"More Today Than Yesterday" is a song written by Pat Upton and performed by

Spiral Starecase The Spiral Starecase was an American pop band, best known for its 1969 single " More Today Than Yesterday". The band, from Sacramento, California, United States, was recognizable for its horns and lead singer/guitarist Pat Upton's voice. The ...

, of which Upton was the lead vocalist. The song was produced by Sonny Knight and arranged by

Al Capps Allan Alfonzo Capps (April 26, 1939 – June 7, 2018) was an American record producer, arranger, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and vocalist. Beginning in the 1960s and 1970s, he produced and arranged albums for popular artists such as Cher, ...

Background

The principal idea of the song was made famous at the turn of the 20th century in a poem by

Rosemonde Gérard Louise-Rose-Étiennette Gérard, known as Rosemonde Gérard (April 5, 1871, Paris – July 8, 1953, Paris) was a French poet and playwright. She was the wife of Edmond Rostand (1868–1918, author of ''Cyrano de Bergerac''), and was a granddaugh ...

, the wife of the poet and playwright

Edmond Rostand Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand (, , ; 1 April 1868 – 2 December 1918) was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism and is known best for his 1897 play ''Cyrano de Bergerac''. Rostand's romantic plays contrasted with t ...

(''

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th cen ...

'').

Chart performance

It reached No. 6 in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, No. 7 on the ''Cashbox'' Top 100, and No. 12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1969. It was also released in the United Kingdom as a single, but did not chart. The song was featured on their 1969 album, '' More Today Than Yesterday''. It ranked No. 50 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine's Top

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

songs of

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other versions

Charles Earland Charles Earland (May 24, 1941 – December 11, 1999) was an American jazz organist. Biography Earland was born in Philadelphia and learned to play the saxophone in high school. He played tenor with Jimmy McGriff at the age of 17 and in 1960 form ...

released a version of the song on his 1969 album, ''

Black Talk! ''Black Talk!'' is an album by organist Charles Earland which was recorded in 1969 and released on the Prestige label.Shirley Scott Shirley Scott (March 14, 1934 – March 10, 2002) was an American jazz organist. Her music was noted for its mixture of bebop, blues and gospel elements. She was known by the nickname "Queen of the Organ". Life and career Scott was born in Phi ...

released a version of the song on her 1969 album, ''

Shirley Scott & the Soul Saxes ''Shirley Scott & the Soul Saxes'' is an album by organist Shirley Scott recorded in 1969 and released on the Atlantic label.Payne, DShirley Scott discographyaccessed July 4, 2012 Reception The Allmusic site awarded the album 4½ stars stating " ...

'' *

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 ...

released a version of the song featuring

The Osmonds The Osmonds were an American family music group who reached the height of their fame in the early to mid-1970s. The group had its best-known configurations as a quartet (billed as the Osmond Brothers) and a quintet (as the Osmonds). The group ...

on his 1969 ''

Get Together with Andy Williams ''Get Together with Andy Williams'' is the twenty-fourth studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams which was released on October 6, 1969, by Columbia Records and contained covers of recent hits. The one new song was "You Are", which was w ...

'' *

Barbara McNair Barbara Jean McNair (March 4, 1934 – February 4, 2007) was an American singer and theater, television, and film actress. McNair's career spanned over five decades in television, film, and stage. McNair's professional career began in music dur ...

released a version of the song as the title track of her 1969 album ''More Today Than Yesterday'' *

Barbara Acklin Barbara Jean Acklin (February 28, 1943 – November 27, 1998) was an American soul singer and songwriter, who was most successful in the 1960s and 1970s. Her biggest hit as a singer was "Love Makes a Woman" (1968). As a songwriter, she is best ...

released a version of the song on his 1970 album ''Someone Else's Arms'' *

Chris Connor Mary Jean Loutsenhizer, known professionally as Chris Connor (November 8, 1927 – August 29, 2009) was an American jazz singer. Biography Chris Connor was born Mary Loutsenhizer in Kansas City, Missouri, to Clyde Loutsenhizer and Mabel Shir ...

released a version of the song on her 1970 album ''Sketches'' *

Joe Bataan Joe Bataan (also spelled Bataán) (born Bataan Nitollano; November 15, 1942) is a Latin soul musician from New York. Early life Joe Bataan was born Bataan Nitollano and grew up in the 103rd Street and Lexington Avenue part of East Harlem in New ...

