What the World Needs Now Is Love


"What the World Needs Now Is Love" is a 1965 popular song with lyrics by Hal David and music composed by Burt Bacharach. First recorded and made popular by Jackie DeShannon, it was released on April 15, 1965, on the Imperial label after a release on sister label Liberty records the previous month was canceled. It peaked at number seven on the US Hot 100 in July of that year. In Canada, the song reached number one.

Songwriting

Co-songwriter Burt Bacharach revealed in his 2014 autobiography that this song had among the most difficult lyrics Hal David ever wrote, despite being deceptively simple as a pop hit. He explained that they had the main melody and chorus written back in 1962, centering around a waltz tempo, but it took another two years for David to finally come up with the lyric, "Lord, we don't need another mountain." Once David worked out the verses, Bacharach said the song essentially "wrote itself" and they finished it in a day or two.
The song's success caught the two songwriters completely by surprise, since they were very aware of the controversy and disagreements among Americans about the Vietnam War, which was the subtext for David's lyrics. Bacharach has continuously used the song as the intro and finale for most of his live concert appearances well into the 2000s.

Recording history

The song was originally offered to Dionne Warwick, who turned it down at the time, saying she felt it was "too country" for her tastes and "too preachy" though she later recorded it for her album Here Where There Is Love. Bacharach initially did not believe in the song, and was reluctant to play it for DeShannon. The song was also rejected by Gene Pitney, reportedly over a financial dispute. DeShannon's version was recorded on March 23, 1965, at New York's Bell Sound studios. Bacharach arranged, conducted and produced the session.

Tom Clay version

In addition to the DeShannon hit recording and the numerous cover versions, "What the World Needs Now is Love" served as the basis for a distinctive 1971 remix. Disc jockey Tom Clay was working at radio station KGBS in Los Angeles, California, when he created the single "What the World Needs Now is Love/Abraham, Martin and John", a social commentary that became a surprise hit record that summer. The song begins with a man asking a young girl to define such words as bigotry, segregation, and hatred ; she says that prejudice is "when someone's sick". Following that is a soundbite of a drill sergeant leading a platoon into training, along with gunfire sound effects, after which are snippets of the two songs – both as recorded by the Blackberries, a session recording group. Interspersed are excerpts of speeches by John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, the eulogy after Robert's assassination, and Martin Luther King, Jr., and soundbites of news coverage of each assassination. The ending of the song is a reprise of the introduction.
"What the World Needs Now is Love/Abraham, Martin and John" rose to No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1971, and was Clay's only Top 40 hit.

Chart history

Weekly charts

Jackie DeShannon
Chart Peak
position
Canada RPM Top Singles1
U.S. Billboard Hot 1007
U.S. Cash Box Top 1009

Sweet Inspirations
Chart Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100128

Tom Clay
Chart Peak
position
Canada RPM Top Singles11
U.S. Billboard Hot 1008
U.S. Cash Box Top 1007

Dionne Warwick
Chart Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 10087

Year-end charts

In popular culture

"What the World Needs Now is Love" has been used in many film soundtracks, notably Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice and For the Love of Fred, ', My Best Friend's Wedding, ', The Boss Baby, Hot Shots!, Happy Gilmore, and Forrest Gump. In the Danish zodiac porn comedy I Jomfruens tegn, an extended version is used for the hardcore underwater orgy that ends the film.
recorded a version of the song for her 1967 hit album Sher-oo!. Black's version was arranged by Mike Vickers; showcasing her powerful vocal styling that readily lent itself to solid interpretations of Burt Bacharach & Hal David songs. For Bacharach's part, he said "… there weren't too many white singers around, who could convey the emotion that I felt in many of the songs I wrote but that changed with people like Cilla Black".
British legend Petula Clark recorded a version live at the Royal Albert Hall on February 14, 1974 with a musical arrangement by Peter Knight. It was released by Polydor later that year on her Live in London album.
Luther Vandross recorded a version of the song in his 1994 album "Songs", which include remakes of songs recorded in the 1960's and 1970's.
Singer/songwriter Aimee Mann recorded a version of the song on a compilation album called Sweetheart: Love Songs. The CD is part of a series of albums put out by the coffee chain Starbucks.
In the wake of the June 2016 Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, a group of performers under the name "Broadway For Orlando" recorded a charity single to raise money for the LGBT Center of Central Florida. Participants included Sarah Jessica Parker, Carole King, Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Audra McDonald, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Whoopi Goldberg, Nathan Lane and Kate Shindle.
The Supremes recorded a cover of the song, on their 1968 album Reflections.