I Say a Little Prayer

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"I Say a Little Prayer"
Single by Dionne Warwick
from the album The Windows of the World
A-side	I Say a Little Prayer
B-side	(Theme from) Valley of the Dolls
Released	October 1967
Format	7" single
Recorded	1966 A & R Studios, NYC
Genre	Soul, pop
Length	3:09
Label	Scepter
Writer(s)	Burt Bacharach, Hal David
Producer	Burt Bacharach, Hal David
Certification	Certified RIAA Million Seller Gold Single Award
Dionne Warwick singles chronology
"The Windows of the World" (1967) "I Say a Little Prayer" (1967) "Do You Know the Way to San Jose" (1968)

"I Say a Little Prayer" is a song written by songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David for Dionne Warwick in 1967. It is often named in error as "I Say a Little Prayer for You".

Song information

The song was Warwick's second single from her Scepter Records album The Windows Of The World, following the LP's title track. The tune reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1967 and was a certified million seller by the RIAA. The single later appeared on the LP Dionne Warwick's Golden Hits, Part Two and is considered one of Warwick's signature songs. The flip or "B-side" of the single (Theme from) Valley of the Dolls was also a million seller and rode the #2 position for 4 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in February 1968. "I Say a Little Prayer" and its B-side, "(Theme from) Valley of the Dolls", became one of the most successful double sided hits of the Rock era.

Like several Bacharach compositions, "I Say a Little Prayer" contains passages written in unusual time signatures. The verses are constructed of 2 successive measures of 4/4, a measure of 10/4 (using 4/4 + 2/4 + 4/4), and 2 final measures of 4/4. The chorus is in 11/4 (using 4/4 + 4/4 + 3/4).

Other recordings

Many singers have performed or recorded this song, including Aretha Franklin, who recorded it in 1968 as part of her album Aretha Now. Franklin's version was the B-side of her 1968 single, "The House that Jack Built" (#2 R&B/#6 Pop). DJs flipped the single and began playing her version, which was released nine months after Warwick's version. Franklin's version peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100, #3 R&B and #4 in the UK, selling over a million copies.

• The song has also appeared in many films, being featured prominently in the comedy My Best Friend's Wedding in 1997, which featured both a cover by Diana King and a version sung by the film's cast, and also parodied in the later film Date Movie.
• The song has been recorded as a live duet between Natalie Cole and Whitney Houston.
• In the jazz world, Rahsaan Roland Kirk covered the song on his 1969 release, Volunteered Slavery.
• The song was featured on the 1971 album Anne Murray / Glen Campbell, in a medley, pairing it with Campbell's own By the Time I Get to Phoenix.
• In the UK, the song was covered by UK dance act Bomb the Bass.
• In 2002, the song was covered by Karine Costa (#16 in France, #82 in Switzerland) whose version is currently used in France for the TV advert for the Crédit mutuel.
• In Mexico, the song was covered by girl-group Pandora. The version is called "Rezo Una Oracion Por Ti", literally translated.
• A cover of the song appears on the 1968 soundalike album Top of the Pops, Volume 2
• In 1978, Spanish singer Paloma San Basilio performed this song in her live album "Paloma San Basilio en directo".
• In the 2009 episode of Glee, "Showmance", Dianna Agron performs the song in-character as Quinn Fabray.

See also

• I Sign a Little Player or Two, a parody of both the song and ex-Chelsea manager José Mourinho

References