A Taste of Honey (song)

"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).

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

"A Taste of Honey"
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
Recorded1965
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)

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"
Cover of the 1964 Germany single
Song by the Beatles
from the album Please Please Me
Released22 March 1963
Recorded11 February 1963
StudioEMI, London
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

Engineered by Norman Smith[4]

Other artists

Lenny Welch recorded an early vocal version in the summer of 1962. It was released as a single in September 1962 on the Cadence Records label and included on his 1963 album Since I Fell for You. This version also credits Lee Morris as a writer but it is not known if it was he who provided the lyrics. This credit does not appear on any covers of the song, with only Marlow/Scott credited. Johnny Rivers covered the song on his album "Changes"

In 1964 jazz singer Morgana King released a version which became her signature song.[5]

In 1964, Katherine Kovar released a cover of the song on her album Love Echoes.

Tony Bennett reached #94 in the US with a vocal version for his album The Many Moods of Tony in 1964.

Roger Whittaker included a vocal performance of the song on his 1982 album Durham Town (released on the Contour label, release ID CN4 2061).

Lizz Wright included the song on her 2005 CD Dreaming Wide Awake.

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.

See also

References
  1. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 19.
  2. 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.
  • The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition, 1996
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