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“I Say a Little Prayer for You” A Hopeful Thanksgiving Song
When we think of a list of memorable songs from the 1960s – “I Say a Little Prayer for You” comes to mind. This song was memorably recorded by singing greats Aretha Franklin and Dionne Warwick. This is a very popular song with a good history and is still performed today in movies like “My Best Friend’s Wedding’, and performers, like Tori Kelly, and Human Nature.
“I Say a Little Prayer for You” – Song Writing
Burt Bacharach and Hal David wrote this song and also produced it. They first heard Dionne Warwick singing backup for The Drifters, which is when they realized she had the perfect voice for their songs. Bacharach and David had a string of hits with Warwick, including “Walk On By” and “Do You Know the Way to San José.”
The song’s writers were never happy with the tempo of this song, and thought it would flop. Burt Bacharach said in Record Collector magazine: “I never thought I made the right record on that. I think I made the tempo a little too fast, a little bit too nervous with Dionne. I didn’t want the record to come out but got overridden. I’m glad that I got overridden.”
In a 1997 interview with Switch, Hal David explained that he would take a long, careful look at the work before fitting his words to Bacharach’s melodies. He added that sometimes the placement of the title was not so obvious with Bacharach’s music. For instance, the chorus section in ‘I Say a Little Prayer,’ that’s ordinarily where the title would fall, but it seemed to me that the title should come in the less obvious place in the middle of the verse after ‘The moment I wake up, before I put on my make-up.'”
In this joyful song of devotion, the singer doesn’t just think about her man, she prays for him, starting from when she wakes up in the morning and continuing through her workday. She sounds a little co-dependent (“To live without you would only be heartbreak for me”), and there’s even a chance that this is an unrequited love (“Why don’t you answer my prayer?”). Nonetheless, most ears hear it as an expression of true love, which makes it a favorite at weddings. The song also resonated with wives and girlfriends whose men were fighting in the Vietnam War.
“I Say a Little Prayer for You” Becomes a Hit
Aretha Franklin recorded this song less than a year after Warwick’s version was released. In the UK, Aretha’s recording was the big hit, making #4 (her highest-charting UK single after “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me),” which hit #1). In the US, Aretha’s version – produced by Atlantic Records head Jerry Wexler – was first released as the B-side of “The House That Jack Built,” but quickly flipped when it was apparent that “Prayer” was the hit. Her cover went to #10 in the US.
The thread connecting these two versions of the song is the backup singers, the Sweet Inspirations. After performing on the original, the singers found themselves working with Aretha Franklin, who started singing it with them during sessions for her Aretha Now album. She came up with an original arrangement, and when Wexler heard it, he insisted on recording the song. Burt Bacharach has said that he likes Aretha’s version the best, describing it as “much better than the cut I did with Dionne.”
“I Say a Little Prayer for You” A Fitting Song for Thanksgiving
Most people have someone that they’re longing to see on the Thanksgiving Holiday – “I Say a Little Prayer for You” Is a fitting song for that feeling. Loved ones that are far away, family members that we haven’t seen in a long time, or family/friends that have parted from this world. “I Say a Little Prayer for You” says I love you; I care for you – and you’ll always have a place in my heart! People that we are thankful to have or have had in our lives…
For More about the Famed Pop Writer, Burt Bacharach, Follow This Link…
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The Thanksgiving Site – Everything About the Thanksgiving Holiday – (celebratethanksgiving.net)