Hit the dance floor with “What This World Needs Now is Love Sweet Love” #BoTB Showdown

Hop over to see Sandee for more Awww Mondays fun-spiration!

Good morning, Kittens and Dawgs! How was your weekend?  I spent a lovely Friday in the mountains with DH. There was just a slight hint of autumn colors in the foliage but the temperature was definitely fall feeling. I loved it! 

It’s  ‘your choice‘ song picks week on the dance floor and I’m putting a double spin on things bringing to you a 2-for-1 special in today’s mewsic.  Right now, I invite you to join fellow co-hosts (everyone is not up to full capacity yet): XmasDolly (Party Coordinator), Stacy, Colette, Alana, and this month’s co-host, Michele from Angels Bark by linking your mewsic post below.

Burt Bacharach penned more than 100 songs from 1957-1998, (see Wikipedia list) using this source for inspiration I came up with an 11 song playlist of ‘LOVE’ song tiles to share with you.   Hit play to enjoy while you do other things.

[tweetthis]I’m boogieing to “your choice” song picks with the #MondaysMusicMovesMe gang.  Come hit the dance floor with me! @xmasdolly [/tweetthis]

McGuffy’s Reader (blog hiatus) is the brain-child behind “SPARKS” inspiration.  Have a sparkletastic day! 😉

While you’re here, you may as well stick around a little longer.  I can really use your help in my second round of Battle of the Bands to pick the winner of another Bacharach classic, Dionne Warwick released in 1968, What the World Needs Now is Love Sweet Love.  Listen to decide which of these three contenders match your ear best!

First I give you, The Isley Brothers & Santana.

Next taking center stage is,  Luther Vandross.

Wrapping things up is a new-to-me artist discovery, The Chambers Brothers. .

Who gets your vote The Isley Brothers & Santana, Luther Vandross, or The Chambers Brothers?

How do I play BoTB? It’s really super simple!

  1. You VOTE. Leave your FAVORITE pick in comments. Everyone is welcome to vote. There is no wrong vote, except if you DON’T vote.
  2. Be interactive. Tell me why you like your favorite pick. (optional)
  3. Make me happy. Tell a friend, share the below tweet. (optional)

You’ll find more awesome battles underway at some of these blog listed below (not everyone is doing the bi-monthly showdowns now) and if you’d like to be included in the fun, then contact Stephen requesting to be added to the list.

Angels Bark (Michele),  The Doglady’s Den (Debbie), Cherdo on the Flipside, Jingle Jangle Jungle (Mary), Mike’s Ramblings, STMcC Presents BoTB (Stephen, BoTB Manager), The Sound of One Hand Typing (John), & Tossing It Out (Lee).

[tweetthis]I just voted in the ‘What the World Needs Now is Love Sweet Love’ #BoTB showdown! #coverbands[/tweetthis]

DID YOU VOTE?  NO! Okay but if you leave WITHOUT voting, I won’t be held responsible for what happens to your computer.  Just saying is all. 😂



I’m sharing also in Mary’s Rocktober Music Mewsic Fest.  Join me next week on the dance floor to learn how I voted and to see if your favorite artist won. Please bring your coffee cup with ya in the morning for Cathy Chats!

X💋X 💋,Cathy
To join Mary, click button

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30 comments

  1. Hi Cathy,
    It’s a major love fest over here! I love it! 🙂
    What an amazing playlist of love classics. I am so enjoying it.
    I kinda knew going in who I was going to vote for in your battle…or at least I assumed I would go that way. And I was right. After listening to all three, my vote goes to the Chamber Brothers. The others were just a little too mellow and I like that Chamber Brothers sound.

    I have to wonder if the co-hostess role for 4M is cursed…because I had an accident on Thursday. I fell on my deck and went down on my GOOD shoulder (remember I just had shoulder reconstruction surgery on the other one in April and still not fully functional in that one as I’m still going to PT — only 60 degrees is where I am. A long way to go. And now this!
    I went to see the surgeon who did my shoulder and xrays showed no broken bones but he said I’m symptomatic of a rotator cuff tear or tendon tear because I can’t raise the arm above my head. I can’t even begin to tell you how pissed off I am. Like does it ever end??
    Anyway, I’m late making the rounds as, on top of dealing with that, I had a major project that I just finished yesterday. So I’m here at last… Hope I’m not too late for your battle. Honestly I thought I had been to all the battles earlier in the week and somehow I missed yours?? Don’t know why…

    I love your playlist. I’m up this early because the dogs woke me up and I came out into the living room to find a pee accident on the tile so while your playlist is going, I’m cleaning it up and mopping. Just what I need to be doing with my shoulders, right? Ah, just another day in the life…

    talk soon,
    Michele at Angels Bark

  2. Burt Bacharach….sigh. What I liked about this one is you using some covers, like the Bobby Gentry song. Showed us how timeless his song writing is. So, as to the BoTB…I will be unpopular here and wish….if the first minute could be Luther Vandross (because his opening was mellow and his voice melted me but it just went on and on and on – maybe 2 or 3 minutes too long for my harder rock attention span) then the middle part the Chambers Brothers because their harmony was so superior and finally, the last couple of minutes Santana because it was Santana and his guitar. But I know, “Mashup of all three” is not a choice. OK, since you are going to make me vote. I’ll choose the Chambers Brothers. And now, excuse me while I listen to “Time Has Come Today”.

  3. The Church Guys aka The Chamber Brothers get my vote hands down. So easily I’m not going to put the other groups down.
    “If you haven’t got anything nice to say about anybody, come sit next to me.”
    – Alice Roosevelt Longworth
    …. …. Don’t push it…. Well, I’m biased against Santana from the jump because he’s so consistently ostentatious. Toned it down this time but not enough. Luther Vandross? Remember back in the day on airplanes you pay an extra dollar for headphones, plug it into the armrest and there’s a dial with 8 stations to choose from and it all sounds like an airport. Pristine, clinical, antiseptic.
    The Chamber Brothers, get my vote, I already said that. Because they sound the most authentic. Why? Because they have the most authenticity.

  4. This is a great battle due to the three different stylings. As I played each one, Dinne Warwick sang in the background ’cause that is THE version I’ve always loved and I may be musically mentally damaged by listening to the radio too much as a child. Shout out to DJ Stevie Baby Michaels…you share blame…

    My vote has to go to Luther….he’s LUTHER and he almost knocked Dionne outta my head.

    Thanks, Cathy!

  5. I know this song well and it was never a fav of mine. I have to give it to the Isley Bros with Santana because of Santana plus I found Luther so drippy. In fact it reminded me of the movie “Kentucky Fried Movie” about Black people having no soul and then you hear this type of music…hahaaaa. The last one was actually a bit disjointed and irritating for me.

  7. Oh, hands down, LUTHER VANDROSS.

    I would call that Isley Brothers / Carlos Santana version “Exhibit A” in how to butcher a good song. And I’d call The Chambers Brothers rendition “Exhibit B”. As far as I’m concerned, this was not a 3-Way but a One-Way, with Luther the only serious competitor.

    CATHY, I’ve had this one on my list of “Songs To BOTB” for ages. And I’ll probably still get around to it someday, since the artists I’ve had in mind are none of those you used this time.

    Looks like Luther has this Battle in the bag, but I’m kinda surprised by how many voters felt there was something to even think about. Oh, well, that’s why we run the Battles, right, Cathy? One can’t ever be too sure of ANYTHING when it comes to BOTB. Lots of different pairs of ears hearing things very differently.

    ~ D-FensDogG
    STMcC Presents ‘Battle Of The Bands’

  11. Hi Cathy; Sounds like you had a lovely weekend. 😀 I’m back and ready to rock (sort-of; still a bit jet-lagged). Of the three covers here, The Chambers Brothers held my attention the longest, which surprised me. I would have thought Santana, right off. Anyway, The Chambers Brothers had some good tunes back in the day, like the song below. Please give my vote to them.

    1. Debbie,

      It’s great having you back again, my friend. I can’t wait to read all about your trip. Thanks for introducing me to the TCB’s song that you like and for voting!

  12. Well, I listened to the covers of “What The World Needs Now Is Love.” You would think that I’d see “Isley Brothers” and “Santana” and say “That one! Yes, that one!” but to be honest, I was underwhelmed by it. Luther Vandross I hear a lot on “smooth jazz” radio, and I like his voice, but he has this tendency to stretch things out; I thought he was approaching the end of his cover, and it still had two minutes to go. Plus, the drum machine was getting to me. The beginning of The Chambers Brothers’ cover started out a little slow, but it reached a good tempo, and I loved their harmony. That’s how the song needs to go, so give my vote to The Chambers Brothers.

    Oddly enough, Dionne Warwick’s cover of the song was not the original version of it. She’s usually the go-to girl for Burt and Hal, but she didn’t like the song: she thought it was too “country” and too “preachy.” They offered it to Gene Pitney, and they couldn’t come to an agreement, so the honor of being the first to record the song went to Jackie DeShannon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUaxVQPohlU) in 1965. Cilla Black, friend of The Beatles and the British go-to girl for Bacharach and David, did her cover in ’65 as well (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kxzmu-4SQe8). Jackie and Cilla did a duet on it, in fact (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqHoEbQMG2M). Hearing those two do the song must have put a bee in Dionne’s bonnet…

    I had forgotten completely that there was a 1971 cover by LA DJ Tom Clay that was a medley of this song and “Abraham, Martin and John” and featured clips from radio and TV broadcasts (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y36L2EIYlMQ). Amazing what you learn on Wikipedia, ain’t it?

    Now as for the regularly scheduled 4M: I loved it!

    1. John,

      Thanks for sharing some of the backstory for today’s battle song. When I pulled this showdown together I recall reading how the song wound up in DeShannon’s court. I knew Dionne didn’t record it first but I wasn’t clear on that score. I just remembered her version the best for some reason but I do recall the original. However, I’m sure when I first heard it, though. It’s hard for any artist to go wrong with his/her cover because it’s such a beautiful song. Thanks for all the links and song history. It was furtastic to listen to Jackie and Cilla together. They did a great job.

  13. Monday morning decisions – OMW! While I enjoy Luther’s smooth sound, I really enjoyed The Chambers Brothers and I’m giving my vote to them. Happy Monday!

    1. Eugenia,

      This showdown has three contenders but only two are taking the numbers. I didn’t see this in the voting forecast. lol Thanks for joining me. 😉

  15. I’m glad you had a great weekend enjoying autumn. Fun.

    The kitties are a huge Awww. So precious. Thanks for joining in.

    My pick is Luther Vandross. That silky, sexy voice.

    Have a fabulous day and a purrfect Awww Monday. Love you. ♥

  17. Hi, Cathy!

    Happy 4M/BOTB day, dear friend!

    I appreciate your picture of the cuddling kitties and I’m happy to learn that you and DH went to the mountains over the weekend and enjoyed refreshingly cooler air. Cooler air has not yet filtered into our area, I’m sorry to report.

    There’s certainly no shortage of songs with the word “love” in the title, especially in the Burt Bacharach – Hal David catalog. Gene Pitney is one of my favorite artists and I enjoyed his hit “Only Love” and Pet Clark’s version of another Pitney hit and another Bacharach – David song “True Love Never Runs Smooth.” I never heard Pet sing it before. It was also great to hear Timi Yuro again. Known as “the little girl with the big voice,” Timi was considered one of the first blue-eyed soul singers. I owned her 1961 hit single “Hurt!” Timi died young at age 63. As sung by Herb Alpert, “This Guy’s In Love With You” is one of my favorites, but I also enjoyed the rendition by composer Bacharach released in 1969 on Burt’s album Make It Easy On Yourself and in 1970 on an EP of the same name. It was a treat to hear Bobbie Gentry sing “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again.” I also enjoyed the two songs by Dionne Warwick, an artist who arguably interpreted B & D compositions better than anyone.

    Turning my attention to the band battle, I always say it starts with a great song, and “What The World Needs Now” is a great song. Jackie DeShannon’s hit version will always be definitive. I actually never heard Dionne Warwick’s version before. It’s terrific, and I would have voted for Dionne had she been a contestant in the battle. Of the versions performed by the three competing artists, I found the jazz arrangement by Luther Vandross most listenable. It sounds like it could have been used as the opening theme of Moonlighting or some other romantic TV sitcom or movie. The arrangement is more up beat than the others and the vocal treatment avoids getting bogged down in emotion, something that is a turn-off for me. The recordings by the Isleys and the Chamber Brothers tend to wallow. Therefore I vote for Luther Vandross!

    Thank you for the Monday morning mewsic & memories, dear friend Cathy!

    1. Tom,

      I’m glad you were able to make it by this morning. Yes, DH & I had a lovely time in the mountains. The temperatures were remarkable. It’s beginning to cool off and for that I’m grateful. We’ll no doubt get some warmer days before November ushers in, so I’ll enjoy the last of those days before chilly weather takes a deep hold. Dionne does do a furtastic job on Burt’s songs. I was tempted to use her in this round but then I went the way I did. Thanks for casting your vote. Luther gets another! Have a pAwesome week, my friend!

  18. I have always liked this song. It conjurs up memories of a time my ex-husband and I were at his brother’s house and he had Burt Bacharach playing in the background. It turned into a mini sing-along. Of course, the alcohol was flowing.

    I think for this battle, I’m going to give my vote to Luther Vandross.

    Thanks for the dance, and thanks for playing along with my #RocktoberMusicFest.

    ~Mary

    1. Mary,

      I don’t need anything to encourage me to break out in a sing-along. Shoot, I’ll even start singing out of the blue just because I’m reminded of a song. lol Thanks for the boogie, the vote, and the visit! I’m heading your way now!

  19. there are so many great versions of “What the World Needs Now” to choose and these three that you’ve chosen are all winners in their own right.

    The version that really won me over was the unique take by The Chambers Brothers. I’ve never owned any of their music, but I’ve heard a number of songs by them over the years and always liked what I’ve heard. This was my first hearing of the Bacharach hit by them and I’ll give them my vote.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

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