AT THE MOVIES (March 9, 2023)

The Sicilian Storyteller,

Hi and welcome back to At The Movies! I hope you had a great week and are looking forward to the song for today. I have chosen a fantastic tune –“Alfie” – by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

“Alfie” was written in 1966 to promote the movie of the same name. The film was about a young womanizing man in London who leads a self-centered, uncaring life as a handsome chauffeur. “Alfie” was nominated for the 1967 Academy Award in five top categories, one of which was best music. The movie starred the great British actor, Michael Caine.

While the song was originally recorded by British singer Cilla Black in 1966, I’m focusing on the 1967 version by Dionne Warwick, the most prolific interpreter of Bacharach/David compositions and the composers’ original choice for this song.

Warwick performed “Alfie” at the 1967 Academy Awards. In 2008, Warwick’s recording of “Alfie” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Both Burt Bacharach and Hal David called this their favorite song; that’s quite a statement.

Ok, enough talking. Here now is “Alfie” by Dionne Warwick.

Well, that was rather lovely, wasn’t it?

And now for the question of the day:

Sadly, we lost Burt Bacharach just last month. Bacharach had a prolific catalog of hit songs, some of the most beautiful and difficult tunes to sing. If you had to pick just one of his songs to call your favorite, which one would it be?

Thanks for joining us today; I hope you had fun. Catch you next Tuesday At The Movies. Have a great week! 

See you on the flip side.

I’m The Sicilian Storyteller

NAR © 2023

Published by The Sicilian Storyteller

Married with 2 adult sons and 4 grandchildren, my greatest pastime (other than being with my family) is writing and building my website. I'm a contributing author to the #1 Amazon bestseller "Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women and have been published on MasticadoresUSA, Spillwords and The Writers Club. My parents were born in Sicily and instilled in me a great love of family, friends, food and music. I am a singer and also play the piano and organ. One of the most exhilarating experiences of my life was seeing The Beatles – the greatest group to ever grace this planet. 🎶

30 Comments

  1. “If [I] had to pick just one of his songs to call your favorite, which one would it be?” Tonight? “The Look of Love” as sung by Lainie Kazan. Tomorrow in a different mood? Who knows.

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  3. Cilla Black was an interesting character. Did you knoiw she used to work in the Cavern Club, as the cloakroom attendant while the Beatles performed there?
    Many of the Bacharach songs you know by Dionne Warwick, we (the UK) know them by Cilla Black, because while Warwick was his go-to performer there, Black was his go-to performer here. Warwick and Black have incredibly similar catalogs, thanks to Bacharach.
    Cilla could sing either soft or hard. I loved her soft voice, but not at all her hard, although I suspect that was what made her distinctive.
    As regards my favourite Bacharach tune, he was mostlt before my time but didn’t he write Say a Little Prayer? Man, you gotta go a long way to beat Aretha.

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    1. You’re 100% right about Cilla, Pete. I know all about her from her association with the Beatles.
      It doesn’t matter if Bacharach’s music was mostly before your time; his music will be here for a while and his legacy will be a hard one to beat. He did indeed write Say A Little Prayer, majestically sung by Queen Aretha.
      Great comments, Mr. B! See ya on the flip side.

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    1. Totally understand why you would say that, Keith! It was Dionne here in The States and Cilla in the U.K. I loved her version, too, but in the end DW won out! Thanks for stopping by the movies! Without viewers like you, our theater would be pretty empty! 📽️

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  8. Bacharach had so many hits, it’s hard to choose. I’m going to pick one that no one else will, simply because of the childhood memories associated with it. The Burt Bacharach/Herb Alpert Christmas song: The Bell That Couldn’t Jingle.

    Warwick’s version of “Alfie” is beautiful. It was nice to hear that this morning.

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  14. Years ago, two of my work associates and I had a business meeting in Santa Fe, New Mexico and had to fly into Albuquerque. I rented a car and as we were leaving, I asked the guy at the rental car exit, “Do you know the way to Santa Fe?” Everyone in the car burst out laughing and we all started singing, “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” at the same time. Thus, my favorite Bacharach song!

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  15. Well, Nancy, I’m sorry to say I’m going to be the wet blanket here. Great song by a great singer, of course, but an awful film. And I cannot suffer Cilla Black, her voice, speaking or singing, makes my teeth hurt. For a favourite BB song I suggest Walk on By sung by the inimitable Ms DW.

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    1. C.E., you could never be a wet blanket and no one’s opinion is right or wrong here so feel free to speak your mind. I will agree with you on one thing: my favorite song is also Walk On By and no one can sing it like the divine Ms. W! Thanks for telling it like you see it, C.E. 📽️

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