(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me
Encyclopedia
" Always Something There to Remind Me" is a song
written in the 1960s by songwriting team Burt Bacharach
and Hal David
.
by Dionne Warwick
in 1963, "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" first charted for Lou Johnson
whose version reached #49 on the Billboard Hot 100
in the summer of 1964.
British impresario Eve Taylor heard Johnson's version while on a US visit scouting for material for her recent discovery Sandie Shaw
who resultantly covered the song for the UK market in September 1964 that same month premiering the song with a performance on the Ready Steady Go!
pop music TV program. Shaw's "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" was rush released to reach #1 on the UK charts in three weeks, spending three weeks at #1 in November 1964 and that same month debuting on the Billboard Hot 100; however despite reaching the Top Ten in some markets including Detroit and Miami Shaw's version of "...Always Something There to Remind Me" failed to best the national showing of the Lou Johnson original as the Hot 100 peak of Shaw's version was #52.
A #1 hit in Canada and South Africa, Shaw's "...Always Something There to Remind Me" was also a hit in Australia (#16), Ireland (#7) and the Netherlands (#10), the track's success in the latter territory not precluding hit status for the Dutch rendering by Edwin Rutten entitled "Ik moet altijd weer opnieuw aan je denken" (#12). Shaw herself recorded "...Always Something There to Remind Me" with French lyrics (by Ralph Bernet) as "Toujours Un Coin Qui Me Rappelle" to reach #19 in France; a cover by Eddy Mitchell
was more successful reaching #2 in France in April 1965 also hitting #3 in on Belgium's French language chart. Shaw also made a bid for a German hit rendering "...Always Something There to Remind Me" as "Einmal glücklich sein wie die ander'n"; this was not a success.
Dionne Warwick
recorded "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" on 13 April 1967 in the same session which produced her Top 40 hit "The Windows of the World
" and it was on the July 1967 album release The Windows of the World
that the first-named track was debuted. Warwick's "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" had a belated single release in August 1968 as the intended B-side
of the Top 40 hit "Who Is Gonna Love Me"; the first-named track received sufficient airplay to reach #65 on the Hot 100.
"(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" - as "Always Something There to Remind Me" - reached the US Top 40 for the first time in 1970 via a version by R. B. Greaves
which reached #27 in February 1970; this version, recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio
in 1969 with production by Ahmet Ertegun
and Jackson Howe, was also a #3 Easy Listening hit.
reinvention of the song by Naked Eyes
which reached the Top Ten on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1983.
Vocalist Pete Byrne and keyboardist Rob Fisher first cut "Always Something There to Remind Me" as one of a number of demos recorded in Bristol upon forming the duo later known as Naked Eyes in early 1982. Byrne would recall: "I had always loved [the] song ["Always Something There to Remind Me"], so we called a friend who had the record, he read the lyric over the phone and we put it together from memory."
On the strength of the demos cut in Bristol Byrne and Fisher were signed to EMI Records in May 1982 and the track "Always Something There to Remind Me" was cut 1 September 1982 in a session at Abbey Road Studios
produced by Tony Mansfield
. Byrne would recall: "The record was recorded at Abbey Road, and we were invited to a party downstairs, with Paul McCartney
and many other stars...When we returned upstairs to the studio around 1 a.m., I decided to have a go at the vocal, It was the first time I have ever recorded a vocal in one take".
Released in the US in January 1983, Naked Eyes' "Always Something There to Remind Me" gradually gained attention entering the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1983 to peak at #8 that June. The cachet of entering the US Top Ten allowed the single, previously overlooked in its performer's United Kingdom homeland, to make a July 1983 UK chart debut but only to rise no higher than #59. "Always Something There to Remind Me" did afford Naked Eyes' Top 10 success in other countries besides the United States: Australia (#7), Canada (#9) and New Zealand (#2).
, Lou Christie
, José Feliciano
, Wayne Fontana
, The Four Seasons
, The Hippos
, Jay and the Americans
, Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles, Brenda Lee
, Juice Newton
, Peggy Lee
, Lill Lindfors
(as "Alltid nåt som får mig att minnas"), Martha and the Vandellas
, Barbara Mason
, La Lupe
, Johnny Mathis
, Don Williams
, Butch Walker
(formerly of Marvelous 3
), Blue Swede
, Braid
, Viola Wills
, Brian Whitman on the Serendipity
soundtrack, Espiritu
, Dusty Springfield
, The Troggs
, All Saints
in 1998, and Karina (as "Siempre hay algo que me recuerda a ti").
Michael McDonald
made his recording debut singing lead vocal on a 1968 single version by the Del-Rays.
Sandie Shaw re-recorded the song in 1985 for the soundtrack
of the movie
, Letter to Brezhnev
.
