Dusty Springfield - The Look of Love (B. Bacharach, H. David) ~ Erwin Lazaro 019

I'm still trying to get my wife to sing a duet with me, but she is so camera shy.  She won't budge.  I could hide a camera somewhere, but I would reap the ill-effects from that poor choice.  Noohoohoohoo, thank you.  It's funny, because, she'll readily sing for our guests during our parties.  She has a jolly good time!  But, turn the camera ON, ohhh boy!!!  I tried that once.  Yes, once. All I caught on video was her yelling at me on the wireless mic, chasing me around the house while I was back-peddling, and kicking me in the shins!  Thank you very much!  If I ever get her to agree to sing a song with me for YouTube, it'll be nothing short of a miracle.

She is terribly cute though.  I'd have to say that she probably sings more than I do.  I'll be working in my home office and she'll be doing what she needs to do around our home.  It's like having the radio on all day.  She'll start singing a song ... well, parts of a song, since she typically remembers the chorus only.  Then, she'll make up her own lyrics that kinda sound like what the words should be.  At times, I'll cringe and get distracted as I correct her on the lyrics.  Of course, I'll start singing and then it becomes a duet of sorts. Cracks me up!  But, every once in awhile, she'll sing a song that lights that bulb over my head!  DING!  That could work!  I'll announce loudly, "Wow!  That's going on YouTube!"  And, that's exactly how I chose this week's song!  I love it!

From Wikipedia:
"The Look of Love" is a popular song composed by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and sung by Dusty Springfield, which appeared in the 1967 spoof James Bond film Casino Royale.  The music was written by Burt Bacharach, and indeed, it was originally intended to be an instrumental.  But later, Hal David added the lyrics, and the song was published in 1967.  According to Bacharach, the melody was inspired by watching Ursula Andress in an early cut of the film.

The song was originally recorded by Dusty Springfield for the Casino Royale soundtrack, receiving an Oscar nomination and reaching the US Top 40. Springfield re-recorded the song the same year in London, featuring a throaty saxophone solo, and released it as the B-side of "Give Me Time".

Claudine Longet recorded the song on her 1967 album of the same title. Lainie Kazan also recorded "The Look of Love" (arranged by Pat Williams) on her 1967 album Love is Lainie. Nina Simone also recorded "The Look of Love" in 1967 on her album Silk& Soul.  Sergio Mendes' hit rendition on the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 album Look Around, reached #4 on the pop charts after their performance in the Academy Awards telecast in March 1968. The lead vocal on this single was handled by Janis Hansen, not Lani Hall, a rarity in the early Brasil '66 canon. In 1969, soul group The Delfonics also covered the song on their album La La Means I Love You.  During 1970, Isaac Hayes covered the song for his 1970 album ...To Be Continued.  While Hayes used the same lyrics, his cover includes a unique instrumental which has been heavily sampled on R&B and hip-hop records.  In the 1997 Bond-era spoof Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles, sings the tune.  Other versions have been performed by such artists as The Zombies (during live performances), Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross & The Supremes (Ross would cover the song again decades later, solo), Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Reuben Wilson, The Meters, Ahmad Jamal, Barbara Acklin, Willie Bobo, Shirley Bassey, Jack Jones, Odell Brown, David T. Walker, Gene Harris, Tony Joe White, Grover Washington, Jr., Jean Carne, Dominique Dalcan, Slum Village, Faye Wong, Kelly Harland, and Diana Krall (with the London Symphony Orchestra) for her album of the same name.  More than 40 years since the initial recording by Dusty Springfield, the song also appears on Shelby Lynne's tenth studio album, Just a Little Lovin', which pays tribute to Springfield.

Evidence of the song's international appeal includes recordings by Philippine bossa nova singer Sitti for her second album My Bossa Nova, and Australian singer and songwriter Tina Arena's for her 2007 album Songs of Love & Loss, Trijntje Oosterhuis for her 2006 album "The Look of Love".  The song also appears in a reggae version on the 1997 album Moods for Tokyo Ska: We Don't Know What Ska Is, by Tokyo Ska Paradise
Orchestra.

Chris Botti recorded his own version for his 2003 album A Thousand Kisses Deep, with Chantal Kreviazuk providing the guest vocals.  The song also appears on his 2006 live DVD and CD Live: With Orchestra and Special Guests, featuring guests Paula Cole and Burt Bacharach.  Composer/multi-instrumentalist, Robert Shames, arranged a noteworthy version for string quartet in 2007 to much critical acclaim.  Fergie covered the song for Sergio Mendes' latest album, Encanto.  Julian Lloyd Webber recorded a version for cello in 2006.