Anyone Who Had A Heart - Shirley Bassey (1979 Recording) video free download

1979 (Verteran vocalist/entertainer Shirley Bassey recorded a great cover of This Bacharach/David 60's era classic. This song was included on Shirley's 1979 LP titled, 'The Magic Is You'. This song was originally brought from the USA to the UK for Shirley to record, but music producer George Martin (The Beatles) decided to give it to a relatively unknown artist from Liverpool, and a good friend of Shirley's for many decades, Cilla Black. This song was a top 10 hit for Dionne Warwick in the USA, in 1963, one year earlier than Black's version released in 1964. Although it wasn't in the cards for Shirley to record this song in the 60's, she has always loved it, and decided to record it as a slightly more mature artist in her 40s back in 1978. Hit or not for Shirley, it's still a great recording!

I personally like both Warwick's and Black's version of this song as well. Many people don't want to see this happen, but I think a great song really can be sung/recorded by more than one artist, thus bringing each singer's personality and singing style into the song. Bacharach and David sure liked it because they have received royalties from both Warwick and Black, as well as every artist who has recorded this song for every unit sold.

"Anyone Who Had a Heart" is a song written by Burt Bacharach (music) and Hal David (lyrics) for Dionne Warwick in 1963. Warwick's original recording hit the Top Ten in the United States, Canada, Spain, The Netherlands, South Africa, Belgium and Australia in January 1964. Cilla Black's version was a UK #1 hit in 1964: in May 2010 research published by BBC Radio 2 revealed that her version was the biggest female chart hit of the 1960s.

A scout for UK record producer George Martin discovered "Anyone Who Had a Heart" when Warwick's version took off in the US, suggesting to Martin that the song would be a strong UK single for Shirley Bassey. However Martin saw the song as a vehicle for Cilla Black the Liverpool vocalist whose obvious star potential had yet to be realized despite her association with the Beatles, her recording of the Lennon-McCartney original "Love of the Loved" having been only a modest hit (#35). Black's single of "Anyone Who Had a Heart" debuted at #28 on the UK Top 50 dated 8 February 1964. The Dionne Warwick original, issued by Scepter's UK licensee Pye Records debuted on the chart for the following week at #42; by then Black's version had reached #10 ascending in the subsequent two weeks to #2 and then #1 while Warwick's version concurrently ended its chart run with two weeks at #47. On the chart dated 29 February 1964, besides Black's "Anyone Who Had a Heart" at #1 for the first of three weeks and Warwick's version in its final chart week at #47 the UK Top 50.

Besides Dionne Warwick, Cilla Black and Shirley, this song has been recorded throughout the decades by an impressive list of other great vocalits such as Dusty Springfield, Petula Clark (French), Mina (Italian), Vikki Carr, Linda Ronstadt, Wynonna Judd, The Four Seasons, Maureen McGovern, Olivia Newton-John, Martha Reeves, and Luther Vandross.

LYRICS:

Anyone who ever loved

Could look at me and know that I love you

Anyone who ever dreamed

Could look at me and know I dream of you

Knowing I love you, so

Anyone who had a heart

Would take me in his arms and love me too

You couldn't really have a heart

And hurt me like you hurt me

And be so untrue

What am I to do?

Every time you go away

I always say this time it's goodbye dear

Loving you the way I do

I take you back

Without you I'd die dear

Knowing I love you, so

Anyone who had a heart

Would take me in his arms and love me too

You couldn't really have a heart

[From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/w/wynonna-judd-lyrics/anyone-who-had-a-heart-lyrics.html]

And hurt me like you hurt me

And be so untrue

What am I to do?

Knowing I love you, so

Anyone who had a heart

Would take me in his arms and love me too

You couldn't really have a heart

And hurt me like you hurt me

And be so untrue

Anyone who had a heart could love me too

Anyone who had a heart would surely take me

In his arms and always love me

Why won't you?

Anyone who had a heart would love me too

Anyone who had a heart would simply take me

In his arms and always love me

Why won't you?

Anyone who had a heart would love me too

Special Thanks to Pieter and Astrid from the Shirley Bassey blog and all those who have provided wonderful pictures of Shirley!