The Carpenters
also performed this song as part of a Bacharach/David medley.
The Xena: Warrior Princess
musical episode "Lyre, Lyre, Hearts on Fire
" also featured a thrash metal cover of the song, sung by Jay Laga'aia
.
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
written in the 1960s by songwriting team Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
and Hal David
Hal David
Harold Lane "Hal" David is an American lyricist. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York. David is best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach.-Career:...
.
First charting versions
First recorded as a demoDemo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
by Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
in 1963, "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" first charted for Lou Johnson
Lou Johnson (singer)
Lou Johnson is an American soul singer and pianist who was active as a recording artist in the 1960s and early 1970s.-Life and career:...
whose version reached #49 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in the summer of 1964.
British impresario Eve Taylor heard Johnson's version while on a US visit scouting for material for her recent discovery Sandie Shaw
Sandie Shaw
Sandie Shaw is an English pop singer, who was one of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s. In 1967 she was the first UK act to win the Eurovision Song Contest...
who resultantly covered the song for the UK market in September 1964 that same month premiering the song with a performance on the Ready Steady Go!
Ready Steady Go!
Ready Steady Go! or simply RSG! was one of the UK's first rock/pop music TV programmes. It was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion TV. Allan was assisted by record producer/talent manager Vicki Wickham, who became the producer. It was broadcast from August 1963 until December 1966...
pop music TV program. Shaw's "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" was rush released to reach #1 on the UK charts in three weeks, spending three weeks at #1 in November 1964 and that same month debuting on the Billboard Hot 100; however despite reaching the Top Ten in some markets including Detroit and Miami Shaw's version of "...Always Something There to Remind Me" failed to best the national showing of the Lou Johnson original as the Hot 100 peak of Shaw's version was #52.
A #1 hit in Canada and South Africa, Shaw's "...Always Something There to Remind Me" was also a hit in Australia (#16), Ireland (#7) and the Netherlands (#10), the track's success in the latter territory not precluding hit status for the Dutch rendering by Edwin Rutten entitled "Ik moet altijd weer opnieuw aan je denken" (#12). Shaw herself recorded "...Always Something There to Remind Me" with French lyrics (by Ralph Bernet) as "Toujours Un Coin Qui Me Rappelle" to reach #19 in France; a cover by Eddy Mitchell
Eddy Mitchell
Eddy Mitchell is a French singer and actor. He began his career in the late 1950s, with the group Les Chaussettes Noires , taking his name from the American expatriate tough-guy actor Eddie Constantine...
was more successful reaching #2 in France in April 1965 also hitting #3 in on Belgium's French language chart. Shaw also made a bid for a German hit rendering "...Always Something There to Remind Me" as "Einmal glücklich sein wie die ander'n"; this was not a success.
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
recorded "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" on 13 April 1967 in the same session which produced her Top 40 hit "The Windows of the World
The Windows of the World (song)
"The Windows of the World" is the title of a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David which was a hit single for Dionne Warwick in 1967....
" and it was on the July 1967 album release The Windows of the World
The Windows of the World
The Windows Of The World is the title of the eighth studio album by Dionne Warwick released August 1967 when the title cut was in the Top 40....
that the first-named track was debuted. Warwick's "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" had a belated single release in August 1968 as the intended B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
of the Top 40 hit "Who Is Gonna Love Me"; the first-named track received sufficient airplay to reach #65 on the Hot 100.
"(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" - as "Always Something There to Remind Me" - reached the US Top 40 for the first time in 1970 via a version by R. B. Greaves
R. B. Greaves
Ronald Bertram Aloysius "R. B." Greaves III is a singer who had chart success in 1969 with the pop single "Take a Letter Maria". A #2 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, this single sold one million copies and earned a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America...
which reached #27 in February 1970; this version, recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio
Muscle Shoals Sound Studio
The Muscle Shoals Sound Studio was formed in Muscle Shoals, Alabama,in 1969 when musicians Barry Beckett , Roger Hawkins , Jimmy Johnson and David Hood left FAME Studios to create their own studio...
in 1969 with production by Ahmet Ertegun
Ahmet Ertegun
Ahmet Ertegün was a Turkish American musician and businessman, best known as the founder and president of Atlantic Records. He also wrote classic blues and pop songs and served as Chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and museum...
and Jackson Howe, was also a #3 Easy Listening hit.
Naked Eyes version
Twenty years after its composition, "Always Something There to Remind Me" (so titled) reached the US Top Twenty for the first time via a synthpopSynthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
reinvention of the song by Naked Eyes
Naked Eyes
Naked Eyes is a British New Wave band that rose to prominence in the early 1980s. Originally a duo, the band is known largely for its singles: a cover of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David standard " Always Something There to Remind Me" , as well as the band's subsequent hits "Promises, Promises", "When...
which reached the Top Ten on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1983.
