Today’s classic song of the day is “This Guy’s in Love with You” by Herb Alpert, the Tijuana Brass guy. Released as a single in May of 1968, this track went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Cash Box Top 100, and Billboard Adult Contemporary charts. It was also a top-ten smash in Australia, Canada, Ireland, South Africa, and the UK. Billboard ranked it the #7 song for the entire year of 1968.
“This Guy’s in Love with You” was written by the legendary team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. The song was initially titled “That Guy’s in Love” and was about a fellow bemoaning the fact that his lover might be unfaithful with “that guy.” That version was recorded by British singer Danny Williams earlier in 1968, as a track on his self-titled debut album.
The version of the song we know came about when Herb Alpert asked Burt and Hal for a song he could sing on his upcoming television special, The Beat of the Brass. Hal David recalls what happened next:
“[Alpert] wanted to do that song on a TV special he was doing… It was a song he was going to sing to his wife. And [the original lyric] was not quite appropriate for what he wanted to say. He asked us whether we could change [the lyric] so it would fit what he needed. And I did.”
Herb Alpert remembers it differently (and probably incorrectly, given the Danny Williams recording):
“There’s a question I always ask great writers that I asked Burt that day over the phone. ‘Is there a song you have tucked away in your drawer or someplace or a song that didn’t get the right recording that you find yourself whistling in the shower?’ And he sent me ‘This Girl’s in Love with You.’ I called Hal David in New York and asked him if he wouldn’t mind changing the gender.”
However the revised song came about, it was included on Herb’s special and proved so popular he released it as a single the following month. It’s been covered by a phalanx of singers, probably because (1) it’s a terrific song and (2) it’s relatively easy to sing, especially for those (like Mr. Alpert) with limited vocal abilities. (The melody stretches just an octave and a fifth; in the original key of Eb, it goes from middle C to the first G above the staff—but tends to really hang about the G above middle C.)
Female artists, such as Dionne Warwick and Dusty Springfield, more often than not change the title and the lyrics to “This Girl’s in Love with You.” Ms. Warwick’s version, as an example, was released as a single in 1969 and hit #7 on the Billboard Hot 100.
And here’s your daily bonus video of the day, Herb Alpert’s music video of “This Guy’s in Love with You” as presented on his The Beat of the Brass TV special. The special aired on April 22, 1968, on the CBS television network.
