"(Theme from) Valley of the Dolls" is a 1967 song by

André André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variation ...

and

Dory Previn Dorothy "Dory" Veronica Previn ( Langan; October 22, 1925 – February 14, 2012) was an American lyricist, singer-songwriter and poet. During the late 1950s and 1960s, Previn was a lyricist on songs intended for motion pictures and, with her t ...

, composed for the film version of the

Jacqueline Susann Jacqueline Susann (August 20, 1918 – September 21, 1974) was an American novelist and actress. Her iconic novel, '' Valley of the Dolls'' (1966), is one of the best-selling books in publishing history. With her two subsequent works, '' The Lov ...

novel '' Valley of the Dolls'', and recorded by

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...

. Actress

Barbara Parkins Barbara Parkins (born May 22, 1942) is a Canadian-American former actress, singer, dancer and photographer. Early life Parkins was born in Vancouver, British Columbia.Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

, who had been fired from the film. Warwick performed the song, and when the film became a success in the early weeks of 1968, her single of the film theme became a million-seller, peaking at #2 for four weeks on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (kept out of the first position by " Love Is Blue" by

Paul Mauriat Paul Julien André Mauriat ( or ; 4 March 1925 – 3 November 2006) was a French orchestra leader, conductor of Le Grand Orchestre de Paul Mauriat, who specialized in the easy listening genre. He is best known in the United States for his mill ...

and " (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" by

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

) and #1 on 4 March 1968 on WLS. It also reached #2 on the

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

charts in early 1968, Whitburn, Joel (2004). ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits'', 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 669. #2 on the ''Cash Box'' Top 100 and #1 on the ''Record World'' chart. The song was the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of another million selling tune composed for Warwick by

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...

and

Hal David Harold Lane David (May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012) was an American lyricist. He grew up in New York City. He was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach and his association with Dionne Warwick. Early life David ...

, "

I Say a Little Prayer "I Say a Little Prayer" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for Dionne Warwick, originally peaking at number four on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 pop singles chart in December 1967. On the R&B Singles chart it peaked at numbe ...

," which had hit #4 on Hot 100 on 9 December 1967. The single would become one of the biggest double-sided hits of the rock era. Warwick re-recorded a Pat Williams-arranged and Burt Bacharach-produced version of the theme at A&R Studios in New York because contractual restrictions from her home label,

Scepter Records Scepter Records was an American record company founded in 1959 by Florence Greenberg. History Florence Greenberg founded Scepter Records from the $4,000 she received after she sold Tiara Records and the Shirelles to Decca Records. When the Shire ...

, would not allow her version from the film to be included in the 20th Century-Fox soundtrack album. The re-recorded version became a million-seller. The RIAA-certified Gold Scepter LP that contained the hit version of the song, '' Dionne Warwick in Valley of the Dolls'', peaked at number six on the ''Billboard'' Top 10 Albums chart, and would remain on the chart for over a year. In the UK "(Theme from) Valley of the Dolls" had a February 1968 release with "

Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" is a song composed by Allie Wrubel with lyrics by Ray Gilbert for the Disney 1946 live action and animated movie '' Song of the South'', sung by James Baskett. For "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah", the film won the Academy Award for Best ...

" as the

, peaking at UK #28.

Charts

Weekly charts

Certifications

Cover versions

Gladys Knight & the Pips Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American R&B, soul and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early 1950s. Starting out as simpl ...

– album ''Silk N' Soul'' (1968) *

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

– album ''

Honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

'' (1968) * Jack Jones – album ''Where is Love?'' (1968, RCA) * John Davidson - album ''Goin’ Places'' (1968) *

Dorothy Ashby Dorothy Jeanne Thompson (August 6, 1932 – April 13, 1986), better known as Dorothy Ashby, was an American jazz harpist, singer and composer. Hailed as one of the most "unjustly under loved jazz greats of the 1950s" and the "most accomplished ...

– album '' Afro-Harping (1968) *

Gábor Szabó Gábor István Szabó (March 8, 1936 – February 26, 1982) was a Hungarian American guitarist whose style incorporated jazz, pop, rock, and Hungarian music. Early years Szabó was born in Budapest, Hungary. He began playing guitar at the age ...

– album ''Bacchanal'' (1968, Skye Records) *

The Chopsticks The Chopsticks was a short-lived female duo in Hong Kong. They were the first all-female modern music singing group to be marketed and launched from Hong Kong. They started singing in the late 1960s with HK English pop songs and were contracted ...

– album ''Some Day'' (1970) *

Eruption Several types of volcanic eruptions—during which lava, tephra (ash, lapilli, volcanic bombs and volcanic blocks), and assorted gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure—have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are often ...

– album ''Leave a Light'' (1979) *

k.d. lang Kathryn Dawn Lang (born November 2, 1961), known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Lang has won Juno Awards and Grammy Awards for her musical performances. Hits include the s ...

– album '' Drag'' (1997) *

Marcia Hines Marcia Elaine Hines, AM (born July 20, 1953), is an American-Australian vocalist and TV personality. Hines made her debut, at the age of 16, in the Australian production of the stage musical '' Hair'' and followed with the role of Mary Magdale ...

– album '' Time of Our Lives'' (1999) *

Ana Gasteyer Ana Kristina Gasteyer (born May 4, 1967) is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1996 to 2002. She has since starred in such sitcoms as ABC's '' Suburgatory,'' TBS's ''People of Earth'', NBC's ...

– album '' I'm Hip'' (2014)

References

https://chasblaum.net/2019/01/26/dionne-warwick-theme-from-valley-of-the-dolls-1968/ 1968 singles Songs with music by André Previn Songs with lyrics by Dory Previn Songs written for films Dionne Warwick songs K.d. lang songs Andy Williams songs Film theme songs 1967 songs Scepter Records singles {{1960s-single-stub