Vocalist Pete Byrne and keyboardist Rob Fisher first cut "Always Something There to Remind Me" as one of a number of demos recorded in Bristol upon forming the duo later known as Naked Eyes in early 1982. Byrne would recall: "I had always loved [the] song ["Always Something There to Remind Me"], so we called a friend who had the record, he read the lyric over the phone and we put it together from memory."
On the strength of the demos cut in Bristol Byrne and Fisher were signed to EMI Records in May 1982 and the track "Always Something There to Remind Me" was cut 1 September 1982 in a session at Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
produced by Tony Mansfield
Tony Mansfield
Tony Mansfield, born May 28, 1943, Salford, England, is an English songwriter, musician and record producer. Mansfield was the main songwriter/producer for New Musik, a synthpop band that performed from 1979 to 1982.-References:...
. Byrne would recall: "The record was recorded at Abbey Road, and we were invited to a party downstairs, with Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
and many other stars...When we returned upstairs to the studio around 1 a.m., I decided to have a go at the vocal, It was the first time I have ever recorded a vocal in one take".
Released in the US in January 1983, Naked Eyes' "Always Something There to Remind Me" gradually gained attention entering the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1983 to peak at #8 that June. The cachet of entering the US Top Ten allowed the single, previously overlooked in its performer's United Kingdom homeland, to make a July 1983 UK chart debut but only to rise no higher than #59. "Always Something There to Remind Me" did afford Naked Eyes' Top 10 success in other countries besides the United States: Australia (#7), Canada (#9) and New Zealand (#2).
Other versions
Other artists who have covered this song include: Ted NeeleyTed Neeley
Ted Neeley is a rock and roll drummer, singer, actor, composer, and record producer. He is probably best known for performing the title role in the film Jesus Christ Superstar in 1973....
, Lou Christie
Lou Christie
Luigi Alfredo Giovanni Sacco , known professionally as Lou Christie, is an American singer-songwriter best known for three separate strings of pop hits in the 1960s , including his 1966 smash, "Lightnin' Strikes" and his incredible 3 octave vocal range.-Biography:Sacco was born in Glenwillard,...
, José Feliciano
José Feliciano
José Feliciano is a Puerto Rican singer, virtuoso guitarist and composer known for many international hits including the 1970 holiday single "Feliz Navidad".-Childhood:...
, Wayne Fontana
Wayne Fontana
Wayne Fontana is an English pop singer. In 1962, he formed his backing group, the Mindbenders and got a recording contract.-Biography:...
, The Four Seasons
The Four Seasons (group)
The Four Seasons are an American rock and pop band who became internationally successful in the mid-1960s. The Vocal Group Hall of Fame has stated that the group was the most popular rock band before The Beatles...
, The Hippos
The Hippos
The Hippos were an American rock band formed in 1995 in Los Angeles, California, and disbanded in 2000. During the band's lifetime they released 3 full-length albums...
, Jay and the Americans
Jay and the Americans
Jay and the Americans was a pop music group popular in the 1960s. Their initial lineup consisted of John "Jay" Traynor, Howard Kane , Kenny Vance and Sandy Deanne , though their greatest success on the charts came after Traynor had been replaced as lead singer by Jay Black.-Early years:They were...
, Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles, Brenda Lee
Brenda Lee
Brenda Mae Tarpley , known as Brenda Lee, is an American performer who sang rockabilly, pop and country music, and had 37 US chart hits during the 1960s, a number surpassed only by Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Ray Charles and Connie Francis...
, Juice Newton
Juice Newton
Judith Kay "Juice" Newton is an American Pop music and Country singer, songwriter and guitarist...
, Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
, Lill Lindfors
Lill Lindfors
Lillemor "Lill" Lindfors is a Finland-Swedish/Swedish singer. Born in Helsinki, Finland she has been performing in Scandinavia with minor and major success since the 1960s. She debuted as a revue actress in Uddevalla in 1960 and the following year as a recording artist...
(as "Alltid nåt som får mig att minnas"), Martha and the Vandellas
Martha and the Vandellas
Martha and the Vandellas were among the most successful groups of the Motown roster during the period 1963–1967...
, Barbara Mason
Barbara Mason
Barbara Mason is an American R&B/soul singer best known for her 1965 hit song, "Yes, I'm Ready".-Career:A soul singer, Mason initially focused on songwriting when she entered the music industry in her teens...
, La Lupe
La Lupe
La Lupe , was a Cuban-American singer of several musical genres: boleros, guarachas and Latin soul in particular...
, Johnny Mathis
Johnny Mathis
John Royce "Johnny" Mathis is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standards, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum status, and 73 making the Billboard charts...
, Don Williams
Don Williams
Don Williams , is an American country singer, songwriter and a 2010 inductee to the Country Music Hall of Fame. He grew up in Portland, Texas, and graduated in 1958 from Gregory-Portland High School. After seven years with the folk-pop group Pozo-Seco Singers, he began his solo career in 1971,...
, Butch Walker
Butch Walker
Butch Walker is an American recording artist, songwriter, and record producer. He was the lead guitarist for the metal band SouthGang from the late 80s to early 90s as well as the lead vocalist and guitarist for rock band Marvelous 3 from 1997 until 2001.-Career:Walker grew up in Cartersville,...
(formerly of Marvelous 3
Marvelous 3
Marvelous 3 was an Atlanta-based rock band.-History:Marvelous 3 was formed by lead singer/guitarist Butch Walker, bass guitarist Jayce Fincher, and drummer Doug Mitchell Marvelous 3 was an Atlanta-based rock band.-History:Marvelous 3 was formed by lead singer/guitarist Butch Walker, bass guitarist...
), Blue Swede
Blue Swede
Blue Swede was a Swedish rock band from the early to mid 1970s, that succeeded with a few singles which were covers of other artists' material.-Career:...
, Braid
Braid (band)
Braid is an influential emo/post-hardcore band from Illinois that formed in 1993. After forming, the band went through several line-up changes but eventually settled on: Bob Nanna on guitar/vocals, Todd Bell on bass, Chris Broach on guitar/vocals and, Roy Ewing on drums. Roy was replaced in 1997 by...
, Viola Wills
Viola Wills
Viola Wills was an American pop singer, best known for the 1979 UK Singles Chart #8 and U.S. Hot Dance Club Play #52 hit, "Gonna Get Along Without You Now". Other hits included further covers of the songs, "Both Sides Now" , and "If You Could Read My Mind" Viola Wills (December 30,...
, Brian Whitman on the Serendipity
Serendipity (film)
Serendipity is a 2001 romantic comedy, starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale. It was written by Marc Klein and directed by Peter Chelsom...
soundtrack, Espiritu
Vanessa Quinones
Vanessa Contenay-Quinones is a London-based singer-songwriter....
, Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
, The Troggs
The Troggs
The Troggs are an English rock band from the 1960s that had a number of hits in UK and the US. Their most famous songs include, "Wild Thing", "With a Girl Like You", and "Love Is All Around"...
, All Saints
All Saints (band)
All Saints were a British/Canadian girl group. Founded in 1993 as All Saints 1.9.7.5, the group consisted of founding members Melanie Blatt and Shaznay Lewis, and sisters Nicole Appleton and Natalie Appleton...
in 1998, and Karina (as "Siempre hay algo que me recuerda a ti").
Michael McDonald
Michael McDonald (singer)
Michael McDonald is a five-time Grammy Award winning American singer and songwriter. McDonald is known for a soulful baritone singing style and a multi-octave range. He began his career singing back-up vocals with Steely Dan...
made his recording debut singing lead vocal on a 1968 single version by the Del-Rays.
Sandie Shaw re-recorded the song in 1985 for the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
of the movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, Letter to Brezhnev
Letter to Brezhnev
Letter to Brezhnev is a 1985 British comedy film about working class life in contemporary Liverpool. It was written by Frank Clarke and directed by Chris Bernard. It starred Alfred Molina, Peter Firth, Tracy Lea, Alexandra Pigg, Margi Clarke amongst others...
.
The Carpenters
The Carpenters
Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of sister Karen and brother Richard Carpenter. The Carpenters were the #1 selling American music act of the 1970s. Though often referred to by the public as "The Carpenters", the duo's official name on authorized recordings and...
also performed this song as part of a Bacharach/David medley.
The Xena: Warrior Princess
Xena: Warrior Princess
Xena: Warrior Princess is an American–New Zealand supernatural fantasy adventure series that aired in syndication from September 4, 1995 until June 18, 2001....
musical episode "Lyre, Lyre, Hearts on Fire
Lyre, Lyre, Hearts on Fire
"Lyre, Lyre, Hearts on Fire" is the tenth episode of the fifth season of the syndicated television series Xena: Warrior Princess. It was written by Adam Armus and Nora Kay Foster, directed by Mark Beesley, and first aired on January 17, 1999....
" also featured a thrash metal cover of the song, sung by Jay Laga'aia
Jay Laga'aia
Jay Laga'aia is an actor and singer. He is best known internationally for his role as Captain Typho in the films Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.-Career:...
.
Further reading
- Serene Dominic. Burt Bacharach, song by song: the ultimate Burt Bacharach reference for fans. Schirmer Trade (New York NY) 2003. ISBN 0-8256-7280-5