Who Did It Better? I Say A Little Prayer

Who Did It Better? 

I Say A Little Prayer

This week? It's definitely a battle between two major divas - each bringing their own special style to a song which, had one of the songwriters had his way, would have been shelved and forgotten. Thanks to the knowing ear of a certain record label owner, it instead went on to become a million seller!
 
I Say A Little Prayer is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for Dionne Warwick, who the songwriting duo first hear when she was singing backup for The Drifters. Drawn to her distinctive vocal style, they they realized she had the perfect voice for their songs.

The song was intended by lyricist Hal David to convey a woman's concern for her man who's serving in the Vietnam War. Originally recorded by Warwick, with backing vocals by The Sweet Inspirations (Cissy Houston, Estelle Brown, Myrna Smith and Sylvia Shemwell), during an April 9, 1966 session, the song experienced a difficult birth. 

Bacharach's recordings with Warwick typically took no more than three takes - often getting it on the first. but, Bacharach did ten takes for I Say A Little Prayer because he disliked the the tempo, feeling it too rushed and was ultimately unhappy with the  completed track. Later, he said, "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."

The track went unreleased until September 1967, when it was released as part of Warwick's The Windows of the World album at the insistence of Scepter Records owner Florence Greenberg. Disc jockeys in the US began playing the album track immediately, garnering such significant airplay that  Scepter Records rush released the track as a single, backed with Warwick's (Theme from) Valley of the Dolls.

It proved to be a million-selling hit, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, #8 on the R&B chart in the US, and #3 in Canada. Two months later, (Theme from) Valley of the Dolls would also be a big hit, snagging the #2 slot on Billboard's Hot 100 - making it one of the most successful double-sided hits of the Rock era.

 

The song was also covered by Martha and the Vandellas on their Gordy Records 1968 album, Ridin' High. Featuring a  series of firsts for the group - it was their first album without the help of  producers William "Mickey" Stevenson and Holland–Dozier–Holland, the first album to include lead singer Martha Reeves's sister Lois Reeves, who was replacing Betty Kelly after Kelly was fired from the group in 1967, and the first billed as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas - the album contained the group's final two entries into the Top 40: Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone and Honey Chile. It was also the last album to feature original member Rosalind Ashford. 

Like their labelmates The Supremes and the Four Tops, the group stalled without the team of Holland-Dozier-Holland, although they continued to chart well on the R&B charts and in the UK until disbanding in1972.

 

I Say A Little Prayer also returned to the Top Ten in the US during the fall of 1968 , thanks to Aretha Franklin's take on the song which appeared on her album Aretha Now. The thread connecting Warwick's and Franklin's versions of the song is the backup singers, the Sweet Inspirations. After performing on the original, the singers found themselves working with Aretha Franklin. Messing around between takes, they started singing it with Franklin, who came up with an original arrangement on the spot. When her producer, Jerry Wexler, heard it, he insisted on recording the song. 

Released as the B-side to Franklin's The House That Jack Built, radio jocks immediately flipped the single, sending I Say A Little Prayer to #10 on Billboard's Hot 100 and #3 on the R&B chart in the US. It also enjoyed worldwide success, peaking at #3 in the Netherlands, #4 in Sweden and the UK, #7 in Belgium, #8 in Australia, #11 in South Africa, #12 in Ireland and France, and #29 in West Germany.

Burt Bacharach is on record stating that he likes Aretha's version the best, describing it as "much better than the cut I did with Dionne."

And that's the whole story.

Now? On to the competition!

The Song: I Say A Little Prayer

The Competitors: Warwick vs. Martha & The Vandellas vs. Franklin

I Say A Little Prayer - Dionne Warwick

I Say A Little Prayer - Martha & The Vandellas

I Say A Little Prayer - Aretha Franklin

Dionne Warwick

Love this song. It's about putting on make-up!

I don't know what Bacharach is going on about, but that's because I've never heard the song any other way. And you really must watch the rehearsal video below... as Warwick power smokes her way through the song. 

I really never paid any attention to the backing vocals, but that is because they are such an integral part of the arrangement, pitch perfect and perfectly placed in the mix. That Herb Albert-style horn is so sweetly appointed. And notice how it and Warwick share the same prominence in the mix with the same amount of reverb. This way, they both pop their notes almost identically. 

Not sure what that little fill is played on... a guitar? It sounds like plucked piano strings. 

So, on the chorus, one can get a sense of the runaway train that bothered Bacharach. It does seem rushed, pushed. But that's also part of the appeal of the piece. That syncopation coupled with all those lyrics crammed in there. It produces a heady feeling - that same feeling one has when tripping out on love. 

But soon after, everything stills like leaves falling on the floor of a forest. I adore the hush and, quite frankly, can't believe that AM radio picked this one up because of all the drama employed in terms of the dynamics of the overall piece. Seems a little sophisticated. 

And that piano figure cascading at the end of the second chorus? Genius. 