released a version of the song on his 1971 album ''Mr. New York And The East Side Kids'' *

Colleen Hewett Colleen Hewett (born 16 April 1950) is an Australian singer and actress. Hewett's top 40 singles on the Kent Music Report include " Super Star", " Day by Day" (both 1971), "Carry That Weight" (1972), "Dreaming My Dreams with You" (1980) ...

released a version of the song in Australia as 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 her 1971 single, "

Superstar A superstar is someone who has great popular appeal and is widely known, prominent, or successful in their field. Celebrities referred to as "superstars" may include individuals who work as actors, musicians, athletes, and other media-based profe ...

" *

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American dancer, actress, singer, and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years, appearing in film, television, and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of th ...

released a version of the song on her 1971 album, ''

Nature's Baby ''Nature's Baby'' is a 1971 studio album by Lena Horne, arranged by Ray Ellis. Track listing # "Feels So Good" (Ralph MacDonald, William Salter) – 2:58 # "A Song for You" (Leon Russell) – 4:16 # "Maybe I'm Amazed" (Paul McCartney) – 3:37 # ...

'' *

Sonny & Cher Sonny & Cher were an American pop and entertainment duo in the 1960s and 1970s, made up of husband and wife Sonny Bono and Cher. The couple started their career in the mid-1960s as R&B backing singers for record producer Phil Spector. The pair f ...

released a version of the song on their 1971 album, '' All I Ever Need Is You'' as well as on '' Sonny & Cher Live'', released the same year *

Ronnie Dyson Ronald Dyson (June 5, 1950 – November 10, 1990) was an American soul and R&B singer and actor. Early career Born in Washington, D.C., Dyson grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where he sang in church choirs. At 18 years of age, he won a lead role ...

released a version of the song on his 1976 album ''The More You Do It'' *

Patti Austin Patti Austin (born August 10, 1950) is an American R&B, pop, and jazz singer and songwriter. Music career Austin was born in Harlem, New York, to Gordon Austin, a jazz trombonist. She was raised in Bay Shore, New York on Long Island. Quincy ...

released a version of the song on her 1976 album, ''

End of a Rainbow ''End of a Rainbow'' is the debut album by American vocalist and songwriter Patti Austin recorded in 1976 and released on the CTI label.Payne, DCTI Records discographyaccessed February 29, 2012 Track listing All compositions by Patti Austin exc ...

'' *

James Darren James William Ercolani (born June 8, 1936) known by his stage name James Darren, is an American television and film actor, television director, and singer. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had notable starring and supporting roles in fi ...

released a version of the song on his 2001 album, ''

Because of You Because of You may refer to: Music Albums * ''Because of You'' (James Darren album), 2001 * ''Because of You'' (Ne-Yo album), 2007, and the title song (see below) * ''Because of You'' (Tony Bennett album), 1952, and the title song, a cover ...

'' * Nick Carter released a version of the song on his 2003 album, ''

Before the Backstreet Boys 1989–1993 ''Before The Backstreet Boys 1989–1993'' is the unofficial, independently released demo album released by Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter. The songs were recorded by Nick from 1989 to 1993. The song "Hard to Get" was written by Mark J. Dye fo ...

'' *

Grant Green Grant Green (June 6, 1935 – January 31, 1979) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. Recording prolifically for Blue Note Records as both leader and sideman, Green performed in the hard bop, soul jazz, bebop, and Latin-tinged idioms ...

recorded a live version of the song in 1971, which was however released only on his 2006 album '' Live at Club Mozambique'' *

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

includes the song as part of her playlist in many concerts, including the More Today Than Yesterday: The Greatest Hits Tour and recorded the song for her 2006 album '' I Love You'' * The CompanY released a version of the song on their 2008 album with

Gerard Salonga Gerard Imutan Salonga (born October 11, 1973) is a Filipino musical conductor, composer, and arranger. From 2012 to 2020, he was the music director of the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra, assistant conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra ...

and

FILharmoniKA FILharmoniKA is a symphony orchestra based in Manila, Philippines. Originally known as the Global Studio Orchestra or GC4, it was established in 2005 for commercial recording and the film scoring market. Founded by musical director and resident ...

titled ''Group Hug'' *

Kermit Ruffins Kermit Ruffins (born December 19, 1964) is an American jazz trumpeter, singer, composer, and actor from New Orleans. He has been influenced by Louis Armstrong and Louis Jordan and says that the highest note he can hit on trumpet is a high C. He ...

