"This Guy's in Love with You" 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 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 ...

, and recorded by

Herb Alpert Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s. During the same decade, he co-founded A&M Records with Jerry Moss. Alpert has recorded 28 albums that have landed on the ...

. Although known primarily for his trumpet playing as the leader of the

Tijuana Brass Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

, Alpert sang lead vocals on this solo recording, arranged by Bacharach. An earlier recording of the song was by British singer Danny Williams titled "That Guy's in Love", which appears on his 1968 self-titled album.

History

The song appears to have originally been written by Hal David with lyrics to be sung by a female singer. A version was then released by Danny Williams, with lyrics about his female partner being in love with another man, some months before the Alpert version.

Herb Alpert version

As documented in an ''

A&E Biography ''Biography'' is an American documentary television series and media franchise created in the 1960s by David L. Wolper and owned by A&E Networks since 1987. Each episode depicts the life of a notable person with narration, on-camera interview ...

'' episode featuring Bacharach, the recording originated when Alpert, while visiting at Bacharach's office, asked, "Say, Burt, do you happen to have any old compositions lying around that you and Hal never recorded; maybe one I might be able to use?" Alpert said he made it his practice to ask songwriters that particular question: often a "lost pearl" was revealed. As it happened, Bacharach recalled one, found the lyrics and score sheet in his office filing cabinet, and offered it to Alpert: "Here, Herb... you might like this one." Alpert saw the possibilities in the composition for recording it himself. The composition had a recognizable Bacharach-David feel, a spot for a signature horn solo in the bridge and in the fadeout, and it was an easy song to sing within Alpert's vocal range. Alpert originally sang "This Guy's in Love with You" on a 1968 television special, '' The Beat of the Brass''. In response to numerous viewer telephone calls to the network following the broadcast, Alpert decided that the song should be released as a single recording, and it reached No. 1 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 pop singles chart in June of that year, remaining in the top position for four weeks. It was not only Alpert's first No. 1 single, but it was also the first No. 1 single for his A&M record label, as well as the first No. 1 in the U.S. for Bacharach & David. The song also spent ten weeks at No. 1 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. For the single's B-side, Alpert chose "A Quiet Tear" from his first album in 1962, ''

The Lonely Bull "The Lonely Bull (El Solo Toro)" is a song by Sol Lake recorded by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass among others. The song was the title track to the album '' The Lonely Bull'', released in December 1962. The Herb Alpert single represents the fir ...

''.

Other renditions

Several female vocalists have rendered the song as "This Girl's in Love with You".

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer and actress. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato), and is best known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. Nancy Sinatra ...

debuted this version live on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...

'' on May 26, 1968.

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 ...

was the first to record this version of the song, which was released as a single in 1969, reaching No. 7 in the U.S. that same year. It also spent four weeks at No. 2 on the

chart. It ranked as the 64th biggest US hit of 1969.

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

recorded the song in a live set recorded in San Francisco in 1968, originally released on MPS, and re-issued on CD by Verve as The Sunshine of Your Love in 1996.

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop music, p ...

also covered the song on her album Dusty... Definitely released in the UK in November 1968. Sammy Davis Jr. recorded the song in 1969; the resulting version appeared on each of his final two albums for

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...

, and he performed it live in his concerts, including at one memorable appearance in Hamburg that same year.

Eydie Gormé Eydie Gormé ( ; born Edith Gormezano; August 16, 1928 – August 10, 2013) was an American singer who had hits on the pop and Latin pop charts. She sang solo and in the duo Steve and Eydie with her husband, Steve Lawrence, on albums and telev ...

had a hit on the U.S. Easy Listening chart with her rendition reaching number 22 during the summer of 1968. Debuting the same week,

Tony Mottola Anthony C. Mottola (April 18, 1918 – August 9, 2004) was an American jazz guitarist who released dozens of solo albums. Mottola was born in Kearny, New Jersey, Kearny, New Jersey and died in Denville, New Jersey, Denville. Career Like ...

had a hit on the U.S. Easy Listening chart, also reaching number 22. Australian group

the Reels The Reels was an Australian rock band which formed in Dubbo, New South Wales in 1976. It disbanded in 1991, and reformed in 2007. Its 1981 song " Quasimodo's Dream" was voted one of the top 10 Australian songs of all time by a 100-member panel ...

released a version as a single and on the album ''Beautiful'' in 1982. It reached No. 7 on the Australian charts. On 29 June 1996 at the London Festival Hall,

Noel Gallagher Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the chief songwriter, lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis until their split in 2009. After leaving Oasis, he formed ...

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

sang a version of the song with Bacharach playing piano; the following weekend it was aired on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

."Twosome in tune", ''

Aberdeen Press & Journal ''The Press and Journal'' is a daily regional newspaper serving northern and highland Scotland including the cities of Aberdeen and Inverness. Established in 1747, it is Scotland's oldest daily newspaper, and one of the longest-running newspape ...

'' page 5, 2 July 1996

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Herb Alpert

All-time charts

The single achieved sales of over 50,000 copies in Australia, being eligible for the award of a Gold Disc. Dionne Warwick version Tony Mottola cover ;Eydie Gorme cover

References

Bibliography

*''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits'', 6th Edition, 1996

External links

* * * {{Authority control 1968 songs 1968 singles 1969 singles Number-one singles in Australia RPM Top Singles number-one singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Songs with music by Burt Bacharach Songs with lyrics by Hal David Andy Kim songs Herb Alpert songs Faith No More songs Dionne Warwick songs Petula Clark songs The Reels songs A&M Records singles Scepter Records singles