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Alfie, from the 1966 Michael Caine classic,
was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David,
and was an Adacemy Award nominee for Best
Song From A Motion Picture for 1966 (Born
Free, the title track from the film of the
same name, won). Bacharach wrote the tune
with Warwick specifically in mind, but when
the tune was pitched for the movie in London,
Bacharach was overridden because the
producers wanted a British singer to record
the tune. Cilla Black recorded the tune and
her version died at number 95 in the USA,
although a hit in England. Ironically,
Cilla's version was not used in the UK and
European prints of the film; Sonny Rollins is
heard in Australian prints of the film. When
the film was released in the USA, United
Artists felt a singer on their label should
record the tune, so for the American prints
of the film, Cher can be heard over the final
credits, and her version peaked at 34 on the
charts in 1966. Alfie was recorded by 42
other singers before Burt finally got his
wish to record Alfie with Dionne and she took
it all the way to # 5 on Billboard's Hot R&B
Chart and #15 on Billboard's Hot 100. Dionne
has stated Burt insisted that she record the
tune since he had written it specifically for
her to sing in the film, and she was
reluctant after 42 other versions had been
released and asked Burt, "How many more
recordings of Alfie do you need?" Burt's
reply? "Just one more, yours." She agreed
to cut the tune because she needed one more
track to complete the album. Originally
released on the Here Where There Is Love LP
in early 1967, the track was pulled from the
album and played frequently by DJs all over
the country. Dionne sang Alfie at the
Academy Awards Ceremony in March to a world
wide audience to much critical acclaim and
the public began snap up her LP containing
the tune. In March 1967 Scepter released the
tune as the "B" side of The Beginning of
Loneliness, a little known but beautiful
Bacharach/David ballad. But, DJ's once again
had the final word on the single and flipped
it to make Alfie a huge hit, after Dionne's
stunning performance of Alfie at the Academy
Awards. The Here Where There Is Love LP hit
the top twenty on the Billboard album chart
and received an RIAA gold record award.
In 2008, Dionne Warwick's recording of Alfie
was chosen for the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Previous Warwick recordings honored by the
Hall of Fame: Walk on By-1998, and Don't
Make Me Over-2000.
Tags : Dionne Warwick Alfie Bacharach David Movie Cher Cilla Oldies Academy Awards Oscar |
