What’s It All About?

Written for Song Lyric Sunday –
“Greek Goddess Maia”
This is my response to the challenge.

This week at Jim Adams’ Song Lyric Sunday, the theme is “Greek Goddess Maia”. Our challenge is to write about a song written or performed by someone who was born in the month of May,

Looking over the list of birthdays for May, I was quite surprised by how many really big-name artists were mentioned. When I came across one name in particular, I was pleased, but when I saw his writing partner was also on the list, I was delighted! That bit of serendipity was a sign, a little nudge that this extraordinary writing team would be my subject for this week’s Song Lyric Sunday.

♫ This is the music of Burt Bacharach and Hal David ♫

Born May 12, 1928, in Kansas City, Missouri, Burt Bacharach met Hal David, born May 25, 1921, in the Brill Building in New York. From there, an award-winning partnership grew. While the duo is largely associated with Dionne Warwick today, their first hit together was “The Story of My Life,” recorded by Marty Robbins. The song became a #1 hit on the Billboard Country chart in 1957 and was a sign of big things to come for the musical tag team. Their next hit was “Magic Moments,” recorded by Perry Como. The success of those songs marked the first time a songwriting duo had ever earned back-to-back #1 hits in the UK.

Dionne Warwick began working with Burt Bacharach and Hal David in 1964. Over the next two decades, Warwick recorded their songs, selling some 12 million copies and garnering 22 Top 40 singles. Some of the biggest include “Walk On By,” “I Say a Little Prayer” and “Do You Know the Way to San Jose.” In 1967, the duo wrote “The Look of Love”, recorded by Dusty Springfield.

In 1968, the jazz saxophonist Stan Getz recorded a number of Bacharach and David songs for his album, What The World Needs Now: Stan Getz Plays Burt Bacharach and Hal David. That same year the two worked on the Broadway musical, Promises, Promises, with producer David Merrick. That brought the song “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” which hit #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 thanks to Warwick’s recording. Also in 1968, the duo’s song “This Guy’s in Love with You” was recorded by Herb Alpert and spent four weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Bacharach/David won an Oscar in 1969 for “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” from the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. They won a Grammy for Promises, Promises and were nominated for a Tony. Additional Oscar nominations came for “What’s New Pussycat?”, “The Look of Love”, and “Alfie.” Their partnership continued for a few more years, including in 1973 when the two wrote the score for the musical movie Lost Horizon. However, this work led to myriad lawsuits between David and Bacharach which, in turn, hurt their relationship with Warwick who felt abandoned when the duo’s partnership dissolved.

Burt Bacharach released several more solo projects including the 1977 album, Futures. He and Hal David reunited briefly in 1975 for the Stephanie Mills album, For The First Time, from Motown, but nothing materialized as it had in the past. In 2011, the duo won the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, given to them by the Library of Congress. That marked the first time a songwriting team earned the honor. These two giants are remembered today for their timeless music. Hal David died on September 1, 2012, at 91, while Burt Bacharach passed on February 8, 2023, at the age of 94. 

With so many incredible songs to choose from, I decided to go with my three favorite Bacharach/David tunes.

First up today is a song by one of the most iconic female singers of our generation, not just in her native UK, but around the world. The song is “The Look of Love” and no one sang it better than Dusty Springfield. The song was written for the 1967 James Bond spoof film, Casino Royale, starring Ursula Andress and Peter Sellers, and sung to a sultry bossa nova beat. Known for its intimate, whispery vocal style, the song was inspired by scenes of Andress and received a 1968 Academy award nomination. Bacharach wrote the melody while watching footage of a very scantily clad Andress in the 007 parody. According to Bacharach, Springfield was tough on herself, often going into the control room alone to listen to her takes. Despite later claiming she wasn’t happy with her performance, the recording is considered a masterpiece of pop vocal.

This is “The Look of Love” by Dusty Springfield

Up next is a guy I have been in love with since the first time I heard and saw him. Is he the greatest singer ever? No, but he is definitely one of the most charming, sincere, and good looking. He can also play a mean trumpet. I’m talking about Herb Alpert. “This Guy’s in Love with You” was a 1968 smash hit by Alpert, originally written for an April 1968 TV special, “The Best of the Brass. It was a departure from Alpert’s instrumental Tijuana Brass style, featuring him on vocals in a tender, direct love song that became his first #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Herb Alpert asked his friend Burt Bacharach for a song to sing to his wife during his CBS TV special. “This Guy’s in Love with You” was never intended for release until fans flooded CBS with calls asking about it after the special aired. The song is considered a classic of the era, known for its soft, emotional delivery.

This is “This Guy’s in Love with You” by Herb Alpert

The final song today is“Alfie“, a 1966 ballad written for the film of the same name starring Michael Caine; it was intended to capture the cynical story of a London womanizer through a lyrical, “singer’s song” style. While Cilla Black’s version was released first in the UK, Dionne Warwick’s version became a huge US hit, and Cher’s version appeared in the American film release. Hal David wrote the lyrics first after reading the script and drawing inspiration from the line “What’s it all about?” Burt Bacharach considered “Alfie” his personal favorite of all his compositions. The lyrics address the selfish titular character, questioning his lack of belief in love.

Cilla Black’s recording of “Alfie” is an iconic UK top-10 hit, famously arranged and produced by Burt Bacharach at Abbey Road Studios to promote the film. Despite Cilla’s initial doubts about the title, the song became a signature hit, featuring a massive 24-piece orchestra and meticulous production that required 29 takes to perfect. The session was conducted by Burt Bacharach (who also accompanied Cilla on piano), and produced by George Martin, best known as The Beatles’ producer. Cilla was nervous, finding the session demanding. The song reached #9 in the UK. Lines from the song are inscribed on Cilla Black’s grave as it was considered a career defining performance.

This is “Alfie” by Cilla Black

LYRICS

What’s it all about, Alfie?
Is it just for the moment we live?
What’s it all about when you sort it out, Alfie?
Are we meant to take more than we give
Or are we meant to be kind?
And if only fools are kind, Alfie,
Then I guess it’s wise to be cruel.
And if life belongs only to the strong, Alfie,
What will you lend on an old golden rule?
As sure as I believe there’s a heaven above, Alfie,
I know there’s something much more,
Something even non-believers can believe in.
I believe in love, Alfie.
Without true love we just exist, Alfie.
Until you find the love you’ve missed you’re nothing, Alfie.
When you walk let your heart lead the way
And you’ll find love any day, Alfie, Alfie.

^{Songwriters: Burt Bacharach/Hal David
Recorded at Abbey Road Studios}

Greek Goddess Maia

Big thanks to Jim Adams for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday this week and every week. Be sure to follow his link and check out his site.

Thanks for stopping by and listening to some great music. I hope you enjoyed the theme for this week as well as the information and songs I featured.

That’s all she wrote, kids. See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2026

^{Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, unless otherwise indicated. Thank you for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.}