Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Snub Week
The Song of the Day is:
Dionne Warwick – “Anyone Who Had A Heart”
From the album Anyone Who Had A Heart (1963)
Anyone who ever loved could look at me
And know that I love you
Anyone who ever dreamed could look at me
And know I dream of you
Knowing I love you so
Hal David – Burt Bacharach
This is basically a two-for-one snub. Pop music icon Dionne Warwick has been snubbed since the creation of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and while I do understand that there is a distinct reason she is not considered to be a “rock” artist, her classic era of R&B and pop music was not terribly far from that of the Supremes or the Vandellas. So saying that Martha Reeves and Diana Ross belong, and that Dionne Warwick doesn’t, is kind of hard to justify. Just to give a hint of her popularity, I’ll present the statistic that she’s had 56 singles on the Billboard top 100. There is some speculation that this fall when Warwick’s late cousin, Whitney Houston, is inducted to the Hall, that Warwick may be on hand, and possibly taking part in the ceremony. With any luck this could stoke interest in giving her this long overdue recognition. Of course, she is not the only person involved in this song that is unfairly snubbed. The songwriting team of Hal David (lyrics) and Burt Bacharach (music) have long been ignored by the Hall. I can’t even fathom the reason that this whole team is snubbed. Yes, their music is a bit on the MOR or bubblegum side of rock, but their songs have been repeatedly covered and reinterpreted. Their partnership began with works performed by Marty Robbins and Perry Como in 1957. Their partnership with Warwick resulted in many hits, including “Do You Know The Way to San Jose”, “Walk On By”, “This Girl’s In Love With You”, “Alfie”, “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again”, “A House Is Not A Home” and “I Say A Little Prayer”. Despite all those classics, I would say that my favorite of theirs is one of their first recordings together, “Anyone Who Had A Heart”. This song had a true intensity to it, a wall of sound worthy of Phil Spector, with strings, polyrhythms, and some of Warwick’s finest and most seductive singing. Other artists who performed David/Bacharach originals include Chuck Jackson, Gene Pitney, Christopher Cross, Jackie DeShannon, Rod Stewart, Tom Jones, Manfred Mann, Dusty Springfield, and B. J. Thomas, among others. Of course many of those hit songs wound being covered, if not reinvented, by the likes of Elvis Presley, Isaac Hayes, Luther Vandross, Aretha Franklin, Mavis Staples, Sergio Mendes, Cher, Love, Naked Eyes, Herb Alpert, Ronnie Milsap, The White Stripes and the Carpenters. I could compile the song titles here, but who has that kind of time? Honestly, it’s pretty inexcusable that Hal David and Burt Bacharach have been passed over by the Hall for so long. Their songbook has lasted for sixty years now, and fans and artists are still greatly invested in their work. Sadly, Hal David is no longer with us, he died at age 91 in 2012. However, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame can do right by inducting Bacharach, who is nearly 92, and Warwick, who will be 80 before the end of the year. It’s not too late for them, and even if it were, it would still be deserved.
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