Aren't those horns a bit 'squonky'? Such a risk taker, that Bacharach. And to play it opposite the silky smooth tones of The Sweet Sensations? Another genius move. It's only after this section that one begins to draw parallels between those 'squonky' horns and Warwick's voice, which, at times, almost honks. 

But she still has enough control over her instrument to be able to pull those notes into a near purr on that crescendo in to that seeming ritardando. 

And that lovely sign off... "for me there is no one..." 

I believe Bacharach may be king of the play out. Typically, I can do without such - most artists fail to fill them out - but, here: both Bacharach, as arranger, and Warwick do an outstanding job, making the playout as vitally necessary a part of the song as whatever came before it. 

Does it all sound a bit thin? Yes, but that has more to do with the recording technology of the time and the sound of Scepter Records output than anything the artists are bringing to the table. I think that thinness is part of the charm of Warwick's early recordings.

Martha & The Vandellas

This drags a little, but only because we just whipped through the tornado of love that is Warwick's version. The change in tempo lends this a more adult contemporary feel. And, of course I hate that damn flute. 

My, Martha has a full voice. Again, very adult contemporary with a very proper and traditional vocal technique being utilized; Heat Wave, this is not. 

I don't care for the orchestration at all, especially when it gets shrill or falls in step with the singers on the chorus. Those strings are overworked, drawing too much attention to themselves. It's not a great choice.

I rather like it when Martha goes all brassy on certain notes and phrases. She has a wide, solid voice. It's not pop, by any means, but it's lovely in the same way Shirley Bassey's vocals are lovely. 

See, the trouble with those strings on the chorus is that they are so punched up the call attention to how shrill that chorus is in comparison to the smoothness of the verses. I don't think whoever arranged this was thinking clearly. 

Oh, that C-section/instrumental is so cheesy. Part of me likes it for that reason. But the fairytale quality of it does make Martha sound a bit flat when she joins in - I'd say 'chimes' in - but had she done that, it would have worked. Instead, she merely sings it like a flat iron on curly hair. 

And by the third chorus, the vocals, including those of The Vandellas, sound a bit wonky - very pitchy. 

I get why she wouldn't want to ape Warwick's phrasing and dynamics on the coda, but jeeze... if you listen to the two of them side by side, there's no comparison. Warwick's sounds much more masterful. 

And icky flute with pitchy Martha... I'm done.

Aretha Franklin

This is a lot more chill and... a bit more fun. 

I'm enjoying Franklin's sly readings and the interplay between her and The Sweet Sensations, who are sharing the spotlight here as they trade off parts of phrases with Franklin. 

I kind of giggle when Franklin sort of just throws out 'forever', dismissing the end of the word in her trademark style. I don't know why, but it makes me think of The Muppets or an SNL sketch. 

Boy, she really lets those ladies take the lead on that chorus, as if she could not be bothered. 

Let's see where this is going. I do like her murmured 'me'. 

Franklin is having a lot of fun playing within the syncopation of verse two, bobbing and weaving. Her phrasing is as spot on as it is idiosyncratic and creative. Wexler's relatively flat, muted production only helps Franklin shine more. It's a gamble that pays off. Those drums are as mushed as grits in a skillet. 

And as Franklin stretches out, skipping the C-section altogether, she takes us home with a bit of call and response before repeating the coda a second time.

There's a bounce to this that is as undeniable as it is subtle. 

Personally? I do wish she'd taken on that full chorus just once... say the fourth time? But this is such a classic and so revered, who am I to question it?

The funny thing is... she skips the C-section completely, yet her version is 30 seconds longer than the other two.

The Verdict

This is a matter of personal taste... and, to an extent, the version we grew up with.

Martha & The Vandellas is a big no for me; it's much too adult contemporary and pitchy. Plus, I rather loathe the arrangement. It's a hack job. 

Me? I have always been a fan of Bachrach's brand of pop smarts; it's sophisticated, urban, cosmopolitan, and cocktail-hour hip. 

So, even though Franklin's version has a lot going for it, I am going to penalize her for not taking on the full chorus. That's not to say that her vocals are not awe-inspiring, but, as I said... I do have my preference. 

And Franklin did not pitch her tent in the same camp as Warwick. 

For me? It's Warwick all the way. 

I would happily sip a Boodles gin martini and listen to both volumes of her Greatest Hits on Scepter any old time. There's a sparkle to that era unlike any other. 

 

--- ---

And that's enough of me.

Okay, your turn... you know what to do: leave your choice and thought in the comments section. I love to hear a differing opinion. 

Until next time...

Thanks for reading... and listening.

I Say A Little Prayer - Dionne Warwick

(Rehearsal with Hal David, Burt Bacharach, and The Sweet Sensations)

I Say A Little Prayer - Aretha Franklin

I Say A Little Prayer - Bomb The Bass

I Say A Little Prayer  - Diana King