Aretha Franklin I Say A Little Prayer
The song was written by Bacharach and David for Dionne Warwick in 1967. It was originally a slow ballad, recorded in New York City on June 25, 1967. Bacharach’s assistant Carol Bayer Sager encouraged him to play the song on the piano (rather than primarily relying on strings) and it became a standard piano led mid-tempo melody
I Say a Little Prayer was recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama, the same studio where Aretha Franklin later recorded her cover of Otis Redding’s Respect. Unlike most of Franklin’s recordings of the 1960s which were produced by Jerry Wexler, this one was produced by Tom Dowd, who had been hired by Atlantic Records as an A&R representative to oversee the recording sessions that resulted in Aretha Arrives (1967). Franklin wanted to record it as a fast uptempo song with multiple key changes and only a few verses repeating instead of the song’s original bridge between each verse. According to Dowd, Franklin recorded more than 20 takes, but she did not like any of them.
Takeaway: Dowd suggested that if she would play it as if it were gospel (as she would sing in church), she could get into it more and would “get herself into that emotion”.
The song was written by Bacharach and David for Dionne Warwick in 1967.
The song was written by Bacharach and David for Dionne Warwick in 1967. It was recorded in New York City, where Bacharach and David had been living since the 1950s. The original version of the song has a slower tempo than Aretha Franklin’s cover version.
It was originally a slow ballad, recorded in New York City on June 25, 1967.
It was originally a slow ballad, recorded in New York City on June 25, 1967. The song is an ode to the power of prayer and its ability to help one get through difficult times, such as loneliness or heartbreak. It incorporates elements of gospel into its sound with the use of a choir and organs.
Bacharach’s assistant Carol Bayer Sager encouraged him to play the song on the piano (rather than primarily relying on strings) and it became a standard piano led mid-tempo melody
Carol Bayer Sager, who helped pen the song and acted as Bacharach’s assistant at the time, encouraged him to play the song on the piano (rather than primarily relying on strings) and it became a standard piano led mid-tempo melody.
I Say a Little Prayer was recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama, the same studio where Aretha Franklin later recorded her cover of Otis Redding’s Respect.
The song was recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama. Aretha Franklin later recorded her cover of Otis Redding’s Respect at this studio as well. The studio was owned by Rick Hall and the first in the world to use 16-track recording technology.
Unlike most of Franklin’s recordings of the 1960s which were produced by Jerry Wexler, this one was produced by Tom Dowd, who had been hired by Atlantic Records as an A&R representative to oversee the recording sessions that resulted in Aretha Arrives (1967).
Unlike most of Franklin’s recordings of the 1960s which were produced by Jerry Wexler, this one was produced by Tom Dowd, who had been hired by Atlantic Records as an A&R representative to oversee the recording sessions that resulted in Aretha Arrives (1967). He had previously worked with Franklin on her first two albums and it’s easy to hear why he was chosen for this session.
Dowd’s production is pure magic! The sound quality is crystal clear with no distortion whatsoever. He also chose a great rhythm section to back up Aretha – drummer Bernard Purdie and bassist Cornell Dupree are among their best performances ever!
Bacharach and David also took a more unconventional approach to writing the lyrics. Rather than focusing on love and romance, they wrote about an extramarital affair that was taking place within their own friend circle. The song’s protagonists are a married man named Jack Winters who has fallen in love with another woman named Kathy; however, he is unable to end his marriage because of financial reasonsThe song was first released as a single in July 1967 and became an instant hit, reaching number one on both the UK Singles Chart and the US “Billboard” Hot 100. It has been covered by many artists, including Andy Williams, Frank Sinatra and Johnny Mathis..
Franklin wanted to record it as a fast uptempo song with multiple key changes and only a few verses repeating instead of the song’s original bridge between each verse.
The song was originally written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David to be recorded by Dionne Warwick. But when Dionne heard Franklin’s version, she told them that they should re-record it with her instead. According to Hal David in an interview with NPR, the lyric “I say a little prayer for you” was added at the last minute by Bacharach after their record company did not like the first recording of the song in its original key.
In 1967, the song was a hit for Dionne Warwick. It reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart. The song also peaked at number one in Australia and Canada.
According to Dowd, Franklin recorded more than 20 takes, but she did not like any of them.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Franklin said that she recorded more than 20 takes of “I Say a Little Prayer,” but she did not like any of them. She was unhappy with the sound of her voice and thought the tempo was too slow. She also disliked how the song was arranged, produced and mixed—in other words, everything about it except for the lyrics themselves.
Dowd suggested that if she would play it as if it were gospel (as she would sing in church), she could get into it more and would “get herself into that emotion”.
Aretha Franklin is known for her soulful, gospel-inspired voice. Dowd suggested that if she would play it as if it were gospel (as she would sing in church), she could get into it more and would “get herself into that emotion”.
When Franklin first heard this song, it made her feel sad because of its theme of loneliness and heartache. She felt so strongly about this feeling that she began to cry when she sang the song for the first time in front of an audience.
The album opens with the title track, a hit single that reached #22 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. The song is about Franklin’s pride in being African-American, which was especially significant at the time since she had just come off of her first European tour that included stops in England and FranceAccording to Franklin, she got the idea for this song from a conversation she had with her sister Erma. They were talking about the death of their father, who had recently passed away from cancer. Erma said that she felt like there was something missing inside of her and that it was as if a part of her heart had died along with their dad..
She did, and it worked.