A Taste of Honey (song)

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For other uses, see A Taste of Honey (disambiguation).

"A Taste of Honey"
A Taste of Honey - Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass.png
Cover of the 1965 single
Single by Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass
from the album Whipped Cream and Other Delights
B-side"Third Man Theme"
ReleasedAugust 1965
RecordedMarch 10, 1965
StudioA&M Studios, Hollywood, California
Genre
Length2:43
LabelA&M
Songwriter(s)Bobby Scott, Ric Marlow
Producer(s)Herb Alpert, Jerry Moss
Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass singles chronology
"Mae"
(1965) 		"A Taste of Honey"
(1965) 		"Tijuana Taxi"
(1965)

"A Taste of Honey" is a pop standard written by Bobby Scott and Ric Marlow. It was originally an instrumental track (or recurring theme) written for the 1960 Broadway version of the 1958 British play A Taste of Honey (which was also made into the film of the same name in 1961). Both the original and a later recording by Herb Alpert in 1965 earned the song four Grammy Awards. A vocal version of the song—first recorded by Billy Dee Williams (and released in 1961 on the Prestige label), and then recorded very successfully by Lenny Welch in the summer of 1962—was also recorded by the Beatles for their first album in 1963. Barbra Streisand performed the song as part of her cabaret act during 1962, and recorded it in January 1963 for her debut album The Barbra Streisand Album on Columbia, which won a Grammy for Album of the Year (1963).

Instrumental versions[]

The original recorded versions of the song "A Taste of Honey", "A Taste of Honey (refrain)" and "A Taste of Honey (closing theme)", appeared on Bobby Scott's 1960 album, also titled A Taste of Honey, on Atlantic 1355. The composition won Best Instrumental Theme at the Grammy Awards of 1963.

Vocal versions[]

The Beatles[]

"A Taste of Honey"
A Taste of Honey.png
Cover of the 1964 Germany single
Song by the Beatles
from the album Please Please Me
Released22 March 1963
Recorded11 February 1963
StudioEMI, London
GenrePop
Length2:01
LabelParlophone
Songwriter(s)Bobby Scott/Ric Marlow
Producer(s)George Martin

The Beatles performed Lenny Welch's adaptation, slightly changing the lyrics in the chorus, as part of their repertoire in 1962 [2] and as the instrumental version by Acker Bilk was popular in the United Kingdom at the time, the song was chosen to be recorded for their 1963 debut album, Please Please Me. A version from this time was released in 1977 on the album Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962.

In the US, this song first appeared on the Vee-Jay Records album Introducing... The Beatles. They also performed "A Taste of Honey" seven times for BBC radio shows, including Here We Go, Side by Side, and Easy Beat.[3] In 1967, McCartney was inspired to compose “Your Mother Should Know” based on a line taken from the screenplay.[2]

Personnel[]

  • Paul McCartney – lead vocals, bass
  • John Lennon – acoustic guitar, backing vocals
  • George Harrison – lead guitar, backing vocals
  • Ringo Starr – brushed drums

Engineered by Norman Smith[4]

Other artists[]

  • In 1964 jazz singer Morgana King released a version which became her signature song.[5]
  • The Hollies included the song at their third US album Beat Group! (1966)
  • Tony Bennett reached #94 in the US with a vocal version for his album The Many Moods of Tony in 1964. His version of "A Taste of Honey" was recorded on September 11, 1963, with Tony Bennett on the vocals, accompanied by the Ralph Sharon Trio, and arranged by Dick Hyman.[6]

Television and film[]

  • The song is used for the theme of the UK comedy series Hardware.
  • The song is used in the 2000 Australian film The Dish, a partially fictionalised account of the role that the Parkes Observatory played in relaying the live television feed of man's first steps on the moon, during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969.
  • Herb Alpert's version is the opening and closing tune of the Italian 's sport broadcast Tutto il calcio, minuto per minuto (All soccer, minute by minute).

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 19.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b MacDonald, Ian (1998). Revolution in the Head. London: Pimlico. p. 231. ISBN 0-7126-6697-4.
  3. ^ "The Beatles Bible: A Taste Of Honey". Retrieved August 16, 2009.
  4. ^ A Taste Of Honey | The Beatles Bible
  5. ^ Holden, Stephen (September 2, 1985). "JAZZ: MORGANA KING". The New York Times. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  6. ^ The Interactive Tony Bennett Discography
  • The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition, 1996
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