| "What the World Needs Now Is Love" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Jackie DeShannon | |
| from the album This Is Jackie DeShannon | |
| A-side | What the World Needs Now Is Love |
| B-side | I Remember the Boy |
| Released | April 15, 1965 |
| Genre | Folk rock, jazz, soul |
| Length | 3:10 |
| Label | Imperial Records |
| Writer(s) | Hal David, Burt Bacharach |
"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. The song reached number 7 on the US charts in May of that year.
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The song was originally offered to Dionne Warwick, who turned it down at the time;[1] though she later recorded it for her album Here Where There Is Love. DeShannon's version was recorded on March 23, 1965, at New York's Bell Sound studios.[2]
It has been recorded or performed live by over 100 artists, including The Staple Singers, Judy Garland, Wynonna Judd, The Supremes, Cilla Black, The Chambers Brothers, McCoy Tyner, Barry Manilow, Jad Fair with Daniel Johnston, Ed Ames, Johnny Mathis, Steve Tyrell, Luther Vandross, Andrea Ross, Aimee Mann, Rigmor Gustafsson, Stacey Kent, Mr. Bungle, The Young Americans, Rick Astley and Coldplay. It even made the country charts in a version by a little known singer/songwriter, Ron Shaw, on the Pacific Challenger label in the late 1970s.
In 2011, Ronan Keating recorded the song for his album "When Ronan Met Burt".
| "What the World Needs Now Is Love" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Tom Clay | ||||
| from the album What the World Needs Now Is Love | ||||
| A-side | "What the World Needs Now Is Love" | |||
| B-side | "The Victors" | |||
| Released | 1971 | |||
| Format | Vinyl record | |||
| Recorded | Early 1971 | |||
| Genre | Pop Spoken word |
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| Length | 6:10 | |||
| Label | Motown Records Mo-west MW5002F |
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| Writer(s) | Hal David Burt Bacharach |
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| Producer | Tom Clay | |||
| Tom Clay singles chronology | ||||
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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.[3]
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.[4] Interspersed are excerpts of speeches by John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, the eulogy after Robert's assassination by Ted Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., and soundbites of news coverage of each one's 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.[5]
"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, Hot Shots!, Happy Gilmore, and Forrest Gump.
In June 1968, following the shooting of Robert Kennedy but before he died (approximately 26 hours), the Jackie DeShannon version was played over and over on Los Angeles radio stations as an audio vigil. This also continued for a few days following his death.
The first few notes of the song have also been used as a toteboard cue for the annual Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon.
A recording by Des O'Connor featured in episode #3.1 (The Early Birds) of The Good Life.
A shortened version of the title is used in a biography of Burt Bacharach and Hal David by Robin Platts.
In the Philippines, it was also used as the theme song of an event dubbed as Close-Up Lovapalooza to break the record of most people kissing simultaneously in 10 seconds to celebrate Valentine's Day.
Jessica Mauboy sang "What The World Needs Now Is Love" on Australian Idol in 2006.
American experimental band Mr. Bungle covered the song live at least twice in 2000.
Alec Baldwin sang a part of the song in the episode "Somebody to Love" of 30 Rock while playing a piano, as his soon to be lover CC walked down the stairs at the party which they met.
It was a top 5 song in American Idol season 2 in 2003.
Two versions of the song, one performed by Burt Bacharach himself, were played near the end of the film Austin Powers in Goldmember.
The song was covered by Jad Fair and Daniel Johnston on the album It's Spooky, with revised lyrics, referencing crack houses and Satanism.
Andy Fletcher of Depeche Mode used to play it as the last song for his DJ sets in 2004.
The song contains the memorable lines: