"Blue Guitar" is a song written 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. In 1963,

Richard Chamberlain George Richard Chamberlain (born March 31, 1934) is an American actor and singer, who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show ''Dr. Kildare'' (1961–1966). He subsequently appeared in several TV mini-series, such as ''Shōg ...

released it as the lead single from his album ''Twilight of Honor''. It was a No. 12 hit 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 ...

chart and reached No. 42 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Background

Chamberlain's single is also notable for its B-side, another Bacharach-David composition entitled "

(They Long to Be) Close to You "(They Long to Be) Close to You" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. The best-known version is that recorded by American duo the Carpenters for their second studio album '' Close to You'' (1970) and produced by Jack Daugherty. Rele ...

." This is the original version of the song that became a number-one hit for the Carpenters in 1970. It has been covered by Canadian actor Lorne Greene for his album The Ponderosa.

References

1963 singles Richard Chamberlain songs Songs with lyrics by Hal David Songs with music by Burt Bacharach 1963 songs MGM Records singles {{1960s-pop-song-stub