"Trains and Boats and Planes" is a song written by composer

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 Gr ...

and lyricist

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 ...

. Hit versions were recorded by Bacharach himself in 1965, by Billy J. Kramer and

the Dakotas The Dakotas is a collective term for the U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota. It has been used historically to describe the Dakota Territory, and is still used for the collective heritage, culture, geography, fauna, sociology, econo ...

in the same year, and 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 ch ...

in 1966.

Original 1965 recordings

Bacharach and David wrote the song at a time when they had achieved great popular success. Bacharach, in particular, was traveling widely to record and promote his songs. The pair intended the song to be recorded by

Gene Pitney Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Pitney charted 16 top-40 hits in the United States, four in the top ten. In the United Kingdom, he had 22 top-40 hit singles, inclu ...

, who had had several hits with earlier Bacharach and David songs, including " Only Love Can Break a Heart" and "

Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa "Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and was originally a hit in 1963 for Gene Pitney. Production The song's lyrics tell of a traveling man who detours to a romance in a motel and ends up never retur ...

". However, Pitney declined to record it, telling Bacharach "it's not one of your better ones". Bacharach then recorded it in London, with an orchestra, chorus, and uncredited vocals by female session singers

The Breakaways The Breakaways were an English female vocal trio, formed in 1962. Britain's premier session vocalists throughout the 1960s, The Breakaways also recorded a handful of little-known girl group singles. Career The original members were Vicki Ha ...

. His version was issued on the 1965 album '' Hit Maker!: Burt Bacharach plays the Burt Bacharach Hits'' and as a single. According to writer Serene Dominic, While a special show was being recorded by Bacharach at the

Granada TV ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was its ...

studios in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

, producer

Johnnie Hamp Johnnie Hamp (sometimes referred to as John Hamp, or Johnny Hamp) is a British television producer, now retired. He is responsible for the early British television appearances of such acts as the Beatles, Burt Bacharach, Cannon and Ball, Paul Dan ...

heard the song and arranged for it to be offered to a group who also recorded there, the Four Just Men (who later recorded as

Wimple Winch Wimple Winch was an English psychedelic pop band that evolved from the group, Just Four Men. Originally a Merseybeat act, their individualized sound was personalized by their intricate vocal harmonies and exploratory lyrics. History Just Fou ...

). They turned it down, and the song then came to the attention of

Brian Epstein Brian Samuel Epstein (; 19 September 1934 – 27 August 1967) was a British music entrepreneur who managed the Beatles from 1962 until his death in 1967. Epstein was born into a family of successful retailers in Liverpool, who put him i ...

, who suggested that Billy J. Kramer record it. Kramer's recording was released at about the same time as Bacharach's own version, and both recordings entered the

UK singles chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in the same week in May 1965. Other, less commercially successful, versions were issued in the UK around the same time by

Anita Harris Anita Madeleine Harris (born 3 June 1942) is an English actress, singer and entertainer. Harris sang with the Cliff Adams Singers for three years from 1961 and had a number of chart hits during the 1960s. She appeared in the '' Carry On'' fil ...

and

Alma Cogan Alma Angela Cohen Cogan (19 May 1932 – 26 October 1966) was an English singer of traditional pop in the 1950s and early 1960s. Dubbed the "Girl with the Giggle in Her Voice", she was the highest paid British female entertainer of her era. C ...

, and recordings were made in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Claude François Claude Antoine Marie François (; 1 February 1939 – 11 March 1978), also known by the nickname Cloclo, was a French pop singer, composer, songwriter, record producer, drummer and dancer. François co-wrote the lyrics of " Comme d'habitude" ( ...

and

Renée Martel Renée Martel (26 June 1947 – 18 December 2021) was a French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco- ...

("Quand un bateau passe"). "Trains and Boats and Planes", cover versions, ''SecondhandSongs''
Retrieved 10 February 2015 Within the same year, a German language version, ("Frag doch nur dein Herz") was recorded by Die Five Tops. Bacharach's version reached No. 4 on the UK chart in 1965, while Kramer's recording reached No. 12 in the UK, becoming his final chart hit. When released in the US, Kramer's version reached No. 47 on the ''

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 adverti ...

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 ...

, and No. 10 on ''Billboard''s

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, ...

chart.

Dionne Warwick version

recorded the song in 1966. Her version was arranged and conducted by Bacharach, and produced by Bacharach and David. It spent seven weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and reached No. 22 on August 6, 1966. Warwick's version also reached No. 37 on ''Billboard''s Easy Listening chart and No. 49 on ''Billboard''s Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart.Dionne Warwick - Chart History - Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
''Billboard.com''. Accessed June 9, 2016.

Other recordings

Other recordings include those by

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

(1966), the

Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 193 ...

the Box Tops The Box Tops is an American rock band formed in Memphis in 1967. They are best known for the hits " The Letter", " Cry Like a Baby", "Choo Choo Train," and " Soul Deep" and are considered a major blue-eyed soul group of the period. They perfo ...

The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...

(instrumental),

Joanie Sommers Joanie Sommers (born Joan Drost, February 24, 1941) is an American singer and actress with a career concentrating on jazz, standards and popular material and show-business credits. Once billed as "The Voice of the Sixties", and associated with to ...

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...

(all in 1967),

Astrud Gilberto Astrud Gilberto (; born Astrud Evangelina Weinert, March 29, 1940) is a Brazilian samba and bossa nova singer. She gained international attention in the 1960s following her recording of the song " The Girl from Ipanema". Biography Astrud Gilber ...

(1969),

Fred Frith Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith (born 17 February 1949) is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser. Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock ...

(1997), Fountains of Wayne (2003), Gwyneth Herbert and Will Rutter on their 2003 album '' First Songs'',

Dwight Yoakam Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and film director. He first achieved mainstream attention in 1986 with the release of his debut album ''Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.''. Yoakam had considerabl ...

(2003), and

Laura Cantrell Laura Cantrell (born July 16, 1967) is a country singer-songwriter and DJ from Nashville, Tennessee. Biography Cantrell moved to New York City from her native Nashville to study English at Columbia University. She briefly recorded songs with f ...

on her 2008 EP '' Trains and Boats and Planes''.

References

{{Authority control Songs about boats Songs about trains 1965 songs Songs with music by Burt Bacharach Songs with lyrics by Hal David