A Taste of Honey (song)
Single by Herb Alpert’s Tijuana Brass
from the album Whipped Cream and Other Delights
Released 1965
Recorded 1965
Genre
Jazz instrumental pop
Length 2:43
Label A&M
Songwriter(s) Bobby Scott, Ric Marlow
Producer(s) Herb Alpert, Jerry Moss
“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), was recorded by the Beatles for their first album in 1963. Barbra Streisand had performed the song as part of her cabaret act during 1962, and recorded it for her debut album The Barbra Streisand Album on Columbia, which won a Grammy for Album of the Year (1963).
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.
Martin Denny and the Victor Feldman Quartet each scored minor hits in 1962 with their covers.
Acker Bilk released a version in the UK in January 1963, reaching number 16 in the UK Singles Chart.
Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass recorded the most popular instrumental version of the song with a cover on their 1965 album, Whipped Cream & Other Delights. This recording won four awards including Record of the Year at the Grammy Awards of 1966. The instrumental spent five weeks at number one on the easy listening chart, reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100.
Harry James recorded a live version in 1966 on his album Live At The Riverboat (Dot DLP 3728 and DLP 25728)
Paul Desmond recorded a version in 1964 on his album Glad To Be Unhappy (RCA LPM 3407)
The Beatles
The Beatles performed Lenny Welch’s adaptation, slightly changing the lyrics in the chorus, as part of their repertoire in 1962 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 VeeJay 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. In 1967, McCartney was inspired to compose “Your Mother Should Know” based on a line taken from the screenplay.
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
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia