| “I Say a Little Prayer” | ||||
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| Single by Dionne Warwick | ||||
| from the album The Windows of the World | ||||
| B-side | “(Theme from) Valley of the Dolls“ | |||
| Released | October 1967 | |||
| Format | 7″ single | |||
| Recorded | 9 April 1966 A & R Studios, NYC; Engineered by Phil Ramone | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:09 | |||
| Label | Scepter | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Burt Bacharach, Hal David | |||
| Producer(s) | Burt Bacharach, Hal David | |||
| Dionne Warwick singles chronology | ||||
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Intended by lyricist Hal David to convey a woman’s concern for her man who’s serving in the Vietnam War, “I Say a Little Prayer” was recorded by Dionne Warwick in a 9 April 1966 session. Although Bacharach’s recordings with Warwick typically took no more than three takes (often only taking one), Bacharach did ten takes on “I Say a Little Prayer” and still disliked the completed track, feeling it rushed.
The track went unreleased until September 1967 when it was introduced on the album The Windows of the World and it was Scepter Records owner Florence Greenberg rather than Bacharach who wanted “I Say a Little Prayer” added to that album. When disc jockeys from the United States began playing the album track in October 1967, significant air play led Scepter Records to release the track as a single backed with newly recorded track “(Theme from) Valley of the Dolls“. The brisk sound of “I Say a Little Prayer” which Bacharach disliked proved to be a million-selling hit for Warwick as “I Say a Little Prayer” reached #4 that December on the Billboard Hot 100 and also #8 on the Billboard R & B Chart and #4 on the Canadian Charts. “(Theme from) Valley of the Dolls”, the B-side would become another hit for Warwick reaching #2 in February 1968 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Record World Chart: Warwick’s “I Say a Little Prayer” single would receive gold certification from the RIAA for sales of a million units in January 1968.
“I Say a Little Prayer” b/w “(Theme from) Valley of the Dolls”, became one of the most successful double-sided hits of the Rock era. Like several Bacharach compositions, both sides contain passages written in unusual time signatures. The verses of “Prayer” 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 + 3/4 + 4/4), played by session drummer Gary Chester.
Version by Aretha Franklin
Version by Diana King
In 1997 Diana King released a reggae-style cover of “I Say a Little Prayer“. It was also featured prominently in the comedy My Best Friend’s Wedding. King’s single reached No. 1 in Hungary, No. 6 in Australia, No. 12 in Norway and No. 17 in the UK.
| My Best Friend’s Wedding | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | P.J. Hogan |
| Produced by | Jerry Zucker Ronald Bass Gil Netter Patricia Whitcher Nikhilesh Mehra |
| Screenplay by | Ronald Bass |
| Starring | |
| Music by | James Newton Howard |
| Cinematography | László Kovács |
| Edited by | Garth Craven Lisa Fruchtman |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | TriStar Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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104 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $38 million |
| Box office | $299.3 million |
My Best Friend’s Wedding is a 1997 American romantic comedy film directed by P.J. Hogan from a screenplay by Ronald Bass. The film stars Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, Cameron Diaz and Rupert Everett.
The film received generally positive reviews from critics and was a global box-office hit. The soundtrack song “I Say a Little Prayer (For You)” was covered by singer Diana King and featured heavily in the film, making it a US Billboard Hot 100 hit. The soundtrack featured a number of Burt Bacharach/Hal David songs.
The film opened at No. 2 at the North American box office, making $21,678,377 USD in its opening weekend, behind Batman & Robin. It stayed in the top 10 weekly U.S. box-office for six consecutive weeks, and eventually earned $127,120,029. The worldwide gross total stands at $299,288,605 (listed as one of the 10 biggest films of 1997 both domestically and worldwide).
The film received generally positive reviews from critics. As of 27 February 2018, the film holds a 73% approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on 59 reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The website’s critical consensus reads, “Thanks to a charming performance from Julia Roberts and a subversive spin on the genre, My Best Friend’s Wedding is a refreshingly entertaining romantic comedy.” On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 50 out of 100 based on 23 critical reviews, indicating “mixed or average reviews.”
Total Film praised the film, giving it four stars out of five and stating “Here she banishes all memories of Mary Reilly and I Love Trouble with a lively, nay sparkling, performance. Smiling that killer smile, shedding those winning tears, delivering great lines with effortless charm, Roberts is back where she rightly belongs – not in grey period costume, but as the sexy queen of laughs.” The review also said that “My Best Friend’s Wedding is a perfect date movie,” and a film that “proves Roberts isn’t as crap as we all thought she was.”
Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called it “the summer-date-film supreme for pretty women and the gay men they love,” despite criticisms of the script. He praises Roberts as “riper, more dexterous with a comic line, slyer with modulation,” concluding that “Roberts puts her heart into this one.” Joanna Berry of Radio Times gave it four stars out of five, observing that this “sparkling comedy” proved to be a career-resurrecting movie for Julia Roberts.
Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times said, “One of the pleasures of Ronald Bass’ screenplay is the way it subverts the usual comic formulas that would fuel a plot like this.” CNN movie reviewer Carol Buckland said Roberts “lights up the screen,” calling the film “fluffy fun.”
Andrew Johnson, writing in Time Out New York, observed, “The best scene occurs when Julianne’s gay editor and confidant George (Everett) turns up in Chicago and poses as her fiancé, seizing control of the film for five delicious minutes. His devilish impersonation of a straight guy is priceless, and things only get better when he leads a sing-along at the rehearsal dinner. At times like this, when the film spins into pop culture overdrive that it stops being a star vehicle and flirts with genuine comic brilliance.”
Awards and recognition
American Film Institute recognition:
- AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Laughs – Nominated
The soundtrack was released on June 17, 1997 with Stage and Screen genre. The soundtrack relied on covers of familiar songs. The soundtrack was praised by AllMusic to work “better than it should, since most of the vocalists… concentrate on the songs…”
- “I Say a Little Prayer (For You)” – Diana King
- “Wishin’ and Hopin’ ” – Ani DiFranco
- “You Don’t Know Me” – Jann Arden
- “Tell Him” – The Exciters
- “I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself” – Nicky Holland
- “I’ll Be Okay” – Amanda Marshall
- “The Way You Look Tonight” – Tony Bennett
- “What the World Needs Now Is Love” – Jackie Deshannon
- “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again” – Mary Chapin Carpenter
- “Always You” – Sophie Zelmani
- “If You Wanna Be Happy” – Jimmy Soul
- “I Say a Little Prayer (For You)” – The Cast of My Best Friend’s Wedding
- “Suite From My Best Friend’s Wedding” – James Newton Howard
- Chart positions
| Chart (1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA) | 1 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) | 11 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) | 19 |
| French Albums (SNEP) | 40 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) | 34 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) | 33 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) | 29 |
| US Billboard 200 | 14 |
- A Chinese version was released in China on August 5, 2016.
- A Mexican remake was presented in Mexico on February 14, 2019.
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