"Wives and Lovers" is a 1963 song by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. It has been recorded by numerous male and female vocalists, instrumentalists and ensembles.

Jack Jones recording

Most notably the song was recorded by Jack Jones in 1963, for Kapp Records. He was accompanied by an orchestra directed by Pete King. The B-side was "Toys in the Attic." This recording earned the 1964 Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, Male,^[1] In the US, it peaked at number fourteen on the Hot 100 and number nine on the Easy Listening chart.^[2]

In 1979, he released a disco version of the song on the LP Nobody Does It Better (MGM).^[3]

Background

"Wives and Lovers" is a song of advice to married women, to stay attractive and attentive to their husbands ("wives should always be lovers, too") to avoid their husbands straying with "girls at the office". In the first line, the everywoman wife is addressed "Hey little girl", before a "warning" to "fix your make up" and "run to his [i.e., her husband's] arms the moment he comes home to you." The song originated when Bacharach and David were asked to write a song with the title "Wives and Lovers", on the theme of marital infidelity, as a promotional tie-in for the 1963 film Wives and Lovers. The song did not appear in the film but was intended simply to promote the film, making it what was known at the time as an "exploitation song". Similarly, the song "(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance", which Bacharach and David wrote in 1962, promoted, but was not featured in, the film of the same name.^[4]

Other versions

• Burt Bacharach recorded "Wives and Lovers" with an orchestra and chorus and released it as the B-side of "Trains and Boats and Planes" in 1965 on London Records. It was included on the album Hit Maker! Burt Bacharach Plays the Burt Bacharach Hits (London and Kapp) of the same year,^[5] and later compilations.
• Bacharach and David produced their version with Dionne Warwick in 1963^Ref? for Scepter (licensed to British Pye and French Vogue, both releasing the title on 7-inch EPs, each with four different songs). That version of the song was featured in the 1965 album The Sensitive Sound of Dionne Warwick (Scepter).^[6]
• Julie London recorded her version as part of the Julie London (album) in 1964. The album was produced by Liberty Records.^[7] The same recording was re-released as part of her 1965 album Our Fair Lady, also produced by Liberty Records.^[8]
• Vic Damone released his version as single in 1963. The B-side was "Oooh! Look-A There Ain't She Pretty?" (Capitol).
• Dick van Dyke with the Ray Charles Singers and Enoch Light and His Orchestra – Songs I Like (Command, 1963)^[9]
• Andy Williams – The Wonderful World of Andy Williams (Columbia, 1963). Williams also performed the song live with Burt Bacharach, his orchestra and chorus as part of a medley of Burt's songs on The Andy Williams Show on April 28, 1968.
• Frank Sinatra with Count Basie and His Orchestra – It Might as Well Be Swing (Reprise, 1964)^[10] While the song was in 3/4 time, the performance was in 4/4 time; according to Bacharach, the record's producer Quincy Jones said "the Basie band can’t play in 3/4."^[11]
• Nancy Wilson – Today, Tomorrow, Forever,^[12] a double single issued by Capitol in 1964 with arrangements by Kenny Dennis. This version is featured on the 2004 label compilation Blue Note Plays Burt Bacharach.
• Jazz trumpeter Dave Douglas arranged the song for a Burt Bacharach tribute compilation on John Zorn's Tzadik label series Great Jewish Music in 1997 with pianist Uri Caine and reed player Scott Robinson.^[13]

Song in popular culture

• The song is featured playing on a radio in the very first "For Better or For Worse" comic strip by Lynn Johnston.^[14]
• The Jack Jones recording plays in the film Goodfellas as Karen shows off her new house to Belle Kessler.
• Dionne Warwick's version of the song was played during the opening credits of The First Wives Club.
• The Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps performed "Wives and Lovers" along with other music by Burt Bacharach in their 2011 production entitled The Beat My Heart Skipped. Blue Devils received a score of 97.800 and 2nd place.^[15]

References