Sunday Morning Vault: Hal David (1921-2012)

     Yesterday we lost one of the great American lyricists of the last 50 years. Hal David with his songwriting partner Burt Bacharach defined 60's pop music. His timeless lyrics are still being sung by many an artist who's parents were children when they were first performed.
     David dabbled in lyric writing, but was preparing for himself a career in journalism. He was writing for the New York Post, when a lucky break allow him an opportunity to write for big band leader Sammy Kaye. Several hits came for Kaye and for Guy Lombardo's band s well. However it was hit meeting with Burt Bacharach in 1957 that would change the life of both men, and of American music. Starting with, "The Story of My Life" written and recorded that year by Marty Robbins, and "Magic Moments" sung by Perry Como, they were off and running.
     Their biggest success came though with the collaboration with Dionne Warwick. There was a chemistry between the three that made it impossible to mention one without the other. "I'll Never Fall In Love Again", "Do You Know the Way to San Jose", "Walk On By", and "I Say A Little Prayer" were touchstones of mid-60's pop and are still fresh and inviting today.
     The following is a listing of David's biggest songs and a video or two as well.

"The Story of My Life"--Marty Robbins
"Magic Moments"--Perry Como
"(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Vallance"--Gene Pitney
"Only Love Can Break a Heart"--Gene Pitney
"Close to You"--The Carpenters
"Wives and Lovers"--Jack Jones
"Wishin and Hopin"--Dusty Springfield
"Walk On By"--Dionne Warwick
"There Was Always Something There To Remind Me"--Dionne Warwick/Naked Eyes (82)
"What The World Needs Now Is Love"--Jackie DeShannon
"What's New Pussycat"--Tom Jones
"Alfie"--Dionne Warwick
"I Say a Little Prayer"--Dionne Warwick
"The Look Of Love"--Dusty Springfield/Sergio Mendes & Brazil 66'
"Casino Royale"--Herb Alpert
"One Less Bell To Answer"--The Fifth Dimension
"This Guys In Love With You"--Herb Alpert
"Do You Know the Way to San Jose--Dionne Warwick
"Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head"--B.J. Thomas
"I"ll Never Fall In Love Again"--Dionne Warwick
"To All The Girls I've Loved Before"--Nelson/Iglesias
"It Was Almost Like A Song"--Ronnie Milsap

 

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Carl Douglas--Kung Fu Fighting (1974)

     In the history of popular music, there are many examples of songs that make you scratch your head, laugh out loud, or both. Even better when said music can make you move. The 70's for some reason was full of stuff like this....and so we come to the story of Carl Douglas.
     He spent his youth in his native Jamaica and California, then moving to England to study sound engineering. While there, he formed the group Big Stampede and even issued a couple of singles. From the mid-60's to early 70's he spent time with several groups in England and Spain, but it was a meeting with Indian-born producer Biddu which would lead to his biggest hit.
     Biddu worked with Carl on a movie soundtrack in 1972, and it was that experience that led the producer to call for help with vocals a couple of years later. The song, "I Want To Give You My Everything" was the supposed "A" side. He needed a song for the flip side, so Biddu wrote music to some lyrics that Douglas had written about the martial arts craze happening in the US at the time. The song was recorded in 10 minutes.  
     The supposed "A" side was forgotten immediately as the song was a meeting of a great tune with "expert timing". It reached number 1 in the states in late 1974. The follow-up, "Dance the Kung Fu" made the top 50, and top 20 in Britain, but he was not seen in the US again. Douglas settled in Germany and owns a production company. 

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