"Try to Remember" is a song about nostalgia from the

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

play ''

The Fantasticks ''The Fantasticks'' is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and book and lyrics by Tom Jones. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the 1894 play ''The Romancers'' (''Les Romanesques'') by Edmond Rostand, concerning two neigh ...

'' (1960). It is the first song performed in the show, encouraging the audience to imagine what the sparse set suggests. The words were written by the American lyricist Tom Jones while

Harvey Schmidt Harvey Lester Schmidt (September 12, 1929 – February 28, 2018) was an American composer for musical theatre and illustrator. He was best known for composing the music for the longest running musical in history, ''The Fantasticks'', which ran off ...

composed the music.

Popular charts and early recordings

"Try to Remember" was sung by

Jerry Orbach Jerome Bernard Orbach (October 20, 1935 – December 28, 2004) was an American actor and singer, described at the time of his death as "one of the last'' bona fide'' leading men of the Broadway musical and global celebrity on television" and a " ...

for the original off-Broadway production of ''

''. "Try to Remember" scored the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 popular music chart three times during 1965, with versions by

Ed Ames Ed Ames (born Edmund Dantes Urick; July 9, 1927), who also recorded as Eddie Ames, is an American singer and actor. He is known for playing Mingo in the television series ''Daniel Boone'', and for his pop hits of the mid-to-late 1960s including " ...

Roger Williams Roger Williams (21 September 1603between 27 January and 15 March 1683) was an English-born New England Puritan minister, theologian, and author who founded Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantation ...

and

Barry McGuire Barry McGuire (born October 15, 1935) is an American singer-songwriter primarily known for his 1965 hit " Eve of Destruction". Later he would pioneer as a singer and songwriter of Contemporary Christian music. Early life McGuire was born in O ...

. The song was the first Australian success for the trio

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

. Their version peaked at no. 11 during late 1968. In 1975,

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 ...

had an international success with their version of "Try to Remember", combining it into a medley with a cover version of

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...

's "

The Way We Were ''The Way We Were'' is a 1973 American romantic drama film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford. Arthur Laurents wrote both the novel and screenplay based on his college days at Cornell University and his ...

". It scored no. 11 on the US Hot 100 chart, and no. 4 in the UK (their biggest success there). For Knight's version, she recited some of the lyrics from "Try To Remember" in spoken-word fashion before beginning to sing "The Way We Were".

Notable appearances in media and culture

Jonathon Morris Jonathon Morris (born 20 July 1960) is an English actor and former television presenter. Career Morris is best known for his role as Adrian Boswell in Carla Lane's comedy ''Bread'', in which he starred for the series' entire five-year run bet ...

performed the song for the 1995 movie version of ''

''. *

Hope Davis Hope Davis is an American actress. She is known for her performances on stage and screen earning various awards and nominations including a Tony Award nomination, as well two Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globe Award nominations. She ...

, as Maria Stark, performs part of this song during Tony Stark's hologram presentation in the early scenes of '' Captain America: Civil War''. *

Sandy Duncan Sandra Kay Duncan (born February 20, 1946) is an American actress, comedian, dancer and singer. She is known for her performances in the Broadway revival of ''Peter Pan'' and in the sitcom ''The Hogan Family''. Duncan has been nominated for thr ...

performed the song with

The Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety- sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise that encompasses ...

on ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as a ser ...

'', Episode 114, since Sandy Duncan was the guest star of the episode.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Try to Remember Songs about nostalgia 1960 songs Songs with music by Harvey Schmidt Ed Ames songs Gladys Knight & the Pips songs Songs from musicals