hardcore underwater orgy that ends the film.[9]

References

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 174.
  2. ^ "Anyone Who Had a Heart: My Life and Music" by Burt Bacharach, 2014, New York, NY: Harper ISBN 0062206079
  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-11-30. Retrieved 2009-04-29. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ Burt Bacharach interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)
  5. ^ Are You Ready For This reissue liner notes
  6. ^ Andrew Hamilton. "Tom Clay | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
  7. ^ "Answers.com – Tom Clay". Answers.com. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  8. ^ Whitburn, Joel, Top Pop Singles: 1955–2006, 2007.
  9. ^ "I JOMFRUENS TEGN : Review". Uncut.dk. Retrieved 25 September 2014.

Bibliography

  • Platts, Robin (2003) Burt Bacharach & Hal David: What the World Needs Now, Collector's Guide Publishing, ISBN 1-896522-77-7
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