released a version of the song on his 2010 album ''Happy Talk'' *

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, with the Les Deux Love Orchestra, released a cover of the song on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

in 2013 *

Allan Harris Allan Harris (28 December 1942 – 23 November 2017) was a footballer who played for Chelsea, Coventry City and Queens Park Rangers. His brother Ron was also a professional footballer. Harris was a full-back and began his career with Chelsea ...

recorded a version on his 2016 album, ''Nobody's Gonna Love You Better''WBGO Jazz 88.3FM: https://wbgo.org/radar/allan-harris-nobodys-gonna-love-you-better , accessdate: September 30, 2016 *

Nyoy Volante Niño del Mar Coching Volante (born January 25, 1978), better known as Nyoy Volante, is a Filipino acoustic pop singer-songwriter and actor. Early life and education Volante was born on January 25, 1978, to parents Oliver Volante and Evangelin ...

recorded the song for the 2018 Philippine drama series '' Playhouse''

In media

* Goldfinger released a version of the song that was featured in the ending credits of the 1998 film ''

The Waterboy ''The Waterboy'' is a 1998 American sports comedy film directed by Frank Coraci. It was written by Adam Sandler as well as Tim Herlihy and produced by Robert Simonds and Jack Giarraputo. Sandler also stars as the title character while Kathy Bates ...

''. * Jordan McCoy sang a version of the song on ''

American Juniors ''American Juniors'' is an American reality television singing competition series that was broadcast for one season from June 3 to August 19, 2003, on Fox. The series was a spin-off of ''American Idol'', but with younger contestants. The show ha ...

''. * Kenneth "Ken" Dingle sang a version of the song when he was a semi-finalist on ''

Philippine Idol ''Philippine Idol'' is the first version of the Idol series in the Philippines, the 35th country in the world to air a local ''Idol'' adaptation and the sixth in Asia broadcast by ABC (now TV5). Similar to the premise of original show ''Pop Id ...

''. *

Tito Sotto Vicente Castelo Sotto III (; born August 24, 1948), professionally known as Tito Sotto, is a Filipino politician, entertainer and athlete who served as Senate President from 2018 to 2022. Before that, had two stints each as Senate Majority Lea ...

Vic Sotto Marvic Valentin Castelo Sotto (; born April 28, 1954), professionally known as Vic Sotto, is a Filipino actor, singer and comedian known far and wide for his various television and film projects on the major Philippine television networks GMA ...

, and

Joey de Leon Jose Maria Ramos de Leon Jr. (born October 14, 1946), professionally known as Joey de Leon, is a Filipino comedian, actor, television presenter and songwriter. He hosts the noontime variety show ''Eat Bulaga!'' He is a member of the comedy trio ...

performed a version of the song on the 37th Anniversary of ''

Eat Bulaga! ''Eat Bulaga!'' (), formerly ''Eat... Bulaga!'', is a noontime Philippine television variety show broadcast by GMA Network. Produced by TAPE Inc., it is the longest running variety show in the Philippines with over 13,000 episodes. Originally ...

'' * Briefly heard in the first entrance of Jamie Lee Curtis's character in '' My Girl''. * Sung by character Richard Fish (

Greg Germann Gregory Andrew Germann ( ; born February 26, 1958) is an American actor who is known for playing Richard Fish on the television series '' Ally McBeal'', which earned him a Screen Actors Guild award. He also is known for his roles as Eric "Rico" ...

) at the Christmas party in Ally McBeal - S1E11 (Silver Bells) * The Spiral Starecase's version appears in a

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

TV commercial A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

for

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also re ...

faucets. * In ''

The Mule (2018 film) ''The Mule'' is a 2018 American crime drama film starring and directed by Clint Eastwood, who also produced with Dan Friedkin, Jessica Meier, Tim Moore, Kristina Rivera, and Bradley Thomas. The screenplay was written by Nick Schenk, and based o ...

'', this song was the lifelong love song (the "our song") of Earl and Mary, which was made clear on Mary's deathbed when their last words together were quotations of the chorus's first two lines.

References

External links

* * {{authority control 1969 songs 1969 singles Spiral Starecase songs Diana Ross songs Columbia Records singles

Background

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other versions

In media

See also

References

External links