I Say A Little Prayer (1967)

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Download MP3s from Amazon.com:

• Dionne Warwick - I Say A Little Prayer (MP3)
• Aretha Franklin - I Say A Little Prayer (MP3)

By: Dionne Warwick (born Marie Dionne Warrick December 12, 1940 in East Orange, New Jersey).

Dionne's sister is Cissy Houston, who formed the Sweet Inspirations (which sang backup for Elvis Presley during the late 1960s) and is also the mother of Whitney Houston.

Warwick is best known for working with Hal David and Burt Bacharach as songwriters and producers. In 1962, Dionne's name was misspelled on the credits of her first single ("Don't Make Me Over") as "Warwick" instead of "Warrick". She soon began using the new spelling.

Hal David did not want "I Say a Little Prayer" to be released. He felt the tempo was too fast and that it would flop. Bacharach later said he thought he had blown it by producing the Warwick version at too fast of a tempo.

As with several Bacharach compositions, "I Say A Little Prayer" features a very unusual time signature. Its chorus repeats a pattern of two measures in 4/4 time followed by one in 3/4, making it 11/4 time.

Chart position: #4 (US), #8 (UK).

The Top Ten Songs: December 9, 1967 (US Billboard Hot 100).

1. "Daydream Believer" (Monkees)
2. "The Rain, the Park and Other Things" (Cowsills)
3. "Incense and Peppermints" (Strawberry Alarm Clock) 
4. "I Say a Little Prayer" (Dionne Warwick)
5. "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (Gladys Knight and the Pips)
6. "To Sir, with Love" (Lulu)
7. "I Second That Emotion" (Smokey Robinson and the Miracles)
8. "Hello Goodbye" (Beatles)
9. "In and Out of Love" (Diana Ross and the Supremes)
10. "An Open Letter to My Teenage Son" (Victor Lundberg)

Written by: Burt Bacharach (born May 12, 1928 in Kansas City, Missouri) and Hal David (born May 25, 1921 in New York City, New York.)

Bacharach and David have written a combined 70 Top 40 US hits and 52 Top 40 UK hits, including "The Story of My Life", "Magic Moments", "Baby It's You", "Any Day Now", "(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance", "Only Love Can Break a Heart", "Don't Make Me Over", "Make it Easy On Yourself", "Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa", "Blue on Blue", "Anyone Who Had a Heart", "(They Long to Be) Close to You", "Wives and Lovers", "Wishin' and Hoping", "Walk on By", "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself", "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me", "A House Is Not a Home", "What the World Needs Now Is Love", "What's New Pussycat?", "Alfie", "My Little Red Book", "The Look of Love", "One Less Bell to Answer", "This Guy's In Love With You", "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?", "Promises, Promises", "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head", "I'll Never Fall in Love Again", "Arthur's Theme (The Best That You Can Do)", and "That's What Friends Are For".

Also by: Aretha Franklin, whose version reached #10 (US) in 1968.

Burt Bacharach later said emphatically that Aretha Franklin's arrangement was much better than his.

Download MP3s from Amazon.com:

• Dionne Warwick - I Say A Little Prayer (MP3)
• Aretha Franklin - I Say A Little Prayer (MP3)

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