Thursday 29 July 2010

Forgotten Music - Loneliness Remembers


My latest entry for Scott Parker’s series of Forgotten Music is an evocative song which is one of the more obscure entries in Dionne Warwick’s extensive catalogue. It was subsequently recorded by Stephanie Mills on her debut alburm, but for some reason it never made any real impression on anyone other than the keenest fans of Bacharach-David songs.

Dionne Warwick has always been my favourite female singer and I’ve seen her in concert several times. Her voice was, in the 60s, quite incredible for its range, and although age (and smoking) have not improved it, she still sounded pretty good when I heard her perform in Manchester a couple of years ago. Burt Bacharach recognised her special gifts when she was a young background singer, and she became the definitive interpreter of his work.

Loneliness Remembers is no Walk On By, or Anyone Who Had a Heart. Yet I think it’s a good song, and it did feature in a very interesting segment of a television special about 40 years ago. Happily, the clip has now cropped up on Youtube and it’s still interesting as a portrayal of a composer introducing his muse to his latest creation. Enjoy!

6 comments:

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

I started listening to Warwick when I was a child--my parents loved her music. I don't remember "Loneliness Remembers"--I'll have to look it up.

Deb said...

I'm also a big Dionne fan--love her interpretations of Bacharach-David songs (although she didn't do herself any favors here in the States by shilling for a "psychic hotline" in the 1990s!).

I remember an interview with Bacharach where he was talking about one of his songs that had a lot of key changes and he said, "Other than Dionne, I really can't think of any other singer who could handle this one."

George said...

Dionne Warwick, Bacharach and David were a hit machine back in the Sixties and early Seventies. I can listen to that music all day long!

Martin Edwards said...

Elizabeth, I hope you like it!

Martin Edwards said...

Deb, I agree. I think the song with the key changes was Promises, Promises, a quite dazzling piece of work.

Martin Edwards said...

George, me too!