Message to Michael
"Message to Michael" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Dionne Warwick | ||||
from the album Dionne Warwick in Paris | ||||
B-side | "Here Where There Is Love" | |||
Released | March 1966 | |||
Recorded | 1966 | |||
Studio | Paris, France | |||
Genre | Soul, pop, adult contemporary | |||
Length | 3:09 | |||
Label | Scepter, Disques Vogue (France), Pye International (UK) | |||
Songwriter(s) | Burt Bacharach, Hal David | |||
Producer(s) | Blue Jac Productions | |||
Dionne Warwick singles chronology | ||||
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"Message to Michael" is a song written by
In all versions of the song, the lyrics are addressed to a bluebird by the singer. The singer is in Kentucky, and his/her sweetheart is vainly pursuing musical stardom in New Orleans. The singer asks the bluebird to take a message to Martha/Michael, asking for the sweetheart to return.
Early versions
The song was first recorded as "Message to Martha" by
Dionne Warwick version
Background
Warwick's association with the song began when she recommended it as a concert number to
Scepter Records representative Steve Tyrell recalls "getting in an elevator with Burt and Hal and following them down into Times Square, begging them to let me put ["Message to Michael"] out. The next day they called Scepter Records owner Florence Greenberg and said 'Look, Steve is so into this tune – tell him he can put it on the B-side but he shouldn't promote it'". When "Message to Michael" was issued on a single backed with "Here Where There Is Love" Tyrell states "I got right on a plane [for] New Orleans and I went to WQNO|WTIX radio" and played "Message to Michael" for disc jockey Buzz Bennett who then "walked right into the control room and put it on the radio. Because it opened, 'Fly Away to New Orleans...' And in one week it was a smash!" In fact even prior to the single's release Warwick had performed "Message to Michael" on the NBC pop music TV program Hullabaloo in an episode broadcast 9 March 1966.
Impact
In May 1966 "Message to Michael" became Warwick's first Top 20 hit since "
As Burt Bacharach and Hal David were not involved in the recording of "Message to Michael" – the team being in fact opposed to Dionne Warwick recording their song – the producers' credit on the track reads "a Blue Jac Production", Blue Jac Productions being the name Bacharach/David and Warwick had incorporated under in 1962 (officially Blue Jac Productions, rather than Warwick personally, were signed to Scepter Records; the same production credit would be employed for Warwick's 1970 single "Make It Easy on Yourself", which was a recording from a live performance.)
In his 1968 book What the World Needs Now and Other Love Lyrics, Hal David admitted his misgivings over Warwick recording "Message to Michael" proved ill-founded, indeed stating "Dionne's vocal was so brilliant that it was obvious we had subconsciously written the song for her even while we thought we were writing it for a man."[2]
Chart history
Weekly charts
- Lou Johnson ("Kentucky Bluebird")
Chart (1964) | Peak position |
---|---|
36 | |
US Billboard Hot 100[4] | 104 |
- Adam Faith ("Message to Martha")
Chart (1964–1965) | Peak position |
---|---|
12 | |
Australia (ARIA) | 15 |
- Dionne Warwick ("Message to Michael")
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Year-end charts
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Other versions
American recording artist Barbara McNair recorded the song as "Message to Michael" for her 1966 Motown debut album Here I Am.
American acoustic jazz guitarist, Earl Klugh features the song on his 1980 album Dream Come True.
Deacon Blue recorded a version of the song in 1990 for their Four Bacharach and David Songs EP. Singer Ricky Ross elected to sing it as "Message to Michael", rather than "Message to Martha".
In 2000, contemporary jazz saxophonist Michael Lington covered "Message to Michael" on his album Vivid.[11]
During the 1988 US presidential election, George H. W. Bush cited the song's lyrics in his acceptance speech at the Republican Party National Convention saying: "Someone better take 'a message to Michael'", referring to the Democratic Party's presidential candidate Michael Dukakis.[12]
References
- Footnotes
- ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ ISBN 0-8256-7280-5.
- ^ "Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. 1964-02-12. Retrieved 2019-08-11.
- ^ Joel Whitburn's Bubbling Under the Billboard Hot 100 1959-2004
- ^ "Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. 1964-02-12. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1966-05-30. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
- ISBN 0-89820-089-X
- ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, May 28, 1966
- ^ Musicoutfitters.com
- ^ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 24, 1966". Archived from the original on February 17, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
- Allmusic.com.
- ISBN 0-674-94304-X.
- Sources
- Nathan, David. Dionne Warwick-Love Songs (liner notes). Rhino Records CD. 2002.
- David, Hal. What the World Needs Now and Other Love Lyrics. Trident Press. 1968. ISBN 0-671-27060-5
- Platts, Robin. Burt Bacharach & Hal David: What the World Needs Now. ISBN 1-896522-77-7