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"I'll Try Anything" is a 1967 single by Dusty Springfield which reached the UK Top 20 and the US Top 40."I'll Try Anything" was co-written by Mark Barkan and Vic ka VictorMillrose. In the US "I'll Try Anything" peaked at #40 in April 1967 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 – with peaks in '' Cashbox'' and ''
Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...
'' of respectively #29 and #34 – making it the sixth of Springfield's ten US Top 40 solo hits. "I'll Try Anything" reached #38 in Australia and #19 in Canada. The track had its strongest chart impact in
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
with a #6 peak in June 1967.


Background

Barkan had written the hits " I'm Gonna Be Warm This Winter" for
Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1937), known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Called the “First Lady of Rock & Roll” ...
and " I Don't Wanna Be a Loser" for
Lesley Gore Lesley Sue Goldstein (May 2, 1946 – February 16, 2015), known professionally as Lesley Gore, was an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. At the age of 16, she recorded the pop music, pop hit "It's My Party (Lesley Gore song), I ...
, while Millrose had written the
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 ...
hit "Last Chance to Turn Around" and would later write "
This Girl Is a Woman Now "This Girl Is a Woman Now" is a song written by Victor Millrose and Alan Bernstein and was recorded by Gary Puckett & The Union Gap for their 1969 album ''The New Gary Puckett and the Union Gap Album''. The song reached No. 2 on the US Easy List ...
" for
Gary Puckett & the Union Gap Gary Puckett & The Union Gap (initially credited as The Union Gap featuring Gary Puckett) was an American pop rock group active in the late 1960s. The group, formed by Gary Puckett, Gary "Mutha" Withem, Dwight Bement, Kerry Chater and Paul Wheat ...
. Barkan, intending to write a song for Dusty Springfield, had already written the chorus for "I'll Try Anything" when Millrose came on board to co-write the verses. Springfield visited Barkan's residence to hear the song which Barkan sang to her while playing the piano, and although Springfield reacted favorably to the song she still wanted to hear a
demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...
, and Barkan obliged by prepping a demo with Ellie Greenwich as vocalist. Springfield began recording "I'll Try Anything" in a December 1966 session at the CBS Recording Studios (NYC) produced by
Herb Bernstein Herb Bernstein is an American record producer, composer, arranger, and conductor. Professional life Herb Bernstein arranged and produced records in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s for Laura Nyro, John Denver, Joel Grey, The Four Seasons, Bob Dylan, ...
: Barkan, who was present, recalls that the session lasted for nine hours with the first eight spent on Springfield recording another song: "The Morning After the Night Before", and the last hour spent on her recording "I'll Try Anything". On 22 January 1967 Springfield and Bernstein had another session at CBS Recording Studios which yielded a completed master of "I'll Try Anything": however Springfield elected to have the master's rhythm track extracted and used as the basis for a new recording of the song made at the Philips Studios in Stanhope Place in a 29 January 1967 session. Since making her solo debut in 1963 with the upbeat "
I Only Want to Be With You "I Only Want to Be with You" is a song written by Mike Hawker and Ivor Raymonde. The debut solo single released by British singer Dusty Springfield under her long-time producer Johnny Franz, "I Only Want to Be with You" peaked at number 4 on th ...
" Springfield had subsequently shifted her musical focus to a softer sound as exemplified by her 1966 career record " You Don't Have to Say You Love Me". "I'll Try Anything" was largely a return to Springfield's original upbeat sound and might have been a more substantial hit for her somewhat earlier. ''
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 ...
'' described the song as a change of pace for Springfield and a "strong rocker served up in the best emotional Springfield manner." However, by 1967 the track had a markedly out-of-date sound and in its UK release peaked at #13 breaking a Top Ten streak for Springfield which had lasted for three hits.


Chart performance


Other versions

Apart from Springfield's version, the only evident recordings of the song are two non-English renderings: *The French-language "J'aurai mon tour de chance" recorded by Québécois singer
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- ...
( fr *"Quero um Beatle de Presente" by Brazilian
Jovem Guarda Jovem GuardaJovem Guarda translates literally as "young guard". It could be interpreted as "vanguard". was primarily a Brazilian musical television show first aired by Rede Record in 1965, although the term soon expanded to designate the entire ...
singer Maritza Fabiani with Portuguese lyrics by Carlos Wallace.


References

{{authority control 1967 singles Dusty Springfield songs Songs written by Mark Barkan 1967 songs Song recordings produced by Johnny Franz Philips Records singles