Today’s classic song of the day is a sophisticated tune by Dionne Warwick called “Reach Out for Me.” The song was written by the legendary team of Burt Bacharach (music) and Hal David (words), and it’s a killer.
Bacharach and David wrote “Reach Out for Me” in 1963 and initially gave it to singer Lou Johnson. Johnson’s version, released in December of 1963, failed to gain traction, however, peaking at just #74 on the Hot 100. (That wasn’t necessarily the fault of the singer, the song, or the songwriters; Johnson’s record label, Bigtop Records, collapsed just as the song was rising up the charts.)
The songwriting team next gave the song to their favored interpreter, Dionne Warwick. Ms. Warwick’s version of “Reach Out for Me,” released as a single in October of 1964 (and with a near-identical arrangement to the original), went to #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on Billboard’s R&B chart. It was also a #12 hit in Canada and hit #23 in the UK.
Lyrically, “Reach Out for Me” is about a person reaching out to a lover (or maybe even a friend) who’s had a tough go of it and offering a helping hand:
When you go through a day
And the things that people say
They make you feel so small
They make you feel that
Your heart will just never stop aching
And when you just can’t accept
The abuse you are takingDarlin’, reach out for me
Don’t you worry
I’ll see you through
You just have to
Reach out for me
I’ll be there and
I’ll comfort you
Oh yes, I will
Comfort you and love you
How I’m gonna love you
As usual, Bacharach’s music perfectly compliments David’s conversational lyrics. The melody doesn’t conform to any standard form, instead following the words and sounding just like someone would if they were talking. That was part of Bacharach’s skill, as well as his complete mastery of chords and harmonies. “Reach Out for Me” is full of extended and suspended and compound chords. It stays pretty much in the key of D, sort of, but the melody doesn’t limit itself to the standard triad of chord tones; there are lots of primary melody notes on 6ths and 7ths and other non-chord notes. Typical Bacharach stuff but worlds beyond what most pop songwriters were and are capable of.
And, to focus on the music, here’s today’s daily bonus track of the day, Burt Bacharach and orchestra (and backup singers) performing an instrumental version of “Reach Out for Me.” Damn, this is good music—and Burt was a hell of an arranger, too.
