Six months later, David and Baharach were back on top for the third time with a song that had been around since 1963. In June, “This Guy’s in Love With You” captured the top spot on the Hot 100 and remained there for four weeks. Over 50 were submitted, and Alpert selected Bacharach and David’s “This Guy’s in Love With You.” The day after the special aired, the network was flooded with calls from viewers asking where they could buy the song. When CBS asked Alpert to star in a television special in 1968, the musician came up with the idea of singing to his wife. It was Alpert who would give Bacharach and David their first No. More cinematic work followed, including “Alfie,” with a title song recorded by Warwick as well as Cher and Cilla Black and “Casino Royale,” a James Bond send-up that included two hit singles, “The Look of Love” by Dusty Springfield (who had covered “Wishin’ and Hopin’ in 1964) and the title instrumental by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass. Warwick sang “Here I Am” in the film and Manfred Mann was chosen to cut “My Little Red Book,” which was covered by the rock group Love. In 1964, Bacharach scored his first motion picture, the wild comedy “What’s New Pussycat?” and the soundtrack yielded a No. If they had a favorite male singer, it was Gene Pitney, who recorded their “Only Love Can Break a Heart,” “(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance,” “True Love Never Runs Smooth,” “Donna Means Heartbreak” and “Twenty-Four Hours from Tulsa.”ĭavid and Bacharach also provided hits for Bobby Vee (“Be True to Yourself”), Jerry Butler (“Make It Easy on Yourself”) and Jack Jones (“Wives and Lovers”). Warwick wasn’t the only vocalist hitting the charts with David and Bacharach songs.
The team of Bacharach, David and Warwick crafted a unique sound that provided a soundtrack to the 1960s with songs like “Anyone Who Had a Heart,” “Walk on By,” “I Say a Little Prayer” and “Do You Know the Way to San Jose.” It was the beginning of a long and successful collaboration. By the end of 1962, Warwick was signed to Scepter and had her first hit single – “Don’t Make Me Over,” written by Bacharach and David. David teamed with others to compose hits like Sarah Vaughan’s “Broken-Hearted Melody,” Don Gibson’s “Sea of Heartbreak” and Joanie Sommers’ “Johnny Get Angry,” while Bacharach worked with Bob Hilliard on Gene McDaniels’ “Tower of Strength,” Chuck Jackson’s “Any Day Now” and the Drifters’ “Please Stay.” Bacharach and Hilliard also wrote “Mexican Divorce” for the Drifters, and it was during the recording session that Bacharach met backing singer Dionne Warwick. David and Bacharach didn’t write with each other exclusively.