I Say a Little Prayer

This article is about the song by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. For the Australian film directed by Richard Lowenstein, see Say a Little Prayer.
"I Say a Little Prayer"
Single by Dionne Warwick
from the album The Windows of the World
B-side "(Theme from) Valley of the Dolls"
Released October 1967
Format 7" single
Recorded 9 April 1966 A & R Studios, NYC; Engineered by Phil Ramone
Genre Soul, pop
Length 3:09
Label Scepter
Writer(s) Burt Bacharach, Hal David
Producer(s) Burt Bacharach, Hal David
Certification Certified RIAA Million Seller Gold Single Award
Dionne Warwick singles chronology
"The Windows of the World"
(1967) US No. 32
"I Say a Little Prayer"
(1967) US #4/
"(Theme from) Valley of the Dolls"
(1967) US No. 2
"Do You Know the Way to San Jose"
(1968) US No. 10
"I Say a Little Prayer"
Single by Aretha Franklin
from the album Aretha Now
A-side "The House That Jack Built"
Released July 26, 1968
Format 7"
Genre Soul
Length 3:30
Label Atlantic
2546
Writer(s)
Producer(s) Jerry Wexler
Aretha Franklin singles chronology
"Think"
(1968)
"I Say A Little Prayer"
(1968)
"See Saw"
(1968)

"I Say a Little Prayer" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for Dionne Warwick, originally peaking at number four on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in December 1967.[1] On the R&B Singles chart it peaked at number eight.[2]

Background

Intended by lyricist Hal David to convey a woman's concern for her man who's serving in the Vietnam War, "I Say a Little Prayer" was recorded by Dionne Warwick in a 9 April 1966 session. Although Bacharach's recordings with Warwick typically took no more than three takes (often only taking one), Bacharach did ten takes on "I Say a Little Prayer" and still disliked the completed track feeling it rushed. The track went unreleased until September 1967 when it was introduced on the album The Windows of the World which largely consisted of older material; it was Scepter Records owner Florence Greenberg rather than Bacharach who wanted "I Say a Little Prayer" added to that album [3] from which it had a single release in October 1967 as the intended B-side of the newly recorded track "(Theme from) Valley of the Dolls". However, the brisk sound of "I Say a Little Prayer" which Bacharach disliked proved to be the comeback sound for Warwick as "I Say a Little Prayer" became the original favored side reaching #4 that December on the Billboard Hot 100 – Warwick's first Top Ten appearance since "Message to Michael" in the spring of 1966 – and also #8 on the Billboard R & B Chart and #4 on the Canadian Charts. "(Theme from) Valley of the Dolls" would become a hit subsequent to the success of "I Say a Little Prayer" reaching #2 in February 1968: Warwick's "I Say a Little Prayer"/"(Theme from) Valley of the Dolls" single would receive gold certification from the RIAA for sales of a million units becoming the only certified gold single of the first phase of Warwick's career.

"I Say a Little Prayer" b/w "(Theme from) Valley of the Dolls", became one of the most successful double-sided hits of the Rock era. Like several Bacharach compositions, both sides contain passages written in unusual time signatures. The verses of "Prayer" are constructed of 2 successive measures of 4/4, a measure of 10/4 (using 4/4 + 2/4 + 4/4), and 2 final measures of 4/4. The chorus is in 11/4 (using 4/4 + 3/4 + 4/4), played by session drummer Gary Chester.[4]

Other recordings

Other recorded versions

See also

References

  1. "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (Nielsen Company) 79 (49): 95. 1967. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
  2. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 610.
  3. 1 2 Dominic, Serene (2003). Burt Bacharach, song by song: the ultimate Burt Bacharach reference for fans. New York City: Schirmer Trade Books. p. 186. ISBN 0-8256-7280-5.
  4. "The Official Gary Chester Website - Discography". Angelfire.com. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  5. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 215.
  6. "Official Singles Chart for the week ending 27 February 2010". ChartsPlus (Liverpool: UKChartsPlus) (444): 1–4. February 21, 2010.

External links

Preceded by
"Where Do We Go from Here"
by Hank Smith
RPM Country Tracks
number-one single
(Anne Murray and Glen Campbell version)

4 December 1971[1]
Succeeded by
"Lead Me On"
by Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty
  1. "RPM Country Singles for December 4, 1971". RPM